Gabriel Astruc (1864-1938), a French impresario of Jewish background, is mostly known for his collaborative work as an impresario with Sergei Diaghilev and his Ballets Russes. His role within Parisian musical culture at the fin de siècle, however, was much broader. He was a critic, creator of a leading periodical, producer of musical and circus events, music publisher, and associate of many important cultural figures of his day. Although Astruc has been mentioned in scholarly literature, his multifaceted activities have never been carefully studied. Following the revisionist initiatives of previous scholars (e.g., Pasler, Huebner, Garafola, Fauser), this project offers a new understanding of Parisian cultural life between 1880 and 1913. Rather than focusing on valued composers such as Debussy or selected avant-garde repertoire, this dissertation considers the panoramic perspective of the Parisian cultural milieu as understood by a well-positioned impresario who participated in diverse, but often intersecting, music circles. It reveals rich interconnections between Astruc’s entrepreneurial, managerial, and publishing endeavors that linked private fêtes and soirées that he produced in elite homes with his ambitious concert series, La Grande Saison de Paris, 1905-1913 – organized through his firm La Sociéte Musicale – and with compositions and contents published in Musica, the magazine he co-founded in 1902. It questions Astruc’s aesthetic preferences and argues that he helped to shape Parisian culture through the promotion, publication, and programming of balanced, eclectic repertoire of new and old, national and international, and light as well as weighty works. This study also chronicles the development of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Astruc’s culminating project that was intended to embrace symphonic, operatic, and chamber performance and to experiment with new juxtapositions and integrations of the arts. Research for this dissertation centered on a compilation and a comparative analysis of wide-ranging materials found in Astruc’s collections at the Archives Nationales and New York Public Library. Unlike earlier studies of fin-de-siècle Paris, this project utilizes previously unexamined publications, musical criticism, published literature, and manuscript material, all originating from or related to Astruc’s diverse activities and observations.

This dissertation introduces contemporary circus as a type of dramatic art. The work thus provides a basic framework for the analysis of contemporary circus and suggests a terminology for the designation of its specific traits. This terminology is derived first and foremost from the Czech theatre studies environment. The theoretical delineation of contemporary circus stems from selected theses from Otakar Zich's The Aesthetics of Dramatic Art and Erika Fischer-Lichte's The Transformative Power of Performance: A New Aesthetics. Contemporary circus, which is depicted as belonging to several discourses - historical, aesthetic, cultural policy and pedagogical, is described from a formal as well as content-focused point of view in order to best point out how the circus element changes and takes on meaning in relation to its theatrical counterpart. The thesis is subdivided into five parts. The introduction outlines the key theme, goals and methodology as well as terminology and theories which provide the work with a suitable point of departure. The Contemporary and Traditional Circus chapter describes the history and development of traditional as well as contemporary circus in selected countries (France, Canada, USA, Scandinavia) which are considered significant within the context of circus arts...

It is now well-known that The King and I has little claim to truth. Recent research has exposed the inaccuracy of the “biographical” works on which the musical is based: Anna Leonowens invented many things about her personal background and experiences. Much of her life, then, is a contrived fantasy. Yet her life of fantasy has been resurrected in countless adaptations, including the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical and its 2015 revival production, that ceaselessly draw audiences. The fascination of American audiences with Anna’s tale lies their belief in the timeless American ideals that her fantasy employs: those of freedom and equality, which undergird such myths as American exceptionalism and American multiculturalism. The appeal of this cultural fantasy is illuminated by examining the history of the Cold War era in which The King and I was created, as well as the politics of President Trump that define recent years and influence the creation and reception of the revival show (and its 2016-2018 national tour). America today is occupied by the same conflicting desires for integration/internationalism and isolationism of bygone times; today, the idea of a superior America is still upheld by a fear of the Other. Examining how the visual elements, songs, and performances of the original and revival musicals both reinforce and undermine the fantasy of cultural superiority will reveal how Americans continue to fall under the spell of fantasy, and how a connection to the past sheds light on what it means to be an American today.

