The integrated musical is a vehicle for the creation and communication of a national identity, created through the use of coded performances of gender and, at times, rural settings conceptualized as essentially “American.” There is, however, little research about the ways in which gender operates in rural settings in musical theatre, or the ways in which rural gender identities are utilized to communicate nationalist ideologies. This thesis seeks to address this gap in research by examining three contemporary American musicals – Carrie, Violet, and The Spitfire Grill – in light of both American musical theatre conventions surrounding gender performance and contemporary theory around gender, rurality, and intersectional rural gender identities. This thesis ultimately suggests that an approach to rural gender in musical theatre grounded in a specific physical and cultural moment and location is best equipped to both honor the narratives of rural communities and propagate appropriately complex narratives of national identity.

American Idiot, the Broadway musical by the band Green Day and theater veteran Michael Mayer, embodies the experience of a generation of Americans. The story revolves around youths coming of age during the presidency of George W. Bush, living through the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, two wars, ever increasing media and technology saturation, and a breakdown of the suburban ideal. As the primary theme and the driving force in the dramatic action of American Idiot, the characters’ internal struggle between rage and love is reinforced through several devices present in the music. There are four notable ones. First, allusion to a variety of rock styles and songs highlight themes of disillusionment, alienation, and false hope. Second, the use of recurring musical material draws connections in the storyline, promotes continuity, and creates foreshadowing. Third, the modification of songs from their original versions reinforce dramatic climaxes, and fourth, the use of specific styles to represent characters adds to their depth and significance. In order to provide context for the musical, this thesis will examine some of its antecedents and influences. The three most important of these are the history of Green Day and its members, the position of American Idiot in the rock opera genre, and the transformation of the original 2004 album into the 2010 Broadway musical. Finally, an examination of youth and suburbia in America at the turn of the twenty-first century will demonstrate the connection to themes expressed in the narrative of American Idiot.

In an age of standardized testing and quality-controlled classrooms, teachers have lost the freedom to integrate imagination and creativity in their lessons, ultimately cheating today’s youth. In the classroom, students no longer have the outlets that transport them from the harsh realities of life. This thesis is an attempt to provide a venue for the Orange County Public School System that will engage the imaginations of under-represented or underprivileged students. The thesis will chronicle the development of a script with the intent of producing it in Title I elementary schools located in lower socio-economic areas of Orlando, Florida. The script will be based on Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tale “The Ugly Duckling.” The final product will be a musical theatre piece to take into the school system to be performed by the students. The body of the thesis will contain my prior experiences of bringing musical theatre to underprivileged youth. The document will also include chapters detailing the process of creating the script and composing the music. Research will determine the socio-economic challenges prevalent in the under-represented cultures in the urban schools of Orlando. Finally, the thesis will contain a section of the actual script and will conclude with a chapter summarizing the reactions to the first reading of the play

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RENT: A Director's Process describes the process a director undergoes in the creation of a piece of theater. It uses as its example Temple Theaters' 2010 production of RENT, and it examines how an MFA thesis production encapsulates the material garnered over three years' intensive study in a conservatory setting of the art and craft of directing. It explores the methodologies behind the pre-production process, including concept, approach, design, and casting, and continues into the production process, including rehearsal and performance. This thesis suggests a method of directing that is based on a formal approach, and shows this method to be as applicable to populist styles, such as musical theater, as it is to more experimental forms. / Theater

This dissertation examines the role of speech inflection in the composition of melodies of American musical theatre and investigates how composers approached speech inflection in their work throughout this genre's history. Through analysis of songs and interviews with composers, this dissertation investigates the relevance of speech inflection in the various styles of composition existing on Broadway. The main focus of musical theatre compositions, especially post Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical Oklahoma, is to move the plot along through songs. Therefore, the delivery of the text must be of ultimate consideration in the writing of modern musicals. A well-written speech-melody facilitates the process of a speech-melody-interpretation, which will result in the delivery of lyrics with an understandable, natural sounding quality. This investigation happens through a chronologic evaluation of the relevance of speech inflection during each of the distinct phases on Broadway, as well as an examination of the approach to writing with a speech-melody focus of each individual composer throughout history. This study explores the importance of speech inflection in American musical theatre songwriting focusing on a speech-melody approach to composition. / by Ana Flavia Zuim. / Vita. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2012. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

