The aesthetic development of the rock musical on the New York stage.
Item
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Title
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The aesthetic development of the rock musical on the New York stage.
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Identifier
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AAI3063896
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identifier
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3063896
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Creator
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Wollman, Elizabeth Lara.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Peter L. Manuel
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Date
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2002
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Music | Theater
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Abstract
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Rock music's relationship with the American musical theater has always been an uneasy one. Although rock 'n' roll was introduced in the mid-1950s and became increasingly popular in the following decade, the creators of American musical theater were slow to respond to the genre. Musical theater composers occasionally experimented with rock 'n' roll through the 1950s and 1960s, but it was not until 1967 that Hair, the first critically and commercially successful rock musical, opened in New York City. Despite the impact of Hair, which some critics believed would revolutionize the American musical, there have since been very few successful staged rock musicals.;A primary reason for the marginal status of the rock musical lies within the aesthetic realm. The label "rock musical" contradicts itself, in that a rock musical generally does not offer any "real" rock music, nor does it remain within the narrative confines of the traditional musical. Thus, rock musicals cannot be categorized as "traditional" in their approach to musical theater, or as "authentic" in their approach to rock. In this dissertation, I explore ways in which rock musicals interpret and negotiate aesthetics extant in traditional musicals on the one hand and rock music on the other. I also consider the ways that the rock musical has been influenced over the past three decades by the mass media, sound and recording technology, and the economic developments that have affected New York's theater district as a whole.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
