Items related to A Problem Like Maria: Gender and Sexuality in the American...
A Problem Like Maria: Gender and Sexuality in the American Musical (Triangulations: Lesbian/Gay/Queer Theater/Drama/Performance) - Hardcover
Subverting assumptions that American musical theater is steeped in nostalgia, cheap sentiment, misogyny, and homophobia, this book shows how musicals of the 1950s and early 1960s celebrated strong women characters who defied the era's gender expectations. A Problem Like Maria reexamines the roles, careers, and performances of four of musical theater's greatest stars-Mary Martin, Ethel Merman, Julie Andrews, and Barbra Streisand-through a lesbian feminist lens. Focusing on both star persona and performance, Stacy Wolf argues that each of her subjects deftly crafted characters (both on and offstage) whose defiance of the norms of mid-twentiethcentury femininity had immediate appeal to spectators on the ideological and sexual margins, yet could still play in Peoria. Chapter by chapter, the book analyzes the stars' best-known and best-loved roles, including Martin as Nellie in South Pacific, Merman as Momma Rose in GypsyAndrews as Eliza in My Fair Lady and Guinevere in Camelot, and Streisand as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl. The final chapter scrutinizes the Broadway and film versions of The Sound of Music, illuminating its place in the hearts of lesbian spectators and the "delicious queerness" of Andrews's troublesome nun. As the first feminist and lesbian study of the American Broadway musical, A Problem Like Maria is a groundbreaking contribution to feminist studies, queer studies, and American studies and a delight for fans of musical theater. Stacy Wolf is Associate Professor of Theatre and Dance, University of Texas, Austin.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Synopsis:
The author surveys the world of tomboys, comedians, and "rebel nuns" who broke the gender stereotype rules on 1950s Broadway, reexamining the careers, roles, and performances of Mary Martin, Ethel Merman, Julie Andrews, and Barbara Streisand from the perspective of lesbian feminism.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherUniversity of Michigan Press
- Publication date2002
- ISBN 10 0472097725
- ISBN 13 9780472097722
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages312
- Rating
Buy New
Learn more about this copy
£ 72.79
Shipping:
£ 3.18
Within U.S.A.
Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace
Stock Image
A Problem like Maria Format: Hardcover
Published by
University of Chicago press
(2002)
ISBN 10: 0472097725
ISBN 13: 9780472097722
New
Hardcover
Quantity: > 20
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: New. Brand New. Seller Inventory # 0472097725
Buy New
£ 72.79
Convert currency
Seller Image
A Problem Like Maria (Hardcover)
Published by
The University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor
(2002)
ISBN 10: 0472097725
ISBN 13: 9780472097722
New
Hardcover
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. Hardcover. Subverting assumptions that American musical theater is steeped in nostalgia, cheap sentiment, misogyny, and homophobia, this book shows how musicals of the 1950s and early 1960s celebrated strong women characters who defied the era's gender expectations. A Problem Like Maria reexamines the roles, careers, and performances of four of musical theater's greatest stars-Mary Martin, Ethel Merman, Julie Andrews, and Barbra Streisand-through a lesbian feminist lens. Focusing on both star persona and performance, Stacy Wolf argues that each of her subjects deftly crafted characters (both on and offstage) whose defiance of the norms of mid-twentiethcentury femininity had immediate appeal to spectators on the ideological and sexual margins, yet could still play in Peoria.Chapter by chapter, the book analyzes the stars' best-known and best-loved roles, including Martin as Nellie in South Pacific, Merman as Momma Rose in GypsyAndrews as Eliza in My Fair Lady and Guinevere in Camelot, and Streisand as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl. The final chapter scrutinizes the Broadway and film versions of The Sound of Music, illuminating its place in the hearts of lesbian spectators and the "delicious queerness" of Andrews's troublesome nun. As the first feminist and lesbian study of the American Broadway musical, A Problem Like Maria is a groundbreaking contribution to feminist studies, queer studies, and American studies and a delight for fans of musical theater.Stacy Wolf is Associate Professor of Theatre and Dance, University of Texas, Austin. The Broadway tomboys, rebel nuns, and funny girls, who upset the 1950s gender norms: Mary Martin, Ethel Merman, Julie Andrews, and Barbra Streisand Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780472097722
Buy New
£ 97.99
Convert currency