THE EMERGENCE OF LESBIANS AND GAY MEN AS CHARACTERS IN PLAYS PRODUCED ON THE AMERICAN STAGE FROM 1922 TO 1954.
Item
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Title
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THE EMERGENCE OF LESBIANS AND GAY MEN AS CHARACTERS IN PLAYS PRODUCED ON THE AMERICAN STAGE FROM 1922 TO 1954.
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Identifier
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AAI8112365
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identifier
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8112365
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Creator
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LIEBERMAN, JOSEPH ALPHONSUS.
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Contributor
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Prof. Stanley A. Waren
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Date
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1981
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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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Theater
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Abstract
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The purpose of this study is to document the emergence of lesbians and gay men as characters in plays produced on the American stage, thereby rectifying an egregious omission in American theatre history. While three dissertations have, in recent years, critically analyzed gay characters in shows produced on the New York stage, none of these studies covered productions seen prior to 1952. This dissertation examines shows--all but one done on Broadway--produced during the period between both Post World War periods.;The genesis, the presentation, and the critical and public reactions to the thirty-two "identified" productions are included in this study, along with a brief resume--whenever possible--of the playscript. A number of interviews with individuals who had been involved with the productions are also included in this work.;The findings of this study show that a 1927 Penal Code prohibition in the statute books of New York State had inhibited playwrights and producers from presenting dramatic depictions of lesbian and gay men as characters in Broadway plays over a period of four decades. Nevertheless, more than one hundred shows with gay roles were seen by New York theatregoers from 1927 until 1967 while the law prohibiting them was still on the state's statute books.;Another finding of this dissertation is that such roles were finally allowed in legitimate theatre productions without risking a court closing or a police raid because activists within the theatre joined with civil libertarians in insisting that the same freedom inherent on the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, which was enjoyed by the printed media, also be allowed the American stage. It was not Gay Liberation familiar to the American public throughout the 1970s, but rather American stage liberation, fought for in the 1930s and 40s, that ended the prohibition of theatrical depictions of the "unrecognized minority.".
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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.
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Program
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Theatre
