Tag Archives: musical

Ragtime and its Haitian Ties

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Audra McDonald – Your Daddy's Son Lyrics | Genius Lyrics

Ragtime is a syncopated musical style that was evolved by African American musicians which peaked between the 1890’s and 1910’s. It was often played on the piano with accented accompaniment. Ragtime regained popularity once again in the early 20th century through composers such as Scott Joplin, and African American composer and pianist. Ragtime is at times associated with jazz, however an argument is made that due to the absence of improvisation, it cannot be considered jazz. The presence of the ragtime phenomenon has made an impact on the composition and entertainment industry for over a century. Although African American musicians played a large role in the culture surrounding ragtime, their community was also made to feel insulted due to the minstrel show tendencies that became popularly associated with it.

In class we covered "Alexander's Ragtime Band"<1> which is a song by Irving Berlin released in 1911 and was his first major hit. There was later a musical film released named after it, telling the story of a boy who pursues a career in ragtime instead of a more respected form of music. The 20th century Broadway production Ragtime the Musical Another gained popularity. One of the songs projected in the musical is "Your Daddy's Son" and can be found at minute at 3:42 on the Audio CD of Ragtime: The Musical, which tells the heart wrenching story of a mother who buries her child in the ground after the father of her baby leaves her.<2>

Haiti being a predominantly African descent population at approximately 95 percent, has also been impacted through the outreach of ragtime.<3> The US relations with Haiti from 1915 reached political measures when President Woodrow Wilson had Haiti sign a treaty "that would protect foreign lives and property during Haiti's fifth revolution in four years" and discuss the Haitians take on the political atmosphere at the time. Music itself can be seen to have a powerful impact of nations such as Haiti and the African American population in which in resides. <4>

  1. “Alexander’s Ragtime Band.” n.d. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Accessed November 2, 2023. https://www.loc.gov/item/jukebox-130931/.<1 >
  2. McNally, Terrence, Lynn Ahrens, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Peter Friedman, Marin Mazzie, Audra McDonald, Mark Jacoby, David Loud, John Mauceri, and E. L. Doctorow. Ragtime : the Musical. New York, N.Y: RCA Victor, 1998.<2>
  3. WEISBERGER, BA. RAGTIME DIPLOMACY + UNITED-STATES INVOLVEMENT IN HAITI IN THE EARLY-20TH-CENTURY. American Heritage. Vol. 45. NEW YORK: Amer Heritage Subscription Dept, 1994.<3>
  4. Weisberger, Bernard A. Ragtime Diplomacy. American Heritage. Vol. 45. New York: American Heritage Publishing Company, 1994.<4>

Broadway Musicals, Mixed Race Identity, and Internalized Racism

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Up until 1967 and the Loving vs. Virginia court case, interracial marriages were deemed illegal in the United States. This does not mean that interracial relations did not occur prior to this time. There is in fact a long history of interracial relations in the United States, many of which come along with much trauma, particularly in the history of white, male slave masters raping their black female slaves. That being said, views supporting anti-miscegenation are what allowed for interracial marriages to remain illegal until so recently. As seen in the newspaper article below, anti-miscegenation groups with the soul purpose of preventing interracial marriages were not uncommon. Much of anti-miscegenation is based in the idea of white supremacy and the sentiment that white racial purity must be upheld.

Segment from the San Francisco Bulletin in 1886

Living in a society rooted in white supremacy has enormous effects on mixed race individuals, particularly in contributing towards feelings of internalized racism. Internalized racism is when an individual feels a sense of low self worth and negative attitudes about their own race as a consequence of being a part of a racist society. This feeling is particularly prominent among mixed race individuals, especially those of both a minority and non-minority racial group. Combining this with the history of anti-miscegenation beliefs and laws contributes to a prevalence of internalized racism within mixed race individuals.

