Category: Free Essays

The letters sent between Abelard and Heloise discuss many controversial characteristics of their time period. They converse about sex, virginity, a woman’s role in the society, and punishment which in turn shows the ethics, religious views, and morals of their time. In contrast to these topics it also portrays the problems the church and society had when faced with these ideas that did not follow along according to the Bible. The ethics and rules of living were heavily connected to the church in Abelard and Heloise’s time unlike modern times. In this society the clergy was the most respected albeit feared power in the land. As such people were expected to follow and adhere to everything said in the Bible. They were supposed to live their lives accordingly to the Bible. Any knowledge was supposed to be used to further exemplify God and never to be used to refute God, his rules, or his teachings. If it were to be used as such then people were as saying heresy and excommunicated from the church and scorned by others. Every aspect of this time period and society were centered around the church. In this highly restricted society the letters sent between the two lovers allows us insight into the topics of the sanctity of virginity, sex once married, the penalties for sex without marriage, and the roles women were expected to play without any complaints or persuasion in the society of Abelard and Heloise.

The sanctity of virginity was a great prize during Abelard and Heloise’s time, around the twelfth century. It was prized and held to high esteem but for the wrong reasons. Many believed the longer a woman held onto her virginity the closer she would become to God. Abelard reckons that, “The more God is pleased by the abstinence and continence which women have dedicated to him, the more willing he will be to grant their prayers.”(123) Men of this society believe virginity should be in devotion to God but Abelard believed it was to please society that many women did it, not to please God. While Heloise does agree she says “Men think being pure of flesh, a virgin, is a virtue.” She also believes that that virtue comes from the soul not from the body. Being a virgin was considered something we as humans do to please God when in fact it is actually more of a spiritual or religious trait. Society only placed a value upon outward appearances as a virgin but allowed lustful temptations to be thought as long as it was not acted upon. Abelard considered virgins not pure if they thought dirty because the body and soul are one and the same. Society respected the display of virginity but cared little if a person actually believed in what they were doing or if a person actually wanted to do what they were doing. Not only were people curious about virginity but they were also clueless about the relationship once sex is permitted after marriage. Many believed God has allowed sex once one is married to the one they have married. Even though Abelard does believe this he still feels animosity while having sex with his own wife especially “during the days of Our Lord’s Passion” (147). Although sex is to be allowed after marriage the church did have rules as to when a couple could be together. Sex altogether is accepted during Abelard and Heloise’s era but it hinted at as being bad since the church must regulate it. Since the church can say when it alright and not alright to have sex then this associates that there must be some type of evil or ungodliness regarding sex. Abelard never admits that he agrees with what the rabble think of him and Heloise he does say that the people think “it was desire, not affection which bound you to me, the flame of lust rather than of love” (116). Abelard does not know why he has transgressed what he has, taking Heloise’s virginity and having sex on holy days, so like any person he has to place the blame on someone or something else so he blames it on the emotion of lust which leads him to give up his love of Heloise though she still loves him.

Due to their society ingraining in them the ever powerful rule of God, Abelard and Heloise expect God to punish them for their sins. Abelard accepts God’s punishment without any hassle and does not question it. Heloise on the other hand goes on to say that all the laws of being equal under the eye of God were reversed when it came to their judgment. Heloise is confused because God did not punish her and Abelard while they were committing the sins of sex before marriage but instead decided to punish them after they became married. She considers it reversed because while they did the bad deed no bad befell them but once they had obeyed God’s rule the punishment fell upon them harshly. Heloise complains to Abelard about how harsh God’s punishment is on them but Abelard believes it was all part of God’s will. He believes that Heloise was sent to him by God to cause him to be castrated forcing him closer to God. This shows that in this society people were confused and had very different views on God’s punishment but even so they did accept it.

Throughout their letters Abelard is quick to remind Heloise about her place in society reinforcing the role women played in this society. The most obvious role of women in this society was that women were secondary to men. Heloise further reinforces this patriarchy upon herself when she notices Abelard places her name first on the letter before his own. Heloise tells him that it should not be so and that she is inferior to his since she is a women and as such his name should come before his (127). Abelard does agree and states that that is the natural order of the world. As common practice in this society women are underneath men and wives are expected to always, always serve their husbands. A women has many other expected roles too. Above all, and the most degrading of all she is expected to be good in bed. Another expected role from a women is to always make her husband happy. Many times Abelard says things like a good wife makes her husband a happy man. All in all society only want and believe a woman should make a man happy, love him, and serve him. Even with all of this women can still be viewed as evil or corruption in this society. Heloise says “men are most easily brought to ruin through their wives” (131) Heloise never objects to the views Abelard projects onto her or other women in this society. Heloise perfectly shows way of thinking of a typical women in this society. She says that she will change her clothes, her mind, and her body all to prove Abelard as the one owner of her body and will. She even goes on to say she wants nothing but Abelard and that she “looked for no marriage-bond, no marriage portion… I prefer love to wedlock and freedom to chains” (113). She would give up her life and everything she has for Abelard.

These letters above all else show the corruption and the influence of man upon the church of God. Heloise states that if man does not offend or deny the opinions of clergy men they will receive the highest of praise. Any form of thinking that disrupts or goes against what the church is preaching is branded as heresy and usually leads to the threats on the person’s life or even the death of the person. Many people decide which verses and tenets of the Bible to follow and ignore the ones that do not benefit them in the short or long run. The clergymen in Abelard and Heloise’s era and our era flaunt their wealth even though the Bible tells about modesty they choose to ignore it. Abelard thinks this is wrong in the churches of his time. Another fault that is prominent in this society but not thought upon as evidenced in the absence of Abelard’s thoughts upon it is racism. Abelard says Ethiopian women are not as pretty as white women but they are better in bed. And he also says that the color of the Ethiopian women are a “disfigurement” (140).