Depuis plus d’un siècle, la Grèce antique ne cesse d’éblouir philosophes et hommes de lettre en Occident. La tragédie occupe une place éminente dans cet émerveillement venu de l’Athènes du Ve siècle avant Jésus-Christ. C’est pour matérialiser cette fascination que ce théâtre a donné lieu à des interprétations de tout genre : philosophique, humaniste, politique et morale... Il s’agit de lectures idéologiques dont la tragédie en général et Sophocle en particulier a fait l’objet. Dans cette perspective, il importait d’effectuer un panorama des lectures de cette tragédie devenue un mythe contemporain. L’oeuvre de Sophocle a servi d’illustration à la visée idéologique d’un théâtre qui s’intégrait à l’origine dans le cadre des manifestations culturelles en l’honneur de Dionysos à Athènes. Y avait-il lieu d’universaliser et d’immortaliser ces interprétations, fruits de l’imaginaire occidental ? Fallait-il continuer la réincarnation des personnages de Sophocle qui aurait avec son Antigone et son OEdipe-roi réussi à élaborer des modèles inimitables de la tragédie et de l’existence de l’homme ? C’est pour questionner cette vision de Sophocle qu’il semble nécessaire d’exploiter les éléments esthétiques (chant, musique) de cette tragédie qui offrent de nouvelles pistes de réflexion en porte-à-faux avec la lecture idéologique observée dans la critique contemporaine. / For over a century the ancient Greek philosophers have amazed men of letters in the West. Since thefifth century BC tragedy as a genre has occupied a prominent place in Athens and through theatre this fascination has given rise to interpretations of all kinds: philosophical, humanistic, political and moral. These ideological readings of tragedy have most significantly focused on Sophocles. This dissertation offers a survey of these readings which have in time become contemporary myths. Sophocles’ works are ideologically embedded within cultural spectacle honoring Dionysus in Athens. Was it necessary to universalize and immortalize these western interpretations and reincarnate Sophocles’ characters, making Antigone and Oedipus Rex inimitable models of tragedy and mortal existence? This study proposes a critical reading of the Sophoclean vision of tragedy through an analysis of certain aesthetic elements (song, music) which allow a rethinking of the ideological readings observed in contemporary criticism

Concentrating on six plays in the 1610s, this thesis explores the ways theatrical visual effects described as “strange” channel the period’s moral anxieties about rhetoric, technology, and scepticism. It contributes to debates in repertory studies, textual and material culture, intellectual history, theatre history, and to recent revisionist considerations of spectacle. I argue that “strange” spectacle has its roots in the materialisation of morality: the presentation of moral ideas not as abstract concepts but in physical things. The first part of my PhD is a detailed study of early modern moral philosophy, scepticism, and material and textual culture. The second part of my thesis concentrates on Shakespeare’s Cymbeline (1609-10) and The Tempest (1611), John Webster’s The White Devil (1612), and Thomas Heywood’s first three Age plays (1611-13). These spectacular plays are all written and performed within the years 1610-13, a period in which the changes, challenges, and developments in both stage technology and moral philosophy are at their peak. I set these plays in the context of the wider historical moment, showing that the idiosyncrasy of their “strange” stagecraft reflects the period’s interest in materialisation and its attendant moral anxieties. This thesis implicitly challenges some of the conclusions of repertory studies, which sometimes threatens to hierarchise early modern theatre companies by seeing repertories as indications of audience taste and making too strong a divide between, say, “elite” indoor and “citizen” outdoor playhouses. It is also aligned with recent revisionist considerations of spectacle, and I elide divisions in criticism between interest in original performance conditions, close textual analysis, or historical-contextual readings. I present “strangeness” as a model for appreciating the distinct aesthetic of these plays, by reading them as part of their cultural milieu and the material conditions of their original performance.

French Canadian playwright Joseph Armand Leclaire (1888-1931) was very well known and respected in his time. Although he wrote over thirty plays, lyrics to several songs and an abundance of political poems, most of his work has been lost and Leclaire himself seems to have been forgotten. Several of his plays were produced at the time they were written, including his 1916 play La petite maîtresse de l'école (later published in 1929 as Le petit maître d'école), but none have been presented postumously nor have any been translated. This M. F. A. thesis presents the first ever translation and adpatation of Leclaire's play, titled in English as The Little Schoolmaster. The first half of the thesis provide historical context for the play's significance, as well as information about Armand Leclaire and the changes he made to his own work between the original 1916 version and the 1929 published version. The thesis then analyses the creative acts of translation and adaptation, proposing a new model of translation for a linguistically rich audience. Through this new model of translation-adaptation for a bilingual spectrum, the thesis concludes by demonstrating that dramaturgy can serve as a dynamic instrument for communities to engage in the exploration of bilingual and bicultural identity.

Many events of the gold rush have been adequately narrated in numerous books and articles. The succeeding pages in this thesis will recall, historically by topic, important incidents of one phase of that period never before treated as a separate study that phase is the theatre of the Mother Lode region. The argonauts of the Mother Lode wanted to be entertained and could pay for it. Many preferred the saloon and gamboling hall, but the theatre did not languish because of this, and in fact, developed in some instances directly out of the saloons and fandango halls. It was the purpose of this study (1) to present the history of the theatre of the Mother Lode during that portion of the gold rush period of the decade 1851-1861; (2) to show who some of the notable thespians were; (3) to describe the modes of transportation used; (4) to give historical accounts of the buildings used for, or built for, theatres; (5) to review some of the plays and performances offered; and (6) to show the influence of the audiences' reactions to the bill of theatrical fare.