Anna and King Mongkut of Siam in “The King and I”

Chris and Kim in “Miss Saigon”

There are a variety of Broadway shows that highlight relationships between a white individual and a person of color. These shows include, but are not limited to, Miss Saigon, The King and I, Hairspray, and South Pacific. Interracial relationships within these musicals are consistently portrayed as “unconventional.” Additionally, the white individual is usually portrayed in an idealized manner whereas the person of color is portrayed as the “other”. In both Miss Saigon and The King and I, the interracial relationships occur because the white individual travels to either Vietnam or Siam. What is not acknowledged, however, is that this global connectedness occurs because of colonial/imperialist history. In Miss Saigon, Chris goes to Vietnam because of the U.S involvement in the Vietnam war. In The King and I,  Anna goes to Siam to give the King’s children a European education, something that would not be necessary if it were not for the history of colonialism. Thus from the beginning of the relationships, there is a power dynamic created. There is a sense of superiority established of the white person in the relationship merely because of their white identity. It is possible that mixed race people relate to these relationships because they parents of differing races. These relationship portrayals would likely have a negative effect upon these individuals’ psyches, particularly if one of their parents is white. This is because it emphasizes the superiority of the white parent, which has a strong likelihood of contributing to feelings of internalized racism against their non-white race. The fact that these issues are augmented even in Broadway musicals shows how normal it is for mixed race individuals to be bombarded with reminders of white superiority, making internalized racism seem almost inescapable. 

Sources:

“Anti-Miscegenation Movement. Organization in Louisiana to Prevent the Intermarriage of Whites and Blacks.” San Francisco Bulletin (San Francisco, CA), September 30, 1886.

“Loving vs. Virginia: A Documentary Novel of the Landmark Civil Rights Case.” Publishers Weekly 263, no. 46 (2016): 57.

Matthew Murphy, Alistair Brammer and Eva Noblezada, print, 2017. http://www.playbill.com/article/enter-for-your-chance-to-see-miss-saigons-last-performance-on-broadway.

McDowell, T., Ingoglia, L., Serizawa, T., Holland, C. (2005). Raising Multiracial Awareness in Family Therapy Through Critical Conversations. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 31(4), 399-411.

The King and I, print, 2017. http://www.broadwaysd.com/upcoming-events/rodgers-hammerstein-king-and-i/.

It’s Musical Theater! So it’s ok… right?

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Screen Shot 2015-04-21 at 3.41.47 PMThis week we have the great opportunity to delve into the history of our community at St. Olaf by looking through the well preserved archives of the college’s student newspaper, the Manitou Messenger. The “Mess” as it is often referred to by current students captures events on campus and student news ranging from academia to athletics and yes, music. From our class discussion on American musical theater, I thought it would be interesting to look into the history of our theater department and it’s musical productions and my search yielded an article about the St. Olaf performance of Gypsy in 1987.

gypsy merm Gypsy, a 1959 musical with book written by Arthur Laurents, music by Jule Styne, andlyrics by Stephen Sondheim, is based on the life of Gypsy Rose Lee (1914-1970). Rose Lee was an entertainer who specialized in burlesque, a style of dramatization intended to cause laughter.  The musical centers of Gypsy’s mother who attempts to turn one of her daughters into a Vaudville star.  Rose, Gypsy’s mother, eventually convinces her younger daughter Louise to do a striptease on stage which catapults her into fame. Louise soon becomes known as “Gypsy Rose Lee” and eventually rejects her mother’s assistance in her ascent to stardom.

Our course this semester we have talked about a wide array of political and societal issues concerning American music and musical theater is no exception. Setting a story to music and then putting that story on stage adds multiple layers for contention.  Women in music has been a common point of interest for the course and Gypsy puts a controversial topic at center stage. Director Patrick Quade stated that “the production has accepted the responsibility of trying to avoid offending people” when asked about the musical’s touchy subject. The arts often provide the opportunity to push the envelope and Quade certainly took that opportunity.  My favorite quotation from Professor Quade addresses the controversy directly as he states: “why are we doing a play that treats women as sexual objects?… This aspect of the musical is part of American history, and you don’t wipe out history.” For Patrick Quade, the purpose of putting on a production of the musical Gypsy was not to spark an uproar, but to spark a conversation. Examining musical theater and the progression of musicals as a form of entertainment provides a hefty amount of insight into not only the musical style of the time period, but also the issues of the era. These conflicts are preserved though the musical work and provide the unique opportunity to serve as entertainment and as an educational tool with each production.

