This thesis looks to explore the musical Cabaret through a critical, historical and political lens, with particular focus on Sally Bowles, questioning the creation and agency of this character in contrast with the political and societal values of various productions. Using a socio-political analysis, this thesis discusses the important relationship between politics and theater, using the pro-choice abortion movements of the 1960's as a way to understand Sally Bowles as a complex device for political and social commentary.

The purpose of this project dissertation was to research, create and assess a hypothetical two-year musical theatre/music theater (MT) curriculum to serve as a model for future implementation at community colleges. As one of the fastest growing and most prolific forms of popular entertainment today, the 21st Century musical is uniquely poised to depict artistically and culturally diverse narratives. Vividly reflecting the sociopolitical context surrounding their production (Kenrick, 2017, p. 2), both new musicals and musical revivals, viewed through a more contemporary lens, may permit increasing employment opportunities for historically minoritized persons. As the relatively new baccalaureate credential in MT increasingly becomes the baseline criteria for entrance to the MT industry, competitive conservatory programs continue to face difficulty in matriculating more inclusive freshman cohorts. The American community college has a long tradition of supporting demographically diverse populations as well as “atypical” learners such as the differently abled, adults returning to school, veterans and first-generation college attendees in the pursuit of vocational training, terminal credentials in the form of a certificate or associate degree, or, increasingly, students aiming to transfer to four-year degree programs. However, accredited, two-year programs dedicated to the study and practice of MT remain virtually nonexistent in the United States, and, due to the relative newness of the discipline as an area of scholarly interest, have little precedent or pedagogic research to guide best practices. To address this need, this project created a two-year program for MT study according to the practical restraints of the State University of New York and Dutchess Community College’s collective guidelines for curricular development, as well as the dual recommendations of the National Association of Schools of Music and National Association of Schools of Theatre. All stages of the project design were subject to peer review by a varied panel of tertiary MT educators and MT practitioners, tasked to assess academic and artistic potential of such a program if formally implemented. Upon conclusion of both formative and summative evaluations, a series of general guidelines for the development of similar programs were generated to inform similar future initiatives within both two-year and four-year settings.

The American musical team John Kander and Fred Ebb created many celebrated works, yet musicologists have carried out little research on those works. This study examines the role of music in the parodic narration of Kander and Ebb's final collaboration, The Scottsboro Boys. Kander and Ebb use minstrelsy to tell the story of the historic Scottsboro Boys trials with actors portraying the Scottsboro Boys as minstrels; at the same time, they employ a number of devices to subvert minstrelsy stereotypes and thereby comment on racism. Drawing on African American literary theory, sociolinguistics, and Bakhtin's dialogism, this study illuminates how Signifyin(g), a rhetorical tradition used to encode messages in some African American communities, is the primary way the actors playing the Scottsboro Boys subvert through minstrelsy. This study not only contributes to the discussion of Signifyin(g) in African American musicals and theatre as a tool of subversion, but also provides an example of non-African American creators—Kander and Ebb—using Signifyin(g) devices. They use these in the music and the book; in particular, Kander and Ebb do some Signifyin(g) on Stephen Foster's plantation melodies.

Responding to and provoked by an America colored by stark political division, tense racial conflict, and the powerful urban narrative of hip hop culture, Hamilton: An American Musical, created by composer/lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda, became the subject of a cultural focus unprecedented in the reception history of an American work of art. Hamilton premièred at a critical time during the Obama presidency, and it squarely confronts the issues lying at the heart of our democracy. Hamilton caught the attention of millions of Americans with little prior interest in Broadway musicals, hip hop, or the performing arts in general, and it stimulated important and timely conversations about race, representation, and American identity. Hamilton asks pressing questions: Who speaks for America? How does the character and biographical narrative of this founding father suggest a new, updated conversation about American history? How do the political sensitivities of audiences determine the commercial and artistic success of a stage work? How does the rap genre operate in conveying Hamilton’s historical content in dramatic terms? How do representations of minorities in popular culture affect the wider perception of the sociopolitical order? To what degree is it possible for the historically-rooted genre of musical theater – often viewed as benign musical pablum for middle-class whites – to advance a public conversation about race and representation in the twenty-first-century? This dissertation first considers these questions through the historical lens of racial depiction in American musical theater, situating Hamilton within a lineage of commercially successful musicals that have used the Broadway stage subversively as a place to challenge the social and racial order. It documents Hamilton’s genesis and the collaborative process of adapting Ron Chernow’s acclaimed biography, then examines Hamilton’s music, its relationship to text and musico-historical resonances, and constructs a theory of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip hop-infused compositional style. Finally, it examines Hamilton’s reception, contemporary political dimensions, and essential ties to the administrations of Barack Obama and Donald Trump, exploring what are often contentious criticisms of the work within the academic and online worlds.

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In the world of Musical Theatre and Opera, it is not acceptable to simply have a pretty voice; you must be able to portray the character you are singing and ground it in reality. Drama in music theatre was highlighted in the Early Romantic Movement by bel canto composers Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti who re-designed the opera scene format to better tell the story. Late Romantic composers, Puccini and Verdi, took it a step further by writing music to compliment the drama of the story. Twentieth- Century Opera singer Maria Callas is admired for her famous portrayals of title roles in Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini operas. Callas combined bel canto vocal technique with her dramatic, realistic acting in her opera roles and revolutionized the art form. Callas stressed the importance of understanding and interpreting text and music with precision, detail, specifics and artistry. Her techniques set the standard for future aspiring singer/actors. In the 1970’s, Callas lost her ability to sing, so she conducted Master Classes at the Julliard School of Music. Her Master Classes were the inspiration for Tony Award-Winning Playwright Terrence McNally’s biographical play, Master Class. The play, Master Class, shows Callas as an overbearing, intimidating diva instructing opera students. The play also contains several vulnerable flashback monologues that break down the layers of Callas’ harshness. McNally’s script shows Callas as a guarded, domineering, and callous woman; however, when she is singing or talking to her lover, she becomes a vulnerable, exposed, and available woman. iv With research and examination of Callas’ life, operatic career, operatic composers, bel canto technique, and music analysis, I wrote an original script to portray the multi-dimensional Callas in a one-woman show featuring famous arias Callas is known for singing

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