RACE AND GENDER IN THE BROADWAY CHORUS by Kellee Rene Van Aken Undergraduate ...

298 Pages·2006·0.88 MB·English

RACE AND GENDER IN THE BROADWAY CHORUS

by
Kellee Rene Van Aken
Undergraduate degree, University of Pittsburgh, 1988
Masters degree, University of California, Davis, 1991

Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of
The College of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy

University of Pittsburgh

2006
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
College of Arts and Sciences
This dissertation was presented
By
Kellee Rene Van Aken
It was defended on
November 20, 2006
and approved by
Lynne Conner, Ph.D., Department of Theatre Arts
Jane Feuer, Ph.D., Department of English
Kathleen George, Ph.D., Department of Theatre Arts
Kiki Gournaridou, Ph.D., Chair, Theatre Department, Smith College
Dissertation Advisor: Attilio Favorini, Ph.D., Department of Theatre Arts

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Copyright © by Kellee Van Aken
2006
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RACE AND GENDER IN THE BROADWAY CHORUS
Kellee Van Aken, Ph.D
University of Pittsburgh, 2006

Throughout the history of the American musical, the chorus, has remained a key
component in the foundation of the form. The anonymous men and women who sing and dance
help create the spectacle that is an intrinsic part of the musical. While the chorus line of fifty that
characterized the revues in the early part of the twentieth-century has dwindled, for economic
and aesthetic reasons, it has not disappeared. The role of the chorus has changed from a titillating
backdrop for headlining stars to an accomplished ensemble of dancer/singers who may be the
featured performers in their own right. This dissertation creates a cultural history of the chorus as
it has evolved from the The Black Crook in 1866 to the beginning of the twenty–first-century.
Specifically, how have the issues of sexuality, gender, race and class affected the development of
the chorus? Chapter one is an overview of the history of the Broadway chorus, beginning with a
brief look at the origins of the chorus in Greek drama, through various dance trends, the
popularity of the revue, and the emergence of director/choreographers and their influence on the
form. Chapter two investigates how gender informed the construction of the image of chorus
girls and boys, and how that image was manipulated through the years to reflect social concerns
and anxieties around the issue of changing gender roles. Along with the schism created by the
performance of gender in the chorus, the performance of race also marks a serious divide in the
American musical theatre world. Chapter three examines the history of African-American
performers in the chorus. The chorus is one small, but significant, component of a musical. Yet,
this usually anonymous group of performers has often figured as the subject of the story in a
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medium that admittedly, enjoys talking, singing and dancing about itself. The final chapter of
this study looks at how the chorus as a subject functions in the musical by focusing on four
examples that span fifty-two years: Allegro (1947), A Chorus Line (1975), and 42nd Street
(1981), and Contact (1999).

