Theater Appreciation- Exam 3

Vaudeville

series of unrelated acts, also called “variety”, descended from British Musical Hall, shows go on all day, working class entertainment, ethnic impersonations, segregation, decline because of movies

Burlesque

to parody (make fun of) something, begins as parody of serious subject, combined with “leg art” (women in tights), becomes strip tease by 1920s

Extravaganza

melodrama with music, song dance, lots of visual spectacles

The Black Crook

famous Extravaganza, made $1 million in 1800s money

Revue

musical vignettes and acts, hung loosely around a theme, no plot, same show night after night

The Ziegfeld Follies

famous revue, theme was "Glorifying the American Girl”, hired lots of good looking women

Book musical

shows generally based on some kind of literary source with a story line that has a clear beginning, middle, and end, also called musical plays, most popular category today

Jukebox musical

consists of existing pop songs, also called compilation shows

Important MT composers

Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, George Gershwin, and Harold Arlen

Cole Porter

important MT composer, classically trained in music, songs have technical complexity, lyrics are witty and suggestive, sophisticated use of rhyme, dance is central element (Kiss Me Kate, Anything Goes)

Steven Sondheim

broad range of styles, dominated Broadway in 70s and 80s, classically trained, themes about the many ways people communicate with each other, complex characters, address basic/ large questions about what motives people, complex psychological portraits, (West Side Story, Gypsy, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Sweeny Todd, A Little Night Music, Follies, Into the Woods, )

Jerome Robbins

considered most successful Broadway choreographer of all time, began as Broadway dancer, became soloist in 1940, Francy Free (Ballet) establishes reputation of choreographer, style changed depending on the piece, HUAC

HUAC

House Un-American Activities Committee, investigate people suspected of benign communist, investigate Jerome Robbins in 1950s

Red scare

fear of communism

Lavender scare

fear of homosexuals, US government purges thousands of gay/lesbian employees from services, calls them a security risk during the Cold War

Black list

list of people said to be associated with communism, out of work forever (or really long time)

Bob Fosse

small groups of dancers, sexually suggestive style, son of Vaudevillian, had dance act in night club, dances in chorus on Broadway, choreography The Pajama Game

Yiddish Theater Origins

Jewish theater forbidden for centuries (can’t dress up as someone else), at Festival of Purim have Purim plays (bible stories, Esther saving Jews), simple, often bawdy

Yiddish Theater move to US

Pogroms in Czarist Russia, Russian government closes Yiddish theaters

Yiddish Theater Features

plays used pop songs, opera tunes, synagogue chants, celebrated Jewish identity

Yiddish Theater demise

1930s, assimilation, dying language

Italian Theater Origins

starts as theatrical clubs, theaters pop up in Little Italy’s, played in halls and church basements

Italian Theater Features

variety of entertainment, recall homeland, NYC as backdrop, Shakespeare adapted

Italian Theater Instructive

plays took place in NYC, showed immigrants what to expect/ do in America

Italian Theater Demise

immigration restricted in 1920s, assimilation

Chinese Resentment in California

thought they were taking jobs

Chinese Opera Features Features

mix of acting, singing, dancing, gesturing, acrobatics, and martial arts, originally played by men only, perform on bare stage, plots from Chinese history/ classical literature, usually included battle sequence,

Chinese Opera Makeup

color represented things about the character (good/ evil)

Chinese Opera Stock Characters

used typical character types present in every opera

Arguments FOR theater

prompts empathy, inclusivity, representation, creativity

Arguments AGAINST theater

promotes certain artists over others, waste of money, lying, corrupt norms , childish

Production of Hair

Boston tried to shut it down, District Court established that state can't interfere with live theater (bc of st amendment) unless in is constitutionally obscene

Miller vs California

defined obscenity with a test, “community standard, unwholesome, offensive, serious, artistic, value”

Federal Theatre Project

1935, part of WPA, starts creating entertainment for people, living newspapers, eventually shows start to criticize government, Congress pulls funding after 4 years, gives black artists opportunities, “Voodoo Macbeth”, “Negro Units”

National Endowment for the Arts

1965

Serrano and Mapplethorpe controversy

make explicit/ offensive artwork in Ohio that was funded by NEA, Conservatives freak out, NEA requires "Obscenity Oath"

NEA and Supreme Court

four artists challenged Obscenity Oath, SC allows Oath because it’s the government's money and can do what they want

Decency clause

added to the NEA, obscenity Oath

Trump administration restrictions

can’t prompt DEI or gender ideology, moving to eliminate NEA

Drag queen/king

gender performance for the purpose of entertainment

The Stonewall Riots

kickstarts the gay rights movement, Stonewall Inn gets raided by police and riots break out

Pansy Craze

highly visible gay (+ drag) performance scene in nightclubs

Camp

a style of comedy, wonderfully terrible, terribly wonderful, ironic, celebrate the artificial, means of subculture communication