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Gender, Sex, and Sexuality in Musical Theatre

He/She/They Could Have Danced All Night
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Gender, Sex, and Sexuality in Musical Theatre is a dynamic collection that challenges the simplistic and heteronormative perceptions of musical theatre. This volume features insights from established and emerging scholars who explore the intricate intersections of gender and desire within the form. The book examines famous productions such as Hamilton and Spring Awakening, as well as overlooked works like Erin Markey’s A Ride on The Irish Cream and Kirsten Childs’s Bella: An American Tall Tale. Through lenses of race, nation, dance, casting, and politics, it reveals the deep-rooted gendered complexities beneath musical theatre’s seemingly conservative exterior.
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Format: Hardback
$25799
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for scholars, students, and fans of musical theatre interested in gender studies and cultural criticism. This book suits those seeking to deepen their understanding of how sexuality and gender shape theatrical storytelling and performance. It appeals to readers curious about the social and political contexts influencing musical theatre’s form and history.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

This new collection brings together the romance, love, and lust encompassing the musical genre. Established and emergent scholars wrestle with gender, sex, and sexuality across methodologies, periods, identities, and nations as they dig into a cultural site many have framed as one of the most culturally conservative theatrical forms. 10 b&w illus.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Established and emerging musical theatre scholars wrestle with the complexities of the gendered and sexualised musical theatre form.

Critics and fans alike often mistake theatrical song and dance as simplistic, heteronormative, and traditional. This collection troubles this over-idealised notion of musical theatre, tackling divas, chorus boys, and the Rockettes; hit shows such as Hamilton and Spring Awakening; and lesser-known but groundbreaking gems like Erin Markey’s A Ride on The Irish Cream and Kirsten Childs’s Bella: An American Tall Tale.

The book takes a broad look at musical theatre across a range of intersecting lenses including race, nation, form, dance, casting, marketing, pedagogy, industry, stardom, politics, and platform. Undermining the musical form’s conservative façade, scholars drive home the fact that gender and desire have long been at the heart of the musical.

This exciting and vibrant collection of articles takes sex, sexuality, gendered complexity out of the musical’s liner notes and back above the marquee.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Praised for its thorough and engaging analysis, this collection has been highlighted as technically well-founded and highly readable. Reviewers commend the inclusion of diverse perspectives, including Spanish musical theatre, non-binary and trans narratives, and queerness in Broadway marketing. The essays on divas and female stage personalities are noted for their insightful commentary on social constraints placed on women. The volume is recommended for its vibrant scholarly contribution to understanding the gender dynamics in musical theatre.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781789386196

Publisher: Intellect

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 13 March 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Intellect Books

Illustration: 10 Halftones, black and white

Contributors:

  • Edited by Kelly Kessler
  • Edited by Kelly Kessler

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 21.0mm

Width: 170.0mm

Height: 244.0mm

Weight: 762g

Pages: 350

About the Author

Kelly Kessler is a professor of media and cinema studies in the college of communication at DePaul University and author of the books Destabilizing the Hollywood Musical: Music, Masculinity, and Mayhem (2010) and Broadway in the Box: Television's Lasting Love Affair with the Musical (2020). Kessler’s research explores the porous borders of gender and genre, often focusing on the musical across performance platforms and the mainstreaming of lesbian identity.

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