The discussions had through letters between Abelard and Heloise about virginity, sex, marriage, God’s punishment have allowed us sight into the twelfth century’s morals, ethics, and it truly highlights the problems within the church that have continued on until this modern day. While virginity is cherished, sex after marriage is allowed by the Bible, the punishment of God is expected when a sin is committed, and the roles of women are enforced in this society there are many flaws. Virginity is prized only on the outside, sex is allowed after marriage but still regulated by the church, punishment is expected but viewed differently by each person, and society treat women second to men. Even though Heloise questions God’s punishment and is confused about it she never once questions her role in society she accepts it. This goes to show how strong a society can impact a single person.

Stephen Pattison article entitled Some Straw for the Brick: A Basic Introduction to Theological Reflection introduces a model of theological reflection called “critical conversation”. In this model the conversation is between three parties, namely the students own faith presuppositions, the particular situation/context being looked at and the Christian tradition. Pattison is by no means suggesting that the critical conversation model is the only model of theological reflection. He has chosen it because it’s derived from others forms of theological reflection and lists seven advantages to it. ( pg. 139).

According to Pattison, purpose of this model of theological reflection according is to help people think through and analyse their own experiences, the issues and the situations that they face and in so doing the practical theology gets underway. As far as Pattison is concerned the critical conversation has more to do with asking the right questions than arriving at the right answers. He also appears to suggest that theological reflection has less to do with academic ability than with inventiveness and imagination, creativity that seeks to discern patterns in a particular situation.

Why critical reflection one might ask? Pattison’s answer to that question is as follows:

a). It helps us to bring about an understanding of human and religious experience in contemporary society whether superficial or complex. He suggests that, more complex the situation, require a depth in the conversation by drawing resources from other secular knowledge base, i.e. or Christian theology.

b). It connects belief and practice to everyday life.

c). Prevent people from making false assumptions.

d). Helps one to grow deeper in faith and appreciation of theology.

Theological reflection must become the filter of the ministry of the church. Critical reflection serves as a critical tool for the purposes of practical theology

It is active enquiry, .dynamic, deep searching and open ended. Not intended to produce universally acclaimed answers by everyone and in every places in all cases. Theological reflection should not be seen as relevant to all people in all situations because of the different contexts. It is worth pointing out that theological reflection undertaken by individuals may well reveal more about the person and their perspective than it does about a secular situation or Christian theological tradition. To avoid that Pattison recommends that individuals be self-critical when doing theological reflection on their own. Theological reflection should be done as a group exercise instead. Helen Cameron illustrates the importance of this through her group work with TAP. Clearly this important point is articulated by all the other writers whose work form part of this review. Theological reflection in group setting is conducive to a deep and enhanced critical conversation likely to produce aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦Any enquiry must aim at enriching the individual but crucially must be for the benefit of the Christian community. Such an outcome is bound to give new meaning and new orientation to the ministry of the church as has been the case throughout the church’s history.

The weakness of this model of theological reflection is that it can be too subjective as it appeals to people’s particular theological bias, temperament and cultural leaning. Relativism, idiosyncratic are.. mutually interrogative method can lead to further questions, does not provide eternally valid answers which can be applied to everyday life. Asking questions and engaging in critical conversation is not an adequate way of conceiving theological reflection. Pg. 142 (limitations) Also the conversation may no be academic enough. One other criticism to be said about Pattison’s model of theological reflection is that it assumes everyone can do it. The fact of the matter is not everyone has the skill Ballard page 2.

Elaine Graham Elaine Graham etal recognises that the subject of theological reflection has been research extensively resulting in the production of numerous publications. However for her and fellow writers their article entitled Method or Mystique in Theological Reflection: Methods offers a challenge to the vague manner theological reflection is viewed. They point to the fact “received understanding of theological understanding are largely under- theorised and narrow, and too often fail to connect adequately with biblical, historical and systematic scholarship” (pg.1). As such they aim to help the reader “engage in patterns of theological reflection that are richer in the source they draw on more rigorous and more imaginative.

Their introductory chapter gives a history outline of the discourse. We have an account, of understanding practical/pastoral theology as a discipline concerned with practical training which is broader and understands theology as critical reflection in a variety of settings. Graham etal, sites Donald Scon who argues for a shift from theoretical knowledge, technical rationality and scientific precision which is all theoretically and not practically based consequently eroding public trust of experts. According to them, professional knowledge of expertise is only acquired in a particular context or situation that is implicit and problem based. Furthermore the learning takes place by responding with flexibility to situations, willingness to be a proactive learner and risk taking. (pg. 4) This view that knowledge comes by experience is also shared by Kolb in his book on model of experimental learning. (pg. 5) As such theology ought to be understood as a process rather than product. Christian practice, alongside systematic biblical and historical theology is crucial to theological reflection. In their view such engagement with these traditional Christian resources is weak. It is to this interrelated problem of traditional Christian resources that Theological Reflection: Methods reverts.

My third article for review is entitled Characteristics of Theological Action Research by Helen Cameron etal. The article comes from the book written by her and others called Talking about God in Practice. In it a methodology of research called Theological Action Research is introduced. TAR is a brain child of Action Research Church and Society made up of two teams that are ecumenical and interdisciplinary chosen. The team members are all theological practioners and researchers, made up of a team from Heythrop and the other team from outside.

ARCS objectives are realised when dialogue goes on in each team and also across the teams. The teams demonstrate willingness to share good practice and ideas of theological research between teams. As a model TAR has four stages called a cycle of theological reflection and are the following; experience, reflection, learning and action. The methodology require that each stage of the cycle is carefully examined and documented using its action research process and social sciences methods of collecting data. Theology plays a key part in all the stages of the practice right from the beginning to the very end. That also includes the shared reflections of the practitionrs and researchers.

