Love Is an Emotional Rollercoaster...or Carousel

I don't know if it's just me, but I never really got into the carousel rides at amusement parks and fairs. Sure, there's some appeal to slowly riding around in a circle a few times, but after the 9th or 10th time the enjoyment has pretty much dissipated. This was not the case back in the late 1800's, however. The carousel was one of the most popular rides, and even more desirable was the barker that drew in customers. In Rodgers' and Hammerstein's Carousel, the whole plot is based off two young people meeting at one of these carousels. At first, the opening scene sets the musical up to appear as a typical young love story. But once we analyze the theme deeper, a more realistic (and unfortunately somber) message is involved.

When Julie first meets Billy, an instant connection is felt. As is true of most beginning relationships, these feelings were due to attraction and looks. All the girls love Billy, but only Julie is able paralyze him with her beauty. The two go out that night (though they refuse to confess their feelings for each other), and the next time we see them, they're in an abusive marriage. Boom.

So what happened behind the scenes? Obviously, the young love wore off and the couple realized there must be more to a relationship than simply attraction. But at what point? And why did this relationship turn abusive when there are many marriages that are perfectly healthy? Unfortunately, this problem isn't restricted to Act 1 Scene 3 of Carousel. Domestic violence is a pressing issue all over the world, as is seen through the many commercials and ads campaigning against abuse (including the video we watched in class). Women are discouraged from staying in the relationship, though many, like Julia, are afraid and ashamed to leave. Many victims won't even tell anyone what is happening, let alone ask for help. What was a prominent issue when Carousel debuted in 1945 is now evermore present in today's society.

When catching up with her friend, Carrie, Julia admits that Billy hit her a previous night while he was in a bad mood. She must work up the courage to talk to her friend about the issue, especially after hearing about how well Carrie's marriage is going. Making the matter worse, Julia doesn't hold Billy responsible for his actions; she justifies what he did by explaining that he was frustrated with his life that night. Julia, in a way, blames herself for disturbing Billy, when she should be feeling as though she was the victim. Julia then can't help but to compare her marriage with her friend's. Carrie's relationship, while lacking true attraction, is healthy; she and her husband support and trust each other (for the most part). Her marriage is juxtaposed with Julia's to show the reality of what is happening to women all over the world.

Here is just one of the many ads circulating to stop domestic abuse:



video courtesy of yandrchicago

Carousel is one of the first musicals to really touch on this subject. The show exposed its audience to the dangers of being in (and staying in) a toxic relationship; Julia feels she is forced to stay with Billy after she learns she is pregnant. And once Billy dies, Julia must take care of her daughter completely by herself. Still prevalent today, Carousel brings awareness to the fact that something needs to be changed...and fast.



Work Cited
Yandrchicago. "New Domestic Violence PSA- 'It Rarely Stops' (HD)." Online video clip. National             Domestic Violence Hotline. Youtube, 15 September 2010. Web.

Turn It On

There's a certain wonderment that accompanies live theater. The actors get immediate gratification for all of their hard work, and the audience is actively engaged in what they are seeing. When I saw The Book of Mormon on Broadway, I became all the more aware of this relationship. I have never seen an audience laugh so hard at a joke before, nor have I seen a cast that fed off the audience's reactions as well as this cast did. A satire, The Book of Mormon pokes fun at a lot of stereotypes regarding both religion and societal norms. But while the comedy is meant to invoke laughter from its audience, there is truth in every farce.

One of the themes most applicable to society today is present in the song "Turn It Off." This song, aside from being one of the funniest and most well-written acts in the whole musical, touches on the concept of homosexuality. District leader, Elder McKinley, attempts to describe to Cunningham and Price a common method of suppressing forbidden thoughts. For some, these thoughts may be divorce, domestic abuse, drinking alcohol, or- in McKinley's case- being homosexual. The method is to simply "turn off" what you are thinking and forget that you ever had the idea, essentially suppressing the thought to your subconscious. Though the song is meant to be harmless and fun, it actually brings up a good point about societal norms in our country today.

Relatively recently, a gay bar in Orlando was attacked in a terroristic shooting, killing 49 people and injuring even more. This hate crime targeted members of the LGBT community, heightening many people's reluctance to fully accept who they are and come out with their sexuality. A lot of people today, just like McKinley, try to turn off their feelings because society does not fully accept or acknowledge their differences. Everyone should be able to express who they are and still remain safe. However, fears of discrimination and violence drive people to suppress their sexuality. When we should be encouraging people to "turn it on" and be themselves, society actually pushes people to "turn it off." 

picture courtesy of CJF20

As much as we try to change our norms, society is still wired to frown upon differences. Throughout the whole musical, McKinley never once is open about his "secret." He suppresses his feelings for his whole life, which in turn affects his happiness; the same is true of many homosexuals in real life. Instead of "turning it off" and living unhappily for years, we should encourage "turning it on" and accepting everybody for who they are. Though a comedy, The Book of Mormon highlights many of the serious issues prevalent in today's society.

picture taken from flickr.com 

  

