The Representation of History in Musicals

This study, comprising a main and a side project, examines how European cultural history and politics is refracted through the prism of the musical as one of the most popular performance genres. It will be the first proper analysis of works that have referenced and represented the history of two important regions: the United Kingdom and German-speaking countries. After the USA, they constitute the two largest markets for musical theatre worldwide. Main Project The project produces case studies of musicals in English and German, which have contributed to the various understandings of European history in the UK, Germany and Austria, not least regard ing each countrys involve- ment in two world wars. It will use repertoire analysis, performance analysis, media analysis, reception history to source documentation in answering the central research question: How do post-1945 musicals negotiate and represent European history? That overall topic splits into a number of complementary research areas, including: Which post-war English- and German-language musicals have become canonical in the UK, Austria and Germany in their representation of European history and why? How differently have the same musicals been received in these three countries? What can a comparative analysis of reception tell us about divergent ways of comprehending European history? In what ways do musicals construct national identity? Which aspects of musical theatres treatment of history remain consistent, and which have been challenged or revised? Does the understanding of European history change when not exploring popular culture from a fixed national point of view? What were the contributions of women and ethnic minorities to post-war musical theatre in the three countries? In what ways is the portrayal of the past in musicals coloured by nostalgia and the demands of the heritage industry? How do post-war musicals employ popular culture as a means of depicting the European past? How is the reception and thus the meaning of historical events and figures affected by transformations from one medium to another? How do post-war musicals challenge simplistic notions of the past and encourage the addressing of uncomfortable questions? Side Project The project will approach the topic of how post-war stage and film musicals represent European history from a different but complementary angle: treating both musical elements and the human body as texts to be read, it will view the historical research material through a prism of body socialisation and body studies. The aim is to offer a feminist, post-feminist and queer reading of perceptions of the European past by exploring gender-relevant questions such as: How are gendered attributions utilised and staged in post-war musicals about European history? Do they ever fall outside binary understandings of cis-gender constructs in their depiction of the past? What are the implications and associations of these (re)presentations?