We can conclude that the lessons learnt are the following:

Theological reflection and theology is directed at life situations in every human experience whether be a believer, church community including those who confess to be atheists. According to Metz, as he made reference to Karl Rahner’s a critical observation of Vatican II. “God is a universal theme, a theme concerning all humanity or it is simple no theme at all”. (pg 57 M.K). Rahners ascertion is an attempt to address an abserd belief which was sectarian and excluded others in taking part the faith dialogue/God. It is also true to say that when theology becomes self-absorbed by ignoring the world’s reality of human suffering, poverty injustice etc. it loses its purpose.

The theological reflection model looked at in this review appear narrowly focused ataˆ¦aˆ¦. with a particular racial group, principally white European and middle class. We live in a diverse aˆ¦.. The church is a reflection of society that is multicultural, ethnic

Robert Kinast in his article on the subject makes the same point that theological reflection is a threefold movement, which begins with the lived experience,

Writing a successful theatre dissertation is a process which requires balancing two core ideals. You must on the one hand display creativity, however at the same time you must demonstrate that you understand the key concepts of your study, and that you are capable of producing a confident piece of academic research and writing. In any theatre degree the primary skill that you are looking to display is creativity. Therefore your theatre dissertation should fulfil that creativity whilst at the same time demonstrating all that is necessary in a serious piece of academic writing.

Whilst there are many ways to ensure that your theatre dissertation is stylistically impressive, there are several practical steps which need to be taken in order to ensure that marks are not taken off for easily avoidable mistakes.

A good idea is to begin by reading another theatre dissertation to gauge what might be required from your piece of work. Copies of past theatre dissertations are often to be found in University libraries. In your theatre dissertation you are looking to carry out a sustained study of a specific topic. The question you eventually chose for your theatre dissertation must show a clear objective and the topic must be well researched. If your question is a vague one then your theatre dissertation will in turn be vague and less impressive, and it will also be more difficult and more time-consuming to research. When proposing a topic you should look at several factors such as the relevance of that topic, your interest in that topic and the feasibility of that topic.

Once you have settled on a topic and a question for your theatre dissertation then you can narrow down which past theatre dissertations you should study. Through producing your dissertation your aim is to expand and deepen your knowledge of the subject.

The most vital step when setting out to produce a top quality theatre dissertation is to work out a timetable, which you will then religiously stick to. This will assist you in obtaining the relevant source material, and at the same time will also be an insurance against unexpected catastrophe. Once you have finished writing you will also need time to carefully and thoroughly proofread and copy edit everything you have written, checking for spelling and grammar errors, and making sure that everything is formatted correctly. This will help to make sure that your theatre dissertation is factually and stylistically consistent. Finally your theatre dissertation should be clearly referenced. It is very important that the style of referencing should be consistent throughout. Referencing is important for many reasons, specifically to avoid any unfounded accusations of plagiarism. Poor referencing can also lead to docked marks.

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When writing a good theatre dissertation it is vital that you pace yourself properly in order to best avoid a panic in the final few days, and to give yourself time to reflect on your research and to encourage your creativity. Another important early step on writing your theatre dissertation is to determine what kind of analysis you are being asked to make, and then to look at the plays or concepts you are writing about. Ideally your theatre dissertation should be a sustained argument. When writing your theatre dissertation you should show just as much creativity as you would in practical work. You need to work out how you are going tot go about studying the topic of your dissertation – in this way your theatre dissertation is a test of independent thought.

Displaying a creative streak in your work is, whilst important, rarely going to be sufficient. You also need to be able to show through your theatre dissertation the ability to produce a serious academic analysis of your chosen topic. Independent enquiry into the topic of your choice is essential. You must have familiarity with appropriate research methods. Theatre studies cannot be separated from social context and historical moment. Mere simple description of your subject will not be enough, and will not show that you have gained a thorough understanding of the issues and concepts of your degree course. A successful theatre dissertation should be full of analysis, critical evaluation and discussion of your topic. It is of vital importance that you show what it is that you have learnt. A theatre dissertation tests your ability to present a sustained academic argument in clear, logical prose. Your theatre dissertation must show that you are confident in creating the scholarly apparatus necessary to support your argument. A well structured, confident theatre dissertation should be your final goal.

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Your theatre dissertation will more likely than not need a title page and a page of contents. There is often other vital information which needs to be included at the beginning of your theatre dissertation such as a plagiarism declaration. At the end of your theatre dissertation there needs to be a bibliography of the sources used. As has been mentioned before your theatre dissertation needs to be thoroughly and correctly referenced throughout.

Stylistically it is important that you avoid colloquialisms or sloppy grammar in your theatre dissertation, although a theatre dissertation doesn’t need to be overly formal. You should always ensure that you stick to the central thread of your argument. Most dissertations are divided into five or six chapters. Paragraphs should, ideally, be approximately five or six sentences long, and should have good linking words and phrases. Your text should be easily navigable for the reader with obvious ‘signposts’. When writing you should try to avoid personal language such as ‘I’ as far as possible, unless instructed otherwise. You should more likely than not double space your text. When using long quotations of four lines or more you should indent on the left hand side of the page. You should not rely overly on source material for your theatre dissertation, as this does not go far enough to show independent and original thought.

Through following the correct practical steps and by staying stylistically fluent and consistent then you can produce a high quality theatre dissertation.

Discuss the recent developments in the west end musical scene; this should include an analysis of the ‘mega-musical’ mania, the trend to create new musicals based on existing songs (song migration) and stage transfers of successful films.

From Sophocles through William Shakespeare to Eminem, writers have sought to use the rhythms of language to accentuate the story they are seeking to share. The pre-Caxton society relied on an oral tradition to deliver stories of fact and fiction. Cultures spanning the entire globe and all ages of civilization have instinctively adopted musical storytelling; it is prominent in various forms even now – be it around a camp fire, at a tribal ceremony, an inner city playground or on a West End stage.