References

Brown, Dave. “Musical Comedy “Gypsy” Opens Thursday.” Manitou Messenger, November 6, 1987, Lifestyle/Arts sec. Accessed April 21, 2015.

Recreating Jewish Identity in the postwar era: Is Fiddler on the Roof Jewish enough?

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Zero Mostel with ensemble in F... Digital ID: psnypl_the_5222. New York Public Library

Zero Mostel and ensemble in the original Broadway musical, Fiddler on the Roof (1964)1

After World War II, American Jews felt an increase in security and prosperity. There was a general decline in anti-semitism and an increase in political power. In parallel, many Jews pushed to assimilate economically, culturally, and symbolically in America.2 In the making of the 1964 musical, initially investors, particularly Jewish investors, feared the show would be considered “too ethnic,” meaning “too Jewish.” Later, with Rosie O’Donnell starring in the 2004 Broadway revival, it wasn’t Jewish enough.3

The story focuses on Tevye and his attempts to maintain his Jewish religious and cultural traditions, while outside influences encroach upon his family’s lives. He is forced to cope with the strong-willed actions of his three older daughters, who marry for love instead of following the matchmaker, Yente’s choice. Each daughter’s husband moves further away from the customs of Tevye’s faith and the edict the Tsar has made that evicts Jews from their village.

I find this storyline to be perfect for a postwar hit in line with the recreating of Jewish identity. Jews in America are no longer concerned with security and genocide, and therefore must come to terms with their faith–often questioning God, their faith, Jewish law as is seen in Tevye’s character.

I think this is clearly seen by the opening song, Tradition, which explains the traditional roles and social classes in Anatevka and the villagers trying to continue their traditions and keep their society running as the world around them changes. This echoes the real-life struggle to reshape Jewish identity in the postwar era in America.

In an interview with the original Tevye, Zero Mostel, he describes Tevye as “universal…he has no nationality, because he symbolizes the underprivelaged in every country– no matter what adversary he meets, he just puffs up his chest and goes on.”4 Even in Barbara Isenberg’s Tradition!: The Highly Improbable, Ultimately Triumphant Broadway-to-Hollywood Story of Fiddler on the Roof, the World’s Most Beloved Musical, she writes

“Fiddler has become a sort of tabula rasa for terrorism, repression, and prejudice that seems eternally pertinent. Warning that “horrible things are happening all over the land” could apply to Nazi Germany, Vietnam, or Iraq as much as to pre-revolutionary Russia…If you are running a theater and you want to make money, Fiddler is a shoe-in: It’s a show people always want to see.” It’s a little like saying diamonds are pretty because they sparkle.”5

There seems to be quite a debate between Fiddler being too Jewish by creating a story centering around Jews so soon after World War II. But also and I think more so, that Fiddler isn’t Jewish enough because Jews (like the investors) wanted to tame the Jewishness of the show in order to appeal to a wide audience. Ultimately, the goal any Broadway is to sell tickets and fill seats. Perhaps though in the process of selling seats and appeasing a wide audience, much of Sholem Aleichem’s original story may have been misinterpreted and/or misrepresented.

1 http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchdetail.cfm?trg=1&strucID=1894114&imageID=psnypl_the_5222&word=Fiddler%20on%20the%20Roof&s=1&notword=&d=&c=&f=&k=1&lWord=&lField=&sScope=&sLevel=&sLabel=&sort=&total=13&num=0&imgs=20&pNum=&pos=7

2 Ciment, James. “The Meaning of Jewishness.” Postwar America: An Encyclopedia of Social, Political, Cultural, and Economic History. New York: Routledge, 2015

3 Isenberg, Barbara. Too Jewish?: The Making of Fiddler on the Roof. Los Angeles: St. Martin’s Press, 2014

4 Stang, Joanne. “At Home With Tevye.” New York Times (1923-Current File), Oct 04, 1964. http://search.proquest.com/docview/115569663?accountid=351.

5 Isenberg, Barbara. Too Jewish?: The Making of Fiddler on the Roof. Los Angeles: St. Martin’s Press, 2014