Destabilizing the Hollywood Musical: Music, Masculinity and Mayhem

Cover......Page 1
Contents......Page 8
List of Figures......Page 10
Acknowledgments......Page 12
Introduction: The Musical and Masculinity Take a Turn for the Ambivalent......Page 16
How did this all happen?—Theoretical, formal, and industrial roots......Page 25
How the arcadias disappeared......Page 38
1 Nothing Is Comin’ Up Roses: The Desertion of Narrative Utopia......Page 42
People won’t say we’re in love—The dissolution of romance......Page 47
The state of community and a utopian future......Page 64
Case study: The narrative of Zoot Suit......Page 67
Conclusion......Page 73
2 On a Clear Day You Can See the Cracks in the Scenery: Visual Reflexivity and Realism Trump Nostalgic Idealism......Page 75
Camerawork and editing: I can see right through you......Page 77
Mise-en-scène: It’s the real deal right here in River City—Well maybe......Page 84
Case study: Tommy’s conjunction of ambivalent narrative and aesthetics......Page 93
Conclusion......Page 100
3 Wanna Sing and Dance? These New Guys Are Ambivalent About It......Page 102
New stars: They laughed, cried, and tried to punch each other’s lights out......Page 106
Wanna sing: Ah, I’m ambivalent about it......Page 117
Ambivalent dance: We didn’t dance all night......Page 127
Case study: Twyla Tharp, rock, no-name stars, and Hair......Page 141
Conclusion......Page 147
4 The New Guard’s Musical Masculinity......Page 148
Performance of masculinity in the arcadian musical......Page 150
Masculine ambivalence is nothing to sing about......Page 154
Conclusion......Page 179
Epilogue: I Could Go On Singing......Page 181
Dancing into the millennium......Page 183
The groovin’ eighties and nineties: Teens and tots......Page 184
The millennial upturn......Page 195
Conclusion......Page 216
Appendix A......Page 219
Notes......Page 232
Bibliography......Page 252
Index......Page 260