The English semi-opera, Psyche (1675), written by Thomas Shadwell, with music by Matthew Locke, was thought at the time of its performance to be a mere copy of Psyche (1671), a French tragedie-ballet by Moliere, Pierre Corneille, and Philippe Quinault, with music by Jean- Baptiste Lully. This view, accompanied by a certain attitude that the French version was far superior to the English, continued well into the twentieth century. This view is misleading; although the English play was adapted from the French, both were representative of two well-developed native theatrical traditions. Therefore, though there are certain parallels, both in plot and in the subject matter of some musical numbers, the differences in structure, both of the drama and of the music, are more significant. This thesis is a comparative study of the two plays, analyzing both their dramatic and musical structures, and examining them both from the context of the two theatrical traditions. It is concluded that the literary approach to tragedy of French theater resulted in the separation of drama and music, the latter relegated to the prologue, or to end-of-act diversions called intercedes. This allowed Lully to have great control over his music, and in Psyche (1671), he was concerned with the form of each intermede as a whole instead of striving for a variety of forms and ensembles within individual songs. Most of his songs and dances are solo airs in binary form; he makes little use of chorus and ensembles. On the contrary, the music in Psyche (1675) on many occasions was integrated with the plot, and was scattered randomly throughout the play. This prevented Locke from having artistic control over his compositions; Shadwell, the lyricist, determined where the music would occur, the ensembles to be used, and the moods of songs. Shadwell and Locke were concerned with the variety in each individual piece, rather than with unifying the overall form of musical scenes, and the overwhelming majority of songs have a combination of solo voice, ensembles, and chorus. Therefore, Psyche is not an unoriginal copy, but is a reinterpretation of the myth using the aesthetic of the Restoration tragic theater. / Arts, Faculty of / Music, School of / Graduate

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Desde a virada do século, espetáculos da Broadway, em Nova York, passaram a ser largamente produzidos em São Paulo. No intervalo de pouco mais de uma década, um sistema organizado de produção de musicais instaurou-se na capital paulista. Esta tese tem como objetivo investigar alguns trânsitos teatrais entre essas cidades no início do novo milênio. A pesquisa analisa a maneira pela qual intérpretes atrizes e atores produziam, atualizavam e negociavam as diferenças nos bastidores. O trabalho adotou duas grandes estratégias. Primeiro, realizei uma investigação documental baseada em fontes primárias capaz de identificar os condicionantes sociais, econômicos e simbólicos que contribuíram para tornar os musicais teatralmente verossímeis, economicamente rentáveis e socialmente desejados em São Paulo. Concomitantemente, desenvolvi uma pesquisa de campo em escolas de teatro musical em São Paulo e Nova York, onde verifiquei que, no dia a dia do aprendizado, a interpretação era fundamental para expressar o mundo emotivo interno em cena. Além disso, professores ensinavam que artistas precisavam reconhecer os tipos que os seus corpos lhes permitem ser: quem teria o perfil para ser protagonista em certos espetáculos e quem não teria. Também realizei entrevistas com atrizes e atores brasileiros que viajaram para os Estados Unidos com a intenção de se especializarem como intérpretes. Aos poucos, ficou evidente como sujeitos adotavam uma gramática que qualificava os musicais ora como universais ora como particulares. Por um lado, as emoções entre as pessoas seriam universalmente compartilhadas nas duas cidades, permitindo o trânsito das peças. Por outro lado, os corpos de artistas eram particularmente diferenciados e nem todos tinham perfil para o trabalho. O itinerário dessas peças entre as cidades foi pavimentado por um conjunto intrincado de argumentos que incluía a potencialidade pedagógica das técnicas cênicas, as vantagens econômicas das produções, a comunhão global de emoções e a conquista de um sonho individual de artistas. Em paralelo, em São Paulo, os trajetos sofriam deslocamentos, adaptações, contestações e disputas. Dessa forma, investigo como discursos e práticas acerca da particularidade e da universalidade foram produzidos, reproduzidos, ressignificados, negociados, e, por vezes, recusados pelos sujeitos. As diferenças e semelhanças apareciam nas relações estabelecidas durante as diversas circunstâncias observadas. A pergunta analítica que atravessa toda a tese é: como as diferenças e as semelhanças apareciam nos trânsitos teatrais entre São Paulo e Nova York? / Since the turn of the century, Broadway shows in New York City have come to be largely produced in São Paulo. In less than a decade, an organized system of musical production was established in the capital of the Brazilian State of São Paulo. This thesis purpose is to investigate some theatrical traffic between these cities in the beginning of the new millennium. The research analyses actress and actors way of producing, updating and negotiating the concept of difference in the backstage. The work has adopted two major strategies. First, I pursued a documental investigation based on primary sources to identify the social, economic and symbolic environment that allowed this to become viable. Simultaneously, I have endeavored field research at musical theater schools in São Paulo and New York City. I concluded that, in the daily learning, acting was essential to express the inner emotional world portrayed in scene. Furthermore, teachers instructed artists to recognize the types their bodies allowed them to be: who could be the lead in certain shows and who could not. I have also conducted interviews with Brazilian actress and actors that had travelled to the United States pursuing a career. Slowly, it became evident how subjects adopted a certain grammar that sometimes qualified musicals as universal, while at other times understood them as particular. On one hand, emotions were universally shared between the two cities allowing the traffic of plays. On the other, the performers bodies displayed particular differences and not all embodied the necessary type for the job. An intricate ensemble of arguments that included pedagogic potential of theatrical techniques, economic advantages of productions, global communion of emotions and the artists conquer of their individual dream cemented the plays itinerary between the cities. In parallel, in São Paulo, this discourse suffered displacement, adaptation, defiance and dispute. Thus, I investigate how speech and practices regarding particularity and universality have been produced, reproduced, re-significated, negotiated and, at times, rejected by subjects. Differences and similarities have surfaced in relationships established during the many circumstances observed by this author. The analytical question for the entire thesis is: how differences and similarities emerge in theatrical traffic between São Paulo and New York City?