In today’s world, language and music are at our fingertips. They are both instantaneous. And they can be married in a second. Technically, music is intricate. Most writers will say the same about language. But in an inspired moment they can conjoin and express something wonderful both sonically and linguistically. The act of constructing such a moment can be the end result of many less fruitful moments – but there is always the chance that it could just happen instantaneously. Our logistical minds tell us that it just is not possible; that we would never be able to express ourselves beautifully and eloquently in musical form. And yet the compulsion to try and do so has arrested most people, even if only for a quickly aborted solitary moment. So perhaps here lies the fascination with musicals. They show ‘life as we know it’ happily residing in an alternate reality – where music and language are easy bed partners and everything goes to extremes. Or does it?

The West End is one of London’s most popular tourist attractions. It has built its reputation, in tandem with New York’s Broadway, as the commercial mecca of musical theatre. Las Vegas has the showgirls but Broadway and the West End share the showtunes. Indeed, while their identities are undeniably distinct, the relationship between them is close; same sex twins rather than identical ones. Each has their own nuances of behaviour – the younger twin Broadway hunts that bit more keenly for the next off-beat musical whirlwind; the older West End plays percentages but plays them with palpable success.

The term West End was originally coined as a geographical short cut – a way of describing a part of London synonymous with theatre. Since its inception into London vernacular the phrase ‘West End’ has mutated to describe something meta-geographical. While once upon a time it merely represented an actual place, now it also describes the gateway to an invented world of glitz, glamour and show. The West End may still be the home of theatre, but the kind of theatre that it houses has become very easily classifiable. The listings do not lie. And neither do they try to. The West End is a haven for small ideas done big; big names, big shows, big spectacles, big budgets, big risks.

The social and artistic significance of theatre as an art form has not suffered in the time since the West End theatres were constructed. But the immediacy of rival entertainments, chiefly television and film, has undoubtedly provided so comfortable an alternative for the borderline theatregoing public that its popularity has. Ultimately, the public’s relationship with theatre has somewhat inverted itself; once the entertainment of the people, theatre has become high-brow, elitist, exclusive even. Or so we are led to believe. Every year the people entrusted with running the country’s theatres are ensconced in attempts to make theatre more accessible. Nicholas Hytner at the National Theatre has incorporated a sponsorship deal with Travelex with the express purpose of enabling its shows to be available to people for as little as ?10 a ticket. Theatrical output is continuing to diversify in new directions. The National Theatre still produces the time-honoured classics that will appease their traditional supporters. But they also invited outside companies including Theatre de Complicite, Improbable, Shunt and Kneehigh to co-develop their new work.

Arts Council funding dictates a certain amount of programming for in-house producing theatres throughout the country. It is impossible to equate the artistic worth of a proposed project while it exists solely as an outline on a piece of paper. But it is easier to quantify the greater social import of the same project. Therefore the involvement in various local outreach initiatives including young people’s theatre and new writing programmes serves duplicate purposes. But in doing so it runs the risk of wrestling a certain amount of control from the artistic directors, or at least diluting the intent of their work.

But the West End is not really concerned with any of this. The theatres are privately owned and have little social obligation. West End theatre is a notoriously unpredictable money market. Make a big success of yourself and you can eventually buy it up – which is exactly what Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh have ended up doing. Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group are the proprietors of twelve of the capital’s larger theatres. By January 2006 Delfont Mackintosh will control another seven, and will have begun constructing the Sondheim Theatre – the first theatre to be built on Shaftesbury Avenue since 1931. The long-term plan of Delfont Mackintosh is to refurbish and modernise theatreland. But one cannot help but think that their extreme makeover will be restricted to the facilities and layout – and that the entertainment will remain as traditional as ever.

The musical-as-we-know-it grew out of the 19th Century tradition of music hall, which itself was the bastard son of drink and rowdiness. After removing the alcohol from drunken singalongs, and relocating from the pub to theatres, the 1860s saw the popularity of the newly-arrived music hall go from good idea to massively popular entertainment. The humbling beginnings of the musical cannot help but reveal the nucleus of the idea; it was born of accident – of people seeking to have pure, unadulterated entertainment. In that respect, it has no one form; no one philosophy; indeed no real sense of philosophy; no real sense of purpose other than fun, fun, fun!

As the musical was developing it was the bastion of popular music of the time. Through Gilbert and Sullivan, Irving Berlin, Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill and Cole Porter, the men and women behind musical were the most revered song writers at work in the Western world. Ten years into the post-war era there was a marked shift. The ‘musical standards’ that made dry, wry and witty observations about upper middle class were about to be trumped by rock and roll. And John Osbourne’s 1956 ‘kitchen-sink-drama’ Look Back In Anger was going to have repercussions outside the world of the well-made play.

The birth of transmittable media was only going to swell the amount of music being produced. In the early days of the wireless radio, families gathered to listen to the songs of Ivor Novello or Noel Coward. By the mid-1960s many families had television sets in their front rooms; radio broadcasts were a competitive business; and air transport links had made the world traversable for all those who could afford it. Music was a commodity that could be sent from one side of the world to the other. And in the slipstream of the music were the musicians themselves.

