| Whereas previous studies have privileged the commercially successful integrated musicals as the "mature" form, "The Other American Musical: Political Satire in Broadway Musicals from Strike Up the Band to Anyone Can Whistle" explores the rich history of politically vibrant musicals that flourished during the twentieth century. My dissertation combines textual analysis with cultural and historical background, focusing on the kinds of subjects that authors satirized, the attitude towards those topics in society at that time, the treatment these subjects received, and the formal characteristics of the genre.;The work of George and Ira Gershwin and George S. Kaufman inhabited a contested cultural space, which embraced musical forms that were both high culture and popular, creating artistically vibrant shows that established a foundation for the genre. I examine their navigation of the cultural hierarchy, Strike Up the Band, Of Thee I Sing, and Let 'Em Eat Cake .;During the 1930s, full-length musical satires became a viable form; I analyze the work of composers/lyricists Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, Cole Porter, Harold Rome, Mark Blitzstein, and Kurt Weill. I also explore the musicals produced by Sam H. Harris and the non-profit organizations Group Theatre, Federal Theatre Project, and ILGWU including As Thousands Cheer, I'd Rather Be Right, Knickerbocker Holiday, Pins and Needles, The Cradle Will Rock, and Johnny Johnson.;With increasing financial stakes, cast albums, and WWII, musicals changed in the 1940s. After examining Oklahoma!'s impact, I trace the simultaneous developments of integrated and satirical musicals, including the work of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, Leonard Bernstein, George Abbott, and the shows Street Scene, Love Life, South Pacific, Lost in the Stars, Pajama Game, and Candide. An exploration of Bloomer Girl, Fininan's Rainbow, and Flahooley demonstrates that E. Y. "Yip" Harburg was the most important political writer during this time. My project ends with an analysis of the form in the 1960s, with Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents' Anyone Can Whistle marking the end of a genre even as some of the political impetus was developed by Harold Prince, John Kander and Fred Ebb in Cabaret and in Galt MacDermot's Hair. |
