Theater Appreciation Exam 3

vaudeville

“variety”, continuous / hours long, descended from British Music Hall, 10 min acts one thing really good at, cheap, unrelated acts, 10 AM-10PM come and go, working class entertainment, racy or family, ethnic impersonations, segregation defining factor (separate Black Vaudeville), if you play last worst act, decline was changing tastes and movies, 1880s-1920s

burlesque

“to parody / make fun of” started as parody of serious since combined with leg art (race fro time), parody part diminished and developed into strip tease, often shit down by police, Lydia Thompson starts it → female driven art form! at start of photography had photo cards of actresses, but replaced by male producers, gimmicky, Neo-Burlesque re-empowers women, 1860s-1920s

extravaganza (The Black Crook)

dancers building burned down, but melodrama Black Crook put on nearby, dancers sign contract and incorporate song and dance into melodrama, lots of stuff thrown in, songs unconnected to plot, visual effects spectacle, melodrama with more, 1866-…

revue (The Ziegfeld Follies)

musical vignettes and acts around theme, though no plot same show each night, classier than vaudeville though still a little, Ziegfeld Follies glorified “American Girl” as excuse to look, 1890s-1830s

book musical

based on book, down to earth realistic and relatable characters, song related to narrative, complex stories and characters, unity, R&H, 1940s-1950s

jukebox musical

compilation shows, consist of existing pop songs

musical theater composers

Rodgers and Hammerstein, Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner, Leonard Bernstein, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Harold Arlen, Gilbert and Sullivan, Jerome Kern, Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim

Cole Porter

Kiss Me Kate, wrote both music and lyrics, classically trained, songs have unmatched technical complexity, witty and suggestive lyrics, sophisticated rhyme, Anything Goes, De-Lovely montage

importance of Steven Sondheim

most significant American musical theater colposer, broad range of styles, dramatic and musical expression, dominated Broadway, mentor was Hammerstein, collabed on West Side Story and Gypsy → first solo A Funny… Forum, complex characters and questions people’s psych motivations, themes of communication Company, transforming motifs to match, flashbacks / nonlinear, no reprises bc no growth

Jerome Robbins

significant figure in theatrical dance, considered most successful Broadway Choreographer, began as dancer 1940 becomes soloist, “Fancy Free” established reputation, West Side Story and Fiddler - ballet, appeared before HUAC in 1950s bc communist Red Scare, sold out people to blacklist knowing would ruin lives, didn’t bc was afraid of being played as gay for Lavender Scare

Bob Fosse

small groups of dancers, jazz hands, bowler hat, gyrating and sexually suggestive style, son of vaudevillian at 15 had own strop club act, Broadway chorus dancer, given chance to choreograph “The Pajama Game”, did Pippin, Chicago, Cabaret, How to Succeed

Yiddish Immigrant Theater Origins

Jewish theater was originally forbidden in culture due to scripture (can’t dress as someone else), but the exception was the Festival of Purim and Purim Plays telling Bible Stories (Esther saving Jews$, simple, often baudy for time

Why did Yiddish immigrant theater move to US?

Pogroms / wipeouts in Czartjst Russia, Russian gov closes Yiddish theater, actors move to US, 24 Yiddish theaters and 11 in NYC

Yiddish Immigrant Theater Features

pop somgs, opera tunes, synagogue chants, celebrate Jewish identity with Jewish heroes

Yiddish Immigrant Theater Demise

1930s bc of assimilation and loss of language

Italian Immigrant Theater

started as theatrical clubs, eventually 80 theaters, Little Italys in NYC, Chicago, SF, player in All Saints Day, variety of entertainment, recalled the homeland (“mama songs”) used NYC as backdrop and helps orient / greenhorn new arrivals, Shakespeare adapted, becomes more polished with arrival of pro actor, melodrama / comedies / farce / Commedia skits / opera, song and dance, decline was immigration restrictions (1920s) and assimilation

Chinese Opera: Why did Californians resent Chinese?

Chinese Opera Features

performed in Chinatowns (SF, NYC), begins with professionals traveling overseas to entertain Chinese working men missing home traditions, mix of acting singing dancing gestures acrobatics martial arts,, men only originally, Jackie Chan, bare stage, plots Chinese history and classical literature, stylized singing with falsetto, battle sequences, elaborate costumes, started slimming tours for rich

Chinese Opera Function of Makeup

color coded by type of character! red - positive, intelligent, heroic, white - evil, hypercritical crafty, black - better, gold/silver - gods and demons and ghosts

Chinese Theater Stock Characters

character types - handles scholar, noblewoman, dignified old man, beautiful female warrior, clown for comedic relief break 4th wall

Arguments for Theater

emotionally therapeutic (Aristotle), teach moral behavior, reveal important social issues, builds community and empathy

Arguments Against Theater

role playing is lying (Plato), corrupts ethics by example, childish, serious people don’t do it, unnecessarily stirs emotions, sonically disruptive

Funding and Connection to 1st Amendment

freedom of speech, but censorship on esp sexuality, raids on burlesque…

Importance of Production of Hair

Hair in Boston 1970 landmark case ruled public theater = freedom of speech…

Miller vs. California

1973 Supreme Coirt case defines obscenity with test

Definition of obscenity

average person applying contemporary community standards find work to appeal to unwholesome interest in sexual matter, depict in offensive way sexual or excretory functions, lack serious literary artistic political scientific value?

Origin and Demise of Federal Theatre Project

1935 part of Works Progress Administration WPA by FDR during Great Depression, 46 billion, eagle logo, put actors and theater people back to work → socially conscious theater / living newspapers, these criticized gov so was not happy → art but pulled funding after 4 years

Impact of Federal Theatre Project on Black Theater Artists

had a dozen “Negro units” given opportunity to be famous → Voodoo Macbeth set in Haiti

National Endowment for the Arts

1965 after Federal Theater Project, LBJ 2.8 billion…

Serrano and Mapplethorpe controversy

museum controversy and “the culture wars”, Mapplethorpe had interest in male body / sexuality, Serrano made P*ss Christ and got NEA in trouble

NEA Four and the Supreme Court (“decency clause”)

Trump administration restrictions

eliminating programs promoting DEI diversity equity inclusion or promote ideology

Drag queen/king

gender performance for purpose of entertainment

Importance of Stonewall Riots

symbolic start to gay rights movement

pansy craze

highly visible gay pertinence scene in nightclubs, Gladys Bentley and Gene Mann - many feel stories came to see! ended with Gene Malin death in car crash, and started passing rules as to what can wear

definition of camp

style of comedy, terribly wonderful wonderfully terrible, ironic failed seriousness, celebrates artificial (drag), means of subculture / communication (lingo)

happenings

a game, an adventure, a number of activities engaged in by participants for the sake of playing, art experienced as a surrounding, participatory, 60s, ex: Yard 1961 where play in bunch of tires surrounded by art itself

performance art

fusion of theater, visual arts, and/or music? can have personal/social/political focus, Shia LaBouf I Am Sorry / I am not Famous Anymore, Maria Abramovic, Culture Jaming activists change billboards, Burning Man NV (be part of art), No Pants Subway Ride / Operation Best Buy / Improv Everywhere → absurdity is funny!

Marina Abramovic

duration or endurance art, hair tied together for long time, holding arrow to her, meets again with ex partner Vray ag MOMA staring booth exhibit