Repetition and Difference: Parodic Narration in Kander and Ebb's "The Scottsboro Boys"
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 mi...
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ndltd-unt.edu-info-ark-67531-metadc2838042020-07-15T07:09:31Z Repetition and Difference: Parodic Narration in Kander and Ebb's "The Scottsboro Boys" Wolski, Kristin Anne Kander and Ebb musical theater Signifying metadrama parody dialogism musicology Scottsboro Boys 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. University of North Texas Notley, Margaret Anne McKnight, Mark, 1951- Schulze, Hendrik, 1970- 2013-08 Thesis or Dissertation Text https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc283804/ ark: ark:/67531/metadc283804 English Public Wolski, Kristin Anne Copyright Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights Reserved. |
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Kander and Ebb musical theater Signifying metadrama parody dialogism musicology Scottsboro Boys |
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Kander and Ebb musical theater Signifying metadrama parody dialogism musicology Scottsboro Boys Wolski, Kristin Anne Repetition and Difference: Parodic Narration in Kander and Ebb's "The Scottsboro Boys" |
description |
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. |
author2 |
Notley, Margaret Anne |
author_facet |
Notley, Margaret Anne Wolski, Kristin Anne |
author |
Wolski, Kristin Anne |
author_sort |
Wolski, Kristin Anne |
title |
Repetition and Difference: Parodic Narration in Kander and Ebb's "The Scottsboro Boys" |
title_short |
Repetition and Difference: Parodic Narration in Kander and Ebb's "The Scottsboro Boys" |
title_full |
Repetition and Difference: Parodic Narration in Kander and Ebb's "The Scottsboro Boys" |
title_fullStr |
Repetition and Difference: Parodic Narration in Kander and Ebb's "The Scottsboro Boys" |
title_full_unstemmed |
Repetition and Difference: Parodic Narration in Kander and Ebb's "The Scottsboro Boys" |
title_sort |
repetition and difference: parodic narration in kander and ebb's "the scottsboro boys" |
publisher |
University of North Texas |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc283804/ |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT wolskikristinanne repetitionanddifferenceparodicnarrationinkanderandebbsthescottsboroboys |
_version_ |
1719328434747867136 |