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction...................................................................................................................................1
1.0 From the line to the ensemble...................................................................................11
1.1 KEY MOMENTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE CHORUS PRIOR TO 1866.....12
1.2 THE BLACK CROOK..............................................................................................16
1.3 LONDON’S INFLUENCE – GAIETY, FLORODORA, AND TILLER GIRLS 19
1.4 ZIEGFELD’S FOLLIES...........................................................................................24
1.5 PROFESSIONALIZING THE CHORUS – UNION..............................................36
1.6 GEORGE BALANCHINE........................................................................................41
1.7 TWEAKING THE LINE...........................................................................................46
1.8 OKLAHOMA!............................................................................................................50
1.9 WEST SIDE STORY.................................................................................................57
1.10 BOB FOSSE AND MICHAEL BENNETT.............................................................62
1.11 MEGA-MUSICAL.....................................................................................................66
1.12 THE CHORUS TODAY............................................................................................69
1.13 CONCLUSION TO CHAPTER ONE......................................................................72
Notes To Chapter One................................................................................................................74
2.0 Gender in the Chorus................................................................................................76
2.1 THE “LEG BUSINESS”...........................................................................................78
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2.2 LYDIA THOMPSON AND THE BRITISH BLONDES........................................81
2.3 GLAMOUR OVER GAMS – THE GAIETY GIRL..............................................84
2.4 WHAT ABOUT THE MEN?....................................................................................88
2.5 OPERETTA................................................................................................................93
2.6 SOCIAL DANCE.......................................................................................................95
2.7 THE 1910’S.................................................................................................................96
2.8 THE 1920’S...............................................................................................................100
2.9 1920’S CHORUS BOY............................................................................................107
2.10 THE DEPRESSION.................................................................................................111
2.11 BUSBY BERKELEY...............................................................................................114
2.12 1940’S BEAUTY AND ABILITY – THE BALLET GIRL..................................121
2.13 1940’S CHORUS MEN............................................................................................129
2.14 THE 1950’S...............................................................................................................131
2.15 THE GAY CHORUS BOY......................................................................................134
2.16 BEEFCAKE..............................................................................................................139
2.17 RAZZLE DAZZLE..................................................................................................144
2.18 CONCLUSION TO CHAPTER TWO..................................................................148
Notes...........................................................................................................................................150
3.0 African-American Chorus.......................................................................................152
3.1 MINSTRELSY.........................................................................................................153
3.2 EARLY OPPORTUNITIES....................................................................................158
3.3 MOVING TOWARDS MUSICAL COMEDY......................................................161
3.4 EARLY MUSICAL COMEDY...............................................................................166
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3.5 THE WHITMAN SISTERS....................................................................................177
3.6 SHUFFLE ALONG..................................................................................................179
3.7 HARLEM INVASION—LOSING CREATIVE CONTROL..............................184
3.8 DEPRESSION—THE REVUE GOES ON HIATUS...........................................192
3.9 ADAPTING THE CLASSICS................................................................................195
3.10 POST-WAR..............................................................................................................196
3.11 NEW GENRES—“NATIVE” OPERA AND GOSPEL PLAYS.........................200
3.12 INTEGRATING THE STAGE...............................................................................209
3.13 BLACK MUSICAL TODAY..................................................................................218
3.14 CONCLUSION TO CHAPTER THREE..............................................................226
Notes to Chapter Three............................................................................................................229
4.0 Chorus As Ensemble................................................................................................231
4.1 ALLEGRO—EXPERIMENTATION...................................................................232
4.2 A CHORUS LINE⎯BECOMING THE SUBJECT.............................................242
4.3 42ND STREET⎯NOSTALGIA...............................................................................251
4.4 CONTACT⎯DANCE PLAY..................................................................................261
4.5 CONCLUSION TO CHAPTER FOUR.................................................................269
Notes to Chapter Four..............................................................................................................273
Bibliography..............................................................................................................................275

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PREFACE
I have been the beneficiary of some very kind and helpful people along this journey. I
would like to thank the librarians at the New York Public Library of Performing Arts who helped
me make the most of my visit and the librarians at the Pittsburgh Carnegie Library. My colleague
Brian Carney sparked my interest in this field by inviting me to team teach a class in musical
theatre many years ago, and has been nudging me along every since. Tomé Cousins for
generously sharing his experience in Contact. My friend Christopher Murray, who connected me
with John Ganun and Tim Hunt–two chorus men who were kind enough to answer questions.
Also thanks to Scott Wise and Jeff Howell for helping me hunt down scripts. My home away
from home, City Theatre, which allowed me time away from the theatre to write about it. This
project could not have been completed without two people–my tech support, my husband Saul,
whose patience and generosity kept me going, and my advisor, Dr. Attilio Favorini, who has
been encouraging and supportive throughout.
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INTRODUCTION
Throughout the history of the American musical, the chorus, whether a troupe of foreign
ballerinas, a waltzing crowd of aristocrats, a high-kicking line of young women, the villagers of a
Russian shtetl, a gyrating group of hippies, or a fur-covered tribe of cats, has remained a key
component in the foundation of the form. The anonymous men and women who sing and dance
their way through the show help create the spectacle that is an intrinsic part of the musical. While
the chorus line of fifty that characterized the revues in the early part of the twentieth-century has
dwindled, for economic and aesthetic reasons, it has not disappeared. The role of the chorus has
changed from a titillating backdrop for headlining stars to an accomplished ensemble of
dancer/singers who may be the featured performers in their own right. This dissertation will
create a cultural history of the chorus as it has evolved from the The Black Crook in 1866 to the
present in 2006, over one hundred years later. Specifically, how have the issues of sexuality,
gender, race, and class affected the development of the chorus?
Chapter one is an overview of the history of the Broadway chorus, beginning with a brief
look at the origins of the chorus in Greek drama, through its transformation into the role of the
confidant in Neoclassical drama. The study then proceeds to theatrical phenomenon of The Black
Crook and its contribution to the image of chorus girls and Broadway dance. The evolution of
the chorus girl to the fashion plate of early musical comedy, through the popular Gaiety and
Florodora Girls is chronicled, followed by the powerful influence of the revue. The revue, which
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