This thesis addresses the theatrical establishment in Kristinehamn during the long 19th century, with notable focus between the years 1835-1902. The thesis seeks to identify an overall picture of the theatrical influence in the city through an understanding of theatrical occurrences during the chosen timeline. Through Pierre Bourdieu’s cultural capital, the thesis aims to uncover to whom the theatrical establishment was targeted. Finally, a comparative aspect can present itself by comparing the results with previously established theater-historical research. Thus, the thesis can add to the already existing understanding of the theatrical historical research from a local perspective.     The approach is divided amongst three different research questions, all of which has one or more methods applied to them. The methods consist of both qualitative and quantitative aspects. When comparing the local perspective with the broader, national one, an abductive method has been used to identify the similarities or differences between results. The source material has been gathered from three main sources: the collections of Linus Brodin, Kristinehamns’ image archive and theatre advertisements or reviews from local daily newspapers. Brodins’ archive consists of an assortment of different types of documents, such as plays, Bills of Sales, stock letters or posters. The advertisements have been found through computer-assisted analysis via the National Library of Sweden’s database for digitalized newspapers.     The study gave extensive results that give satisfying answers to the formed research questions. Kristinehamn constructed theatres during two different occurrences, once in 1835, which then burned to the ground during the great fire in 1893, and then later in the year 1902. The city closely follows the results of previous theatre historical research, especially when comparing the results to the nearby city of Karlstad. There are just a few exceptions when it comes to a lack of visits from certain popular directors or in how some theatre administrative boards were built up. There were plenty of traveling theatre companies that visited the city, which performed a minimum of 268 different plays throughout the research period. The most popular genre was by far different variations of comedy. There is backing evidence for the theory that Kristinehamn consisted of two different culture practicing groups, the Cultural Elite, and the Cultural Novice: though the distinctions between them from decennium to decennium are vague. The results do show a clear indication that the theatre as a medium for both entertainment and practicing got more and more accessible throughout the 19th century. / Denna uppsats behandlar Kristinehamns teaterverksamhet under det långa 1800-talet, med särskilt fokus mellan åren 1835–1902. Studiens syfte är att analysera historiska skeenden för att skapa en helhetsbild utav teaterlivet i Kristinehamn samt genom Pierre Bourdieus kapitalbegrepp undersöka hur tillgänglig teatern var för den bredare massan. Utöver detta ämnar undersökningen även föra en komparativ aspekt, där resultaten ställs mot tidigare teaterhistorisk forskning. Studien bidrar således till den teaterhistoriska forskningen utifrån ett lokalhistoriskt perspektiv.         Arbetssättet för genomförandet av undersökningen är uppdelad utefter tre forskningsfrågeställningar. Samtliga frågeställningar har applicerats en eller flera metoder. Dessa metoder består av både kvalitativ analys av källmaterialet samt kvantitativa framställningar. Ytterligare en metod som använts i undersökningen är den abduktiva forskningsmetoden som använts för att ställa undersökningsresultatet mot ett större sammanhang. Källmaterialet består av insamlat material från Linus Brodins samlingar i Föreningsarkivet i Värmland, från Kristinehamns bildarkiv samt från teaterannonser och recensioner i dagspress från Kristinehamn. Linus Brodins samlingar innehåller bland annat köpekontrakt, lottbrev, affischer och manus. Annonserna har framtagits genom att applicera ett kodschema för sökning i Kungliga bibliotekets databas för svenska dagstidningar.     Undersökningen gav ett mycket omfattande resultat som på gott vis besvarar samtliga tre forskningsfrågeställningar. Kristinehamn lät uppföra teaterhus vid två olika tillfällen, ett 1835 som brann ned i stadsbranden 1893, samt ett annat teaterhus år 1902. Staden följer tidigare teaterhistorisk forskning nära, särdeles med den närliggande staden Karlstad. Några få undantag gällande populära besökande direktörer eller sammansättning av teaterbolag existerar. De kringresande teatersällskapen var många och gav ett minimum på 268 olika pjäser genom undersökningsperioden. Den mest populära genren var komedin. Det finns underlag för att kategorisera Kristinehamnarnas kulturutövare i två fack, kultureliten respektive kulturnovisen; men kategoriseringen av dessa från decennium till decennium är diffus. Dock visar resultatet att teatern blev alltmer tillgänglig för fler och fler personer under 1800-talets gång.

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It is the purpose of this thesis to present the research, planning, and actual production procedures of the play entitled Harriet, as written by Florence Ryerson and Colin Clements. This is the production which was originally done by Gilbert Miller at Henry Miller's Theatre in 1943 with Miss Helen Hayes in the title role.