Directors and the New Musical Drama

Directors and the New Musical Drama

PALGRAVE STUDIES IN THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE HISTORY is a series devoted to the best of theatre/performance scholarship currently available, accessible and free of jargon. It strives to include a wide range of topics, from the more traditional to those performance forms that in recent years have helped broaden the understanding of what theatre as a category might include (from variety forms as diverse as the circus and burlesque to street buskers, stage magic, and musical theatre, among many others). Although historical, critical, or analytical studies are of special interest, more theoretical projects, if not the dominant thrust of a study, but utilized as important underpinning or as a historiographical or analytical method of exploration, are also of interest. Textual studies of drama or other types of less traditional performance texts are also germane to the series if placed in their cultural, historical, social, or political and economic context. There is no geographical focus for this series and works of excellence of a diverse and international nature, including comparative studies, are sought. The editor of the series is Don B. Wilmeth (EMERITUS, Brown University), Ph.D., University of Illinois, who brings to the series over a dozen years as editor of a book series on American theatre and drama, in addition to his own extensive experience as an editor of books and journals. He is the author of several award-winning books and has received numerous career achievement awards, including one for sustained excellence in editing from the Association for Theatre in Higher Education. Also in the series: Undressed for Success by Brenda Foley Theatre, Performance, and the Historical Avant-garde by Günter Berghaus Theatre, Politics, and Markets in Fin-de-Siècle Paris by Sally Charnow Ghosts of Theatre and Cinema in the Brain by Mark Pizzato Moscow Theatres for Young People by Manon van de Water Absence and Memory in Colonial American Theatre by Odai Johnson Vaudeville Wars: How the Keith-Albee and Orpheum Circuits Controlled the Big-Time and Its Performers by Arthur Frank Wertheim Performance and Femininity in Eighteenth-Century German Women s Writing by Wendy Arons Operatic China: Staging Chinese Identity across the Pacific by Daphne P. Lei Transatlantic Stage Stars in Vaudeville and Variety: Celebrity Turns by Leigh Woods Interrogating America through Theatre and Performance edited by William W. Demastes and Iris Smith Fischer Plays in American Periodicals, 1890 1918 by Susan Harris Smith Representation and Identity from Versailles to the Present: The Performing Subject by Alan Sikes Directors and the New Musical Drama: British and American Musical Theatre in the 1980s and 90s by Miranda Lundskaer-Nielsen

Directors and the New Musical Drama British and American Musical Theatre in the 1980s and 90s Miranda Lundskaer-Nielsen

DIRECTORS AND THE NEW MUSICAL DRAMA Copyright Miranda Lundskaer-Nielsen, 2008. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2008 978-0-230-60129-1 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. First published in 2008 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 and Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England RG21 6XS Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-37068-9 ISBN 978-0-230-61124-5 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9780230611245 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: April 2008 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Contents x List of Illustrations Acknowledgments vii ix Introduction: Anglo-American Perspectives 1 1. Harold Prince in Context 15 2. From Cabaret to Sweeney Todd: Musical Drama on Broadway 29 3. Cultural Barricades: Reading the West End Musicals 45 4. Beyond the Logos: West End Musical Drama 59 5. New Horizons: Nonprofit Musical Drama 73 6. Nonprofit Directors in the 1990s 89 7. Rethinking Revivals 109 8. Staging the Canon: British Directors and Classic American Musicals 121 9. The Legacy of the 1980s and 90s 141 Interviews 151 Adam Guettel 152 Matthew Warchus 158 William Finn 163 David Leveaux 168 Ira Weitzman 180 James Lapine 186

vi Contents Margo Lion 195 Jack Viertel 198 Richard Maltby, Jr. 206 Notes 211 Bibliography 223 Index 227

List of Illustrations x 4.1 Opening scene from Les Misérables 65 5.1 The Act One finale from Sunday in the Park with George 86 6.1 Scene from the Hollywood section of Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk 100 6.2 Scene from Floyd Collins 106 8.1 Opening scene from Nicholas Hytner s Carousel 124 8.2 Company scene from Trevor Nunn s Oklahoma! 127 8.3 Final moments from Sam Mendes s Cabaret 131

Acknowledgments x The research for this book was made possible by a Fellowship from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Columbia University. In particular, I would like to thank Joy Hayton, the wonderful administrator of the English Department, as well as Professor Martin Meisel, Professor Martin Puchner, and especially Professor Arnold Aronson who gave invaluable feedback during the writing process. Laurence Maslon at New York University first gave me the idea for this book and his feedback and seemingly infinite knowledge of American musical theatre has been both a resource and an inspiration along the way. I am also indebted to Anni Parker, a fellow Anglo-American theatregoer, for her feedback and suggestions. In addition to the Columbia University libraries, I made extensive use of the theatre archives of the V&A Theatre Collections in London and the Performing Arts branch of the New York Public Library and would like to thank all the helpful and efficient staff. At Palgrave Macmillan, my thanks to Farideh Koohi-Kamali, Julia Cohen, and to my editor Don B. Wilmeth for their support, assistance, and encouragement throughout the editorial and production process. My research for this book over the past few years has included conversations with British and American theatre professionals who gave generously of their time to answer my questions. Some of these interviews have been cited within the chapters and a selection of the transcripts is reproduced in full at the back of the book. I should note that the views and arguments expressed in this book are my own and are not necessarily all shared by my interviewees who represent a wide cross-section of backgrounds and perspectives. However, all these people have helped me to gain an understanding of the period that I cover and I am enormously grateful to them for sharing their professional experiences and insights with me. In particular, I would like to extend my thanks to writers and directors John Caird, William Finn, Adam Guettel, James Lapine, David Leveaux, Richard

x Acknowledgments Maltby, Jr., and Matthew Warchus; to Ted Chapin, president of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, and Henry Little at the Arts Council of England; and to producers Marty Bell, Joanne Benjamin, Georgina Bexon, Chris Grady, Philip Hedley, Paul James, Margo Lion, Michael Lynas, Desi Moynihan, Tim Sanford, Deborah Sathe, Rachel Tackley, Jack Viertel, and Ira Weitzman. On a personal note, I would like to acknowledge my brother Patrick Nielsen, an actor and director whose shared interest in theatre has been a source of great pleasure to me over the years. My parents, Jean and Tom Lundskær-Nielsen, also deserve a special mention. My interest in theatre stems from my early exposure to different kinds of performance and I am deeply indebted to them for giving me this wonderful gift. Finally, I extend love and gratitude to my husband Michael Kenyon for his support, encouragement, and perceptive feedback throughout the preparation and writing of this book.