“You Won’t Succeed on Broadway…”: Musical Theatre, Jewish Artists, and Narratives of Jewish Cultural History

• In Event: New Perspectives on Jews and the New York Entertainment Business

Abstract

The cultural history of Jewishness is intertwined with the theatre history of New York City, a location where music(al) theatre particularly thrives. We see elements of Jewish cultural history embedded in music(al) theatre in the early twentieth century Yiddish theatre, in coded references in golden age musicals, and, eventually, in the bold portrayal of Jewish characters in later musicals such as FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, CABARET, FALSETTOS, and RAGS. Musical theatre creates narratives of Jewish American identity on the commercial stage.
Andrea Most’s first book, MAKING AMERICANS: JEWS AND THE BROADWAY MUSICAL, conducts an incisive exploration of how Jewish creators of Broadway musicals were using the form to find their way into American life in the first half of the twentieth century.
In my research, I consider how Broadway musicals in the second half of the twentieth century move away from stories of assimilation and crypto Jewish characters and begin to make room for aspects of Jewish cultural history and overtly Jewish characters. In the first half of the twentieth century, there were no overtly Jewish characters in Broadway musicals, despite the prevalence of Jewish creators. However, without the success of Jewish creators in the first half of the twentieth century, it may not have been possible for the creation of so many Jewish characters in musicals in the 1960s and beyond.
This presentation will consider the history of Jewishness and musicals, specifically on Broadway, and trace the evolution of Jewish cultural narratives on the commercial stage. My research begins with a careful consideration of archival documents, theatre reviews, first-hand narratives by the artists, photo and video documentation of the shows. The critical work is accomplished through a careful consideration of the libretto, score, and production history. This multimedia presentation will share archival materials and analysis to offer a broad look at the intersection of Jewish cultural history and Broadway musicals before engaging in a critical analysis of key moments when Jewishness took center stage on Broadway.

Author

• Barrie Gelles