STAGING MODERN AMERICAN LIFE

STAGING MODERN AMERICAN LIFE

WHAT IS THEATRE? Edited by Ann C. Hall Given the changing nature of audiences, entertainment, and media, the role of theatre in twenty-first-century culture is changing. The WHAT IS THEATRE? series brings new and innovative work in literary, cultural, and dramatic criticism into conversation with established theatre texts and trends, in order to offer fresh interpretation and highlight new or undervalued artists, works, and trends. ANN C. HALL has published widely in the area of theatre and film studies, is president of the Harold Pinter Society, and is an active member in the Modern Language Association. In addition to her book A Kind of Alaska: Women in the Plays of O Neill, Pinter, and Shepard, she has edited a collection of essays, Making the Stage: Essays on Theatre, Drama, and Performance and a book on the various stage, film, print, and television versions of Gaston Leroux s Phantom of the Opera. Published by Palgrave Macmillan: Theatre, Communication, Critical Realism By Tobin Nellhaus Staging Modern American Life: Popular Culture in the Experimental Theatre of Millay, Cummings, and Dos Passos By Thomas Fahy Authoring Performance: The Director in Contemporary Theatre (forthcoming) By Avra Sidiropoulou

Staging Modern American Life Popular Culture in the Experimental Theatre of Millay, Cummings, and Dos Passos Thomas Fahy

STAGING MODERN AMERICAN LIFE Copyright Thomas Fahy, 2011. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2011 978-0-230-11595-8 All rights reserved. First published in 2011 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN in the United States a division of St. Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-29709-2 ISBN 978-0-230-33959-0 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9780230339590 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fahy, Thomas Richard. Staging modern American life : popular culture in the experimental theatre of Millay, Cummings, and Dos Passos / Thomas Fahy. p. cm. (What is theatre?) 1. American drama 20th century History and criticism. 2. Experimental drama, American History and criticism. 3. Popular culture United States History 20th century. 4. Popular culture in literature. 5. Millay, Edna St. Vincent, 1892 1950 Dramatic works. 6. Cummings, E. E. (Edward Estlin), 1894 1962 Dramatic works. 7. Dos Passos, John, 1896 1970 Dramatic works. 8. Experimental theater United States History 20th century. I. Title. PS351.F25 2011 812.5209 dc22 2011010323 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: October 2011

For Tatyana

Contents List of Figures Acknowledgments ix xi Introduction 1 1. I Cannot Live without a Macaroon! : Food, Hunger, and the Dangers of Modern American Culture in Edna St. Vincent Millay s Aria da Capo and Other Plays 21 2. Damn Everything But the Circus! : The Ambiguous Place of Popular Culture in E. E. Cummings Him 53 3. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: Technology and the Suburban Nightmare in the Plays of John Dos Passos 85 Conclusion 133 Notes 137 Bibliography 165 Index 175

Figures 1 Cast of Ziegfeld girls in Midnight Frolic (1918) 5 2 Edna St. Vincent Millay (1914) 29 3 Queens, New York in the 1920s. Dezendorf s Delightful Dwellings 94 4 Charles Lindbergh (1902 74) working on engine of The Spirit of St. Louis (1927) 123

Acknowledgments I want to thank Ann C. Hall, Samantha Hasey, and the team at Palgrave Macmillan for making this book a reality. It was a pleasure working with you every step of the way. Over the years, I have been the beneficiary of the insightful feedback, immense generosity, unwavering support, and dear friendship of Kirstin Ringelberg, Susann Cokal, James MacDonald, and John Lutz. Thanks for the many hours you spent reading and commenting on this manuscript. I am fortunate to have so many supportive and generous colleagues at Long Island University including Jeanie Attie, Kay Sato, Deborah Lutz, James Bednarz, Marge Hallissy, Dennis Pahl, Katherine Hill- Miller, and the C. W. Post Campus Faculty Research Committee. I also want to express my appreciation to Michael Webster, whose E. E. Cummings expertise enhanced chapter 2, and to Meghan Finn for sharing her impressive 2008 production of Him with me. My thanks to Modern Drama (University of Toronto Press), The Journal of American Culture (Wiley-Blackwell), Spring: The Journal of the E. E. Cummings Society for permission to reprint some of the material included in this book. Lastly, none of this work would be possible without the love and support of my family, especially my mother and father, Mike and Jen Fahy, who generously contributed to the cover design. I cannot thank Victoria Tsinberg enough for the countless hours she spent with Nicolai while I was writing this book. And Tatyana always finds ways to remind me of the truly important things in life. It is with love and gratitude that I dedicate this book to you.