The Gospel of Musical Theatre
Episodes
Friday Jun 18, 2021
1.4 South Pacific!
Friday Jun 18, 2021
Friday Jun 18, 2021
This week, we continue with our deep dive into Rodgers & Hammerstein with South Pacific (1949) – their first “big hit” and a pioneering (but problematic) look at the deeply-embedded racism of white Americans during World War II.
We talk about:
Mary Martin, Enzo Pinza, and how Rodgers and Hammerstein created a love story where two characters never have to sing together.
The phenomenon of the Second World War and how Rodgers and Hammerstein began to craft a new mythology out the American experience of that war.
What it means for white Americans to be "carefully taught" to fear and discriminate against those who are not white.
Oscar Hammerstein’s social agenda, his early training in faith and religion, and how South Pacific embodies his theology of social change.
You’ll hear:
Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza in the Original Broadway Cast Recording (1949) singing "Twin Soliloquies" and "Some Enchanted Evening."
Matthew Morrison singing "You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught" from the 2008 Broadway Revival recording
Continue the conversation with Peter (@pgeinvan) and Nathan (@nathan_lerud) on Twitter, and follow the Gospel of Musical Theatre on Instagram or Twitter @gospelofmt!
Friday Jun 04, 2021
1.3 Carousel!
Friday Jun 04, 2021
Friday Jun 04, 2021
We're taking a critical look at the 1945 masterpiece Carousel – maybe Rodgers & Hammerstein’s finest score, but a show that definitely hasn't aged well. What can contemporary audiences do with Julie Jordan and Billy Bigelow and their complicated and violent relationship?
We talk about...
Billy and Julie’s complicated relationship and the idea of the “conditional love song
The myth of redemptive suffering – and Carousel's theatrical depiction of the afterlife
Are we more than our worst choices?
Is it true that “you’ll never walk alone?”
Can a problematic show with a gorgeous score be “redeemed” for contemporary audiences?
You'll hear this music from the 1956 film version of Carousel:
Shirley Jones & Claramae Turner singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone”
Shirley Jones singing “If I Loved You”
Barbara Ruick, Claramae Turner, Robert Rounseville & Cameron Mitchell singing “This Was a Real Nice Clambake”
Continue the conversation with Peter (@pgeinvan) and Nathan (@nathan_lerud) on Twitter, and follow the Gospel of Musical Theatre on Instagram or Twitter @gospelofmt!