Through television and radio, songwriters and musicians had an identity. They became icons – the most celebrated people on the planet. And their music was nowhere near the West End stage. For the first time since their inception musicals were not using the popular music of the time. Rock’n’roll was being held in musical purgatory by traditionalists unhappy at its low-brow ideals. While cinema was running as fast and far as it could with the concept of the film musical, the stage was seeking to deliver variations on earlier themes. Elvis Presley made numerous musical films – as did The Beatles. In the 1960s the West End was awash with Broadway imports – the influence of Leonard Bernstein, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe and other transatlantic success stories was diluting the integrity of the West End as the older brother of the musical. But the psychedelic overtones of that time were to create musical anomalies; while some composers flirted with the concept of rock, others weren’t afraid to dive headlong into its bottomless pit. After its anti-Vietnam stance and inclusion of group nudity caused outrage on Broadway, Hair opened in the West End in 1968. From being the chosen playground of mild-mannered conservatives, the musical was being politicised – and modernised. Within five years, the ‘Age of Aquarius’ had been further capitalized upon by Godspell, Oh Calcutta and even Jesus Christ Superstar – which proved to be the foundation on which the new dawn of the musical would be built. Today’s twin Godfathers of musical composition for Broadway and the West End carry the bright torch of yesteryear; Stephen Sondheim represents his forefathers’ fascination with the off-beat, with Andrew Lloyd Webber never straying from the musically conservative beat.

There are various factors that dictate the recent successes and failures in West End theatre. But the starting point for every West End production is money – a fact beautifully demonstrated by the plot of one of the West End’s most popular current productions ‘The Producers’. Essentially, the capitalist dawn that swallowed up free love has made currency the new leading man in musical theatre. Producers need big ideas and big songs to legislate for big budgets. So instead of trying to predict what people may like and creating a musical story around it, the West End decided to reduce the risk and simply take the music that people already like and create a story around that.

In some ways the origin of song migration is old revue style shows – popular hits belted out with no real desire to create an accompanying piece of drama or comedy. Coupled with the screen to stage success of musical films like The Lion King, a producer was now able to weigh up potential West End shows safe in the knowledge that a stable of worldwide smash hits could enable a musical to run for years, even with a bad review. Suddenly the sheer bankability of Lloyd Webber was looking like an outlandish risk alongside the music of Abba, Queen or even (the critically lauded but never supergroup status) of Madness. Negotiations are in process for the trend to continue, with Bob Marley, The Beatles and Elton John just some of the musical legends in line to have their songs shoe-horned into some money-spinning stage extravaganza that makes almost no sense at all. Not that the public really care. They want to go and sing-a-long like the pub dwellers of the 1840s that unknowingly helped begin the process of musical theatre. And who shall we choose to lead the sing-song? Well, preferably someone famous off the telly, of course.

The West End is a remarkably lucrative place. For his unscheduled stint in the opening cast run of The Producers at the end of 2004, Nathan Lane was being paid ?42,000 a week for the lead role as Max Bialystock. It is a clear indication of the simple transaction between moneymen and talent; the star name guarantees the box office receipts. The West End has been flooded with stars – some of whom have no musical pedigree – because celebrity is deemed to have finally overridden talent. The good, bad and ugly (in no particular order) of recent years include David Hasselhoff, Martine McCutcheon and Denise Van Outen.

And if you don’t want to spend money on star names, then you’d better be sure to have some seriously impressive stage gimmicks; Miss Saigon famously had a helicopter, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang got in to hot water when the eponymous flying car failed to take off in previews, and Phantom of the Opera has a plunging chandelier moment that will wake up anyone snoozing in the stalls. So with standard tickets averaging out at around ?40, the theatregoer demands a truly amazing experience. But amazing and original are poles apart – and that’s why when the formula is right, all you need to do is repeat it. There are exceptions. The Bombitty of Errors was a rap interpretation of Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors, and was a small but perfectly-formed global success. Stomp became a phenomenon through gradual word of mouth and because it is a different kind of spectacle. Jerry Springer: The Opera began life as an idea at a scratch night at the Battersea Arts Centre and grabbed the attention of every newspaper and fundamentalist Christian in the Western World. But such shows grow from humble beginnings and are swept away on public curiosity.

As in any art form, there are people willing to take risks because they believe their work has a market. Bombay Dreams and The Far Pavilions identify a recently developed appreciation of Asian music and culture. The off-Broadway hit Batboy continues in the tradition of earlier pacesetters The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Hedwig and the Angry Inch for kitsch rock operas. But some of these are accidental intruders in the world of the West End. They weren’t sure if they were really invited but came anyway.

One group that certainly were invited are blockbuster films; whether they have songs in them or not. Seemingly the films don’t even have to have been that successful. The Witches of Eastwick had a successful run in the West End. But more than likely, the film will have a readymade audience. The Full Monty was relocated to middle America from Sheffield to make it a Broadway success. Billy Elliott is well into previews, but the advance word is that it will be a significant hit. Or better still, just take a film with songs already in them – you don’t stand to make as much money, but the guarantee of an audience is that much stronger. Mary Poppins has been well-received by most, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is in its third year.

There are currently 36 theatres in the West End of London’s theatreland. As of Monday 2 May 2005, 27 are currently housing a production. 17 of those are musicals. This ratio is fairly consistent – and shows no signs of relenting. Essentially a hit West End musical needs a hook; star name, hit songs, hit movie, famous composer, popular revival. Something that can be reduced to a two-word phrase. If you haven’t got any of those, then heaven help you. Because the West End public certainly won’t.

Transcendence and Immanence

Simone de Beauvoir, in her groundbreaking mid-20th century work The Second Sex, presented the concepts of “transcendence” and “immanence” as integral features of her theoretical analysis of the structures of patriarchal oppression in Western society. This essay will explore these concepts in terms of Beauvoir’s feminist analysis. In this context, it will be argued that these concepts cannot be considered to be “gender biased” if “bias” is understood in terms of a negative or unsubstantiated scholarship. Rather, as will be argued, Beauvoir’s use of these concepts to describe how the lives of women and men in society are distinctly culturally gendered is not only substantiated when considered in its own historical context but also illuminates our understanding of gender roles in Western society in the early 21st century.