A Modern Day Hamilton

Theater-lover or not, there's a 100% chance you have heard of or (if you are one of the lucky ones) seen the musical, Hamilton: An American Musical. I mean, this show is one of the biggest hits on Broadway since Wicked, and it certainly has enough Tony Awards to prove that. At first, I was skeptical of the hype people gave the show; my sister had to lock me in her room and force me to listen to the soundtrack before I finally caved and acknowledged the remarkableness of Lin-Manuel Miranda's work. But aside from the music-which is pretty good, if I may add- is a hidden theme applicable to today's presidential campaign. Now I know what you may be thinking: "How can the American Revolution be relevant to modern day elections?" Well, for the most part its not, but I found one of the songs to hold a particularly interesting and pertinent message for any presidential candidate: what you say doesn't matter as much as your appearance.

Trump fan or not, I think everyone can agree Donald Trump is not afraid to speak his mind. What he gets away with no other candidate would even dream of saying or doing. Its really quite remarkable, actually. Clinton, on the other hand, knows exactly what to say...but has a little bit of trouble saying it convincingly. Hamilton has Clinton's same problem, so Burr advises him to "talk less; smile more" (Odom Jr.) in the song "Aaron Burr, Sir."

In the song, Hamilton seeks Burr for advice on winning over the public (which he eventually doesn't even take). Burr basically tells him that talking less- and worrying less about what he is saying- will actually help him out. The public wants to see a friendly and approachable candidate, or in other words, someone who appears to be just like themselves. Nobody really pays attention to what someone is saying unless they are first comfortable with the speaker's appearance. In this way (though friendliness might be issue), Donald Trump is able to captivate his audiences and win them over. Hillary Clinton can all to often appear unapproachable or fake, and therefore runs the risk of losing the interest of her audience even if what she is saying is legitimate. Trump is obviously taking Burr's advice, while Clinton could learn from the popular Hamilton song. 

When looking into this subject, I found a funny website showing people's reactions to one of Clinton's speeches via Twitter. On the site, https://www.buzzfeed.com/ellievhall/literally-stop-telling-women-to-smile?utm_term=.ydOopO7jE3#.qqBy9QY13k, post #4 is particularly pertinent. Most of the posts are unfortunately negative, but at least some of them showed how something as simple as a smile can affect a performance. 

Fan or not, Hamilton can subtly teach today's political leaders how to handle their speeches. Just as the musical makes a historic event into a modern show, its messages are timeless and applicable today, as well. 

Works Cited:

Hall, Ellie and Tasneem Nashrulla. "Men On Twitter Kept Telling Hillary Clinton To Smile As She               Delivered Her Speech." BuzzFeed, 29 July 2016. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.

Odom Jr., Leslie, Burr. "Aaron Burr, Sir." Hamilton: An American Musical. Avatar Studios, 2015.                 Audio.

She Loves Feminism

First produced in 1963, the musical, She Loves Me, is your typical Broadway love story. The main characters hate each other, they spend more and more time together, and they eventually fall madly in love. We've all seen a movie or a show with that exact same concept. But one theme I believe is grossly under-represented in the musical is the concept of increasing women's rights. Feminism has been gaining the media spotlight recently, and the current revival of the musical concurs with the importance of this movement.

From Amalia's first entrance, a male dominance is established. Upon asking for a job at Maraczek's Parfumerie, the workers do not take her seriously and deem her unfit to be a salesperson. At the time, only men were hired as salespeople, so Amalia knows she is fighting an uphill battle. This suspicion of rejection does not, however, stop her from persistently trying to gain Maraczek's respect. She dismisses the men's discouragement and boldly continues to show her qualifications. In the funny song, "No More Candy," Amalia proves her superiority when she is able to sell a music box to a customer, a task none of the men were capable of doing. Her wits and confidence land her a job as the parfumerie's first saleswoman.

Similarly, women today are taking a stand and boldly rising against male superiority. Feminists protest inequalities ranging from unequal pay to bias when hiring, much like Amalia detested the men's false assumption of her.

She Loves Me first came out around the beginning of this feminist movement, so it is no surprise the lead character is unafraid to stick up for herself. In an effort to raise awareness of women's rights, Masteroff purposely includes a strong female influence in his story; this once unheard of idea was then accepted by the public, and She Loves Me was widely praised.

Amalia calls to attention, specifically, the issue of bias when hiring for a job. Still today, our society has preconceived thoughts on which jobs are for men and which are for women. Amalia's character is one of the first on Broadway to call for change and press for new social norms. She goes against the status quo and magnifies the spark of the early feminist movement. Women could be inspired by her lack of fear and inability to fail, and those who were once told could not work in sales were now being shown that they had the ability to pursue whatever they desire.

Though the most obvious themes of the show involve forbidden love and the importance of hierarchy, feminism is also not only present, but is a major underlying drive behind the whole plot. Throughout the decades since it first opened, She Loves Me continues to be prevalent in today's society.

photo courtesy of BarbieFantasies

Photo taken from flickr.com.