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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Main Author: Wolski, Kristin Anne
Other Authors: Notley, Margaret Anne
Format: Others
Language:English
Published: University of North Texas 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc283804/
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spelling 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.
collection NDLTD
language English
format Others
sources NDLTD
topic Kander and Ebb
musical theater
Signifying
metadrama
parody
dialogism
musicology
Scottsboro Boys
spellingShingle 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/
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