In The Second Sex Simone de Beauvoir presents the concepts of “transcendence” and “immanence” in the course of attempting to answer the fundamental question of “what is a woman” (Beauvoir 1949). Beauvoir contends that the view of generic terms such as “masculine” and “feminine” as being symmetrical only applies in the technicalities of legal documents, for in Western society and culture the two are radically distinct (Beauvoir 1949). She contends that the masculine is the normative “default” in Western society, and that the feminine is defined against this:

She is defined and differentiated with reference to man, and not he with reference to her; she is the incidental, the inessential as opposed to the essential. He is the Subject, he is the Absolute – she is the Other.

(Beauvoir 1949, p.5)

Of course, Beauvoir is aware of that the conceptual binary Self/Other is a principle of differentiation that applies to more than simply the relations between men and women. For example, she notes its referents throughout the cultural history of the West, with analogies to myth, as well as its use to support racist attitudes with respect to Blacks and Jews, and its related use to support class-based oppression (Beauvoir 1949). This is a clear strength in her work for, as critics widely acknowledge, Beauvoir was never solely preoccupied with oppression based upon gender, but recognized and struggled against oppression in a variety of forms (Simons 1999).[1]

It is against this context of oppression that Beauvoir defines her concepts of “transcendence” and “immanence”. Beauvoir argues, in The Second Sex and other writings, that related to this conceptualization of Self/Other is another dichotomy that is a basic feature of oppression: the differentiation of the human population into two groups – those who achieve transcendence through creative and dynamic life-enriching activities, and those relegated to lives of immanence concerned simply with the maintenance of life in its basic conditions (Beauvoir 1949).

It is important to recognize that these are not simply theoretical concepts but, rather, are intended by Beauvoir as descriptive of the daily lives of humanity. From this perspective, “transcendence” and “immanence” are defined in terms of the everyday work and actions of human beings. Thus, transcendent work includes writing, exploring, inventing, creating, studying, while immanent work includes such work as cooking, cleaning, bureaucratic paper pushing and even biological actions such as giving birth (Veltman 2004). The key point to grasp in this differentiation is that activities which involve immanence are basically futile in that they consume time and energy, but accomplishes nothing of fundamental significance (Veltman 2004).

Of course, in making this differentiation Beauvoir is not arguing that these activities are not often essential. After all, we all need to provide for ourselves, or have provided for us, cooking, cleaning and other services. Similarly, child birth is a basic fundamental requirement for the continuation of the human species. Moreover, as critics of Beauvoir have noted, it is important to recognize complexities in her understanding of these concepts throughout her various works. For example, Beauvoir acknowledges that immanent work may sometimes be creative, just as activities of transcendence can often involve numbing repetition (Veltman 2004). Good examples of each would be the case of a mother knitting clothes for her children to wear as a creative activity of immanence, while an author painstakingly proof-reading her novel would be an example of repetitive transcendent activity.

Given this complexity, it would be useful to differentiate between the concepts of transcendence and immanence based upon their respective relations to two key qualities: (1) existential justification, and (2) durability across time. As one critic notes of Beauvoir’s depiction of these concepts:

Since activities of immanence merely sustain life and achieve nothing more than its continuation, they also cannot serve to justify life as its raison d’etre. Rather, existential justification can be established only within transcendent activities that move beyond the maintenance of life itself. . . . If a life is to have reason for being rather than persist solely without reason, it must reach outward toward the future through the production of something creative, constructive, enlightening or otherwise durable.

(Veltman 2004, p.124)

Having thus explored and delineated the parameters of Beauvoir’s concepts of transcendence and immanence, the question of whether these concepts are “gender biased” remains to confront us. It is undeniable, for example, that Beauvoir uses the concepts in The Second Sex in order to explore the processes by which women have been oppressed throughout history in general, and in the context of mid-20th century Western society in particular. As Beauvoir argues in The Second Sex:

…the situation of woman is that she – a free and autonomous being like all human creatures – nevertheless finds herself living in a world where men compel her to assume the status of Other. They propose to stabilize her as an object and to doom her to immanence since her transcendence is to be overshadowed . . . .

(Beauvoir 1949, p.20)

Clearly, Beauvoir’s use of the concepts of “transcendence” and “immanence” in her work is situated within a broader context of social and cultural oppression of women by men. Moreover, it is also clear that Beauvoir has a definite “agenda” in her work in that she does not regard this oppression dispassionately. Rather, she repeatedly questions how women can throw off this oppression and achieve transcendence in their daily lives:

How can a human being in woman’s situation attain fulfilment? What roads are open to her? . . . . How can independence be recovered in a state of dependency? What circumstances limit woman’s liberty and how can they be overcome? These are the fundamental questions on which I would . . . throw some light. This means that I am interested in the fortunes of the individual as defined not in terms of happiness but in terms of liberty.

(Beauvoir 1949, p.20)

The above passage is significant in understanding the issue of “gender bias” in Beauvoir’s use of the concepts of “transcendence” and “immanence” in that we can see that she is not unbiased in her objectives. Clearly, Beauvoir makes no effort to obscure or hide the fact that she is biased in favour of promoting women’s liberty and their capacity to transcendent activity. This being said, however, it cannot justly be extrapolated from this conclusion that Beauvoir’s use of these concepts displays a “gender bias” in the sense of a negative or scholarly unsubstantiated argument. Indeed, as has been noted above, Beauvoir grounds her work in carefully delineated arguments that reference a wide range of theoretical and philosophical models in Western civilization. Moreover, it is noteworthy how in her use of the concepts Beauvoir takes extraordinary care in their description and application. For example, as noted above, she is careful to note subtle complexities in the use of the concepts in everyday life with reference to how immanent activities may be creative, while some transcendent activities may be repetitive and boring.

