- Popular Musical Theater in America

Catalog description

Broadway musical might seem like toe-tapping, tourist-trapping escapism. But many musicals have used comedy, music, dance and fantasies to issue serious social commentary for audiences. This course will examine a variety of shows from the 1940s through the present, considering both the development and evolution of musical/dramatic conventions and examining shows through lenses of gender, race, exoticism, and historiography to better understand the cultural work these shows have performed in American history. Students will study a show in depth each week and conduct their own research on a show of their choosing.