In conclusion, while it may justly be said that Beauvoir is “biased” in her use of the concepts of “transcendence” and “immanence” as descriptive models of the structures that support the oppression of women in everyday life, and in her objectives to subvert this oppression and promote the liberty of women, it cannot be said that her work display “gender bias” in this area. This term implies a level of “prejudice” that potentially undermines the value of a work given the particular interests or agenda of the author. Given the extraordinary care and attention of Beauvoir in her use of these concepts to reinforce her arguments with respect to the oppression of women in Western society, and the fact that these arguments have withstood the text of time and the critique of leading authorities and scholars over the past half-century, Beauvoir’s use of “transcendence” and “immanence” cannot be represented as displaying “gender bias”.

Works Cited

Beauvoir, S. (1949). The second sex. Trans. H.M. Parsley.

London: Penguin.

Butler, J. (1986). “Sex and gender in Simone de Beauvoir’s “Second Sex””. Yale French Studies, 72: pp.35-49.

Simons, M. (1999). Beauvoir and “The Second Sex”: Feminism, race and the origins of existentialism. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.

Veltman, A. (2004). “The Sisyphean torture of housework: Simone de Beauvoir and inequitable divisions of domestic work in marriage.” Hypatia, 19.3: pp.121-143.

Society considers art as a reflection of what is happening in the world, as well as the different types of personalities that people portray. Consequently, society expects that the modern spectator go beyond merely sharing the artist’s experiences to interpret for him or herself the meaning of these. The cathartic role of the modern spectator has thus been reduced, as he or she is no longer the passive participant, seated in a theater hall or cinema, merely watching a piece of art. Instead, he or she has been made to take up an active role of learning from the works of art, in order to create change for him or her and the society as a whole. The discussion includes what is meant by the cathartic role of the modern spectator, how it has diminished in the new form of theater, and whether it is possible for him or her to reclaim it.

1 Eva Berczeller. “The Aesthetic Feeling and Aristotle’s Catharsis Theory.” The Journal of Psychology 65, (1967): 261-71.

2 Esta Powell. Catharsis in psychology and beyond: a historic overview. Accessed 13 January 2011 http://primal- page.com/cathar.htm

Schultz and Schultz’s definition of catharsis considers it as a psychic process where unconscious thoughts and feelings are made conscious, therefore, allowing the individual to express himself in manner that can be understood.3. Similarly, Szczeklik considers catharsis from as a technique by which an individual lets go of his emotions which are related to unpleasant experiences in the past.4

Aristotle considered catharsis as the process by which spectators set themselves free from the emotions that a piece of art triggers in them, such that they obtain relief and a sense of inner peace. In other words, experiencing catharsis had moral and ethical implications because it helped to moderate passions and strong emotions, therefore restoring the balance in one’s life. The pleasure of releasing one’s emotions resulted in a relief from disturbances such as pity and fear. He saw catharsis as aiming at creating a nice and gratifying feeling of relief to the spectator. Evidently, the word catharsis takes on different meanings in different fields of knowledge, but what these definitions have in common are the aspects of cleansing or purging, releasing of emotions brought about by a person’s experiences. Esta Powell affirms this by saying that, catharsis takes different forms but its essence remains the same, since it is a release from some burden (either physical or mental) and brings healing through its purging effect. 5 Consequently, the underlying notion of purging that has made scholars acknowledge catharsis as a healing, cleansing, and transforming experience, a technique that can be used to bring about a therapeutic change.

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3 Esta Powell. Catharsis in psychology and beyond: a historic overview, Accessed 13 January 2011 http://primal- page.com/cathar.htm

4 Andrzej Szczeklik. Catharsis: on the art of medicine. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2005

5 Duane Schultz and Sydney Schultz A history of modern psychology. Belmont, ca: Wadsworth/Thompson. 2004.

In the sphere of theater, catharsis is used to refer to any discharge of emotions; in this case, an audience releases his or her emotions while watching a drama in any suitable method and channel. The spectator therefore has a role to play in theater, in that; he or she is deemed to express the emotions aroused by theatric activities.

How does catharsis occur in theatre? According to Esta Powell, artists use different strategies to trigger strong emotional displays in their audiences. Many artists use the effect of surprise and unexpectedness to bring about catharsis. For example, in the Greek tragedy “Oedipus rex,” Oedipus experiences catharsis when he feels culpable of murdering his father, marrying his mother, who later commits suicide and the loneliness he feels as a result. 7

Scheff believes that human beings strive to engage in activities that will enable them free themselves from hurtful emotional experiences, and therefore obtain a sense of calm. He gives the example of a spectator who cries about a character who dies in a play. This, he notes, is simply a reawakening of feelings of loss in the viewer’s life and he or she is reliving unresolved personal experiences. He explains this by saying that theater provides for the audience a safe distance from personal experiences. This is because the social environment of a theater lessens the effect of emotions arising from unpleasant events, as the audience believes that an individual is sympathizing with a play character and not with himself.9

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7 Esta Powell. Catharsis in psychology and beyond: a historic overview, accessed 13 January 2011 http://primal- page.com/cathar.htm

8 Andrzej Szczeklik, Catharsis: on the art of medicine. Chicago: (The University of Chicago Press, 2005).

9 Thomas Scheff Catharsis in healing, ritual, and drama. Lincoln, ne:( iuniverse.com, 2001).

However, the cathartic role of the spectator has diminished due to modernism. The two major personalities, who have opposed the norms of traditional theater and called for a revolution in its practices, are Bertolt Brecht and Antonin Artaud. Tuirenn Hurstfield notes that theater artists Bertolt Brecht and Antonin Artaud were both frustrated by the traditional theaters’ illusions of imitating reality. In retaliation, they advocated for change. Artaud, feeling the idea of theatre had been lost, moved towards his theatre of cruelty while Brecht, refuting the drama of his time as still following Aristotle’s idea of catharsis, moved towards a non-Aristotelian mode of theater.10 In what he calls a new form of theater, that is, epic theater. Brecht argues that the spectator is no longer just an observer, but also an actor.

Brecht distinguishes this situation from that of what he calls dramatic theatre, or in other words, Aristotle’s view of theatre, where the spectator is merely an observer, sharing the experience of the actor. He considers catharsis as a way of bringing about greater social change. Pericles Lewis affirms this by saying that Brecht’s idea of epic theater appealed to reason rather than the expression of emotions and sought to turn the spectator into an observer, who stands aside, separates himself from the action of the play, and studies it. In this respect, what Brecht was doing was to stand against a dominant tradition in theater, which aimed to have the spectator involved in and sharing the experience of the play. In addition, Brecht was against identification or sympathy between the spectators and the actors, which was characteristic of Aristotle’s idea of catharsis.

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10 Hurstfield Tuirenn, Bertolt Brecht and Antonin Artaud’s revolutionary theatre practices, last modified Aug 28, 2008, http://www.suite101.com/content/bertolt-brecht-antonin-artaud-a66380

11 Pericles Lewis, The Cambridge Introduction to modernism Cambridge: (Cambridge Press, 2007).193- 194.

Pericles Lewis notes that Brecht advocates for a separation between the spectator and the action of the play as well as its characters, so that he is able to reflect on his theatric experience in a rational manner, void of the influence of emotions. In other words, Brecht maintained that the spectator’s experience should not stop with the emotional reaction that the play elicits, but should cause a distanced reflection based on that emotional reaction. 12

In conclusion, it appears then, that the modern spectator cannot reclaim his or her cathartic role, since scholars place more emphasis on what moral lessons the theatric activities can offer him or her, other than the emotional relief. This is difficult for the modern spectator because we are not only rational but also emotional beings. Creating a balance between the two aspects of human existence puts the modern spectator in a dilemma, as he cannot ignore the feelings that a theatric spectacle elicits in him. At the same time, he has to reflect on the didactic intentions of the artist or the creator of the play. The modern spectator has to see beyond the feelings he has of the action as well as the characters in the play, and consider the social or political action that he is supposed to take because of his emotional reaction. In other words, the sentiments that any piece of art elicits in the spectator should serve as motivation for him to implement the lessons learnt. They should assist him in bringing about the so desired social and political changes in our world today; otherwise, art will have failed in its ultimate role.

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12 Pericles Lewis, The Cambridge Introduction to modernism Cambridge: (Cambridge University Press, 2007). 191.

This piece uncovers both the physiological and scientific actions behind the presentation of the voice. As an actor, theatre practitioner or theorist, we become aware that the presentation of communication is not a mere ability to speak, but an action from a complex organ which is bound up with our emotions and understanding which directs our physiological reflexes. For Linklater, the conveying of emotion must mean the feeling of emotion since our voice is powered by our very breath. Breath is chemically and physically linked to the body’s capacity and state of serenity. The natural relaxed voice occurs when the body is harmonious, relaxed and warm but any element of stress, excitement distraction can cause breath influxes which create tension and resonance which creates a new tone and inflection. (Linklater, 1976)

Linklater’s next piece continues that communication with the voice is not always the conveying of speech. However, in Western theatre it is recognised that speech and language is a primary form of expression. The voice and the actor must therefore become one. Both must be in their neutral state but not joined as they are in the actor’s human life but rejoined, both neutral and aligned to negotiate the new adornment of character in which to convey new expression. In this sense the actors own imagery behind their speech must be put aside and a new imagery must come from the character, this must occur organically, through exercises and development. Only here can the actor and their voice become unique and spontaneous in their role.

Furthermore the learning of lines must be absorbed into the heart creating an understanding between the actor and their role. The actor must know more than the character in order to respond instinctively and naturally vocally within the action. (Linklater, 2006)

Berry: Vocal Development

In this chapter Berry focuses on the theory behind the vocal exercises he developed. These exercises help to convey how Linklaters ideas can be worked. For Berry the voice of the actor must be separated from the voice of the person and preconceived ideas. The way the individual communicates, their own anxieties and tensions must be removed in order to release full vocal potential. Berry laments that one can only get the best vocally if exercises are partaken. There are three stages of development for Berry. The first is relaxation and breathing. In this stage the actor develops the ability for vocal power by increasing the use of the lips and tongue. The second stage is the application of this to the actor’s role. They must be aware that their own vocal inhibitions are bound up with their acting voice, and that what they hear is not what the audience hears. Relying on their own voice would lead to a predictable style of acting, instead the actor must use these exercise to free the voice and allow the emotion of the role to become one with the voice, preventing the need for predictable pushing out and expression of emotions. Finally the third stage is the belief in both the exercises and an understanding of the second stage to create vocal freedom. The development of the voice through these three stages of exercises will create a new freedom, allowing the voice to respond instinctively to the action, beyond thought and technicality of the actors thoughts, but instead naturally and freely. (Berry, 1978)

Lecoq: The Art of Mime

Contrary to mime’s generic image of speechless and silent expression, Lecoq’s writings on mime express the important of the voice and indeed the concepts of freedom in movement and vocal as discussed above. Fundamentally Lecoq rejects the notion of mime being the expression of words without sound. The cliched image of the mime, with exaggerated movements and facial expression, Lecoq would suggest fails to convey the practice of mime and its true art form. Mime in its simplest form is the idea of imitation. Here we can understand the art of dramatic mime that Lecoq discusses. This is creation of a theatrical situation with the body, often involving the impersonation of people’s. Such artists create the illusion of the person they mimic, vocally, in body and action. Their art lies in the ability to be this person in alternate scenarios. The actor must feel the movement, gestures and emotions as if they are their own, only the theatrics occurs when the addition of the actors true self is added, their ownership of the movements produces the essence of mimicry. Symbolic mime requires the actor to partake in absolute mime, creating the environment and opening the audience’s imagination. This requires a consistency of action, an understanding of the weight, placement and true abilities of the objects in the illusion. Finally there is the use of plastic mime, the use of the body as a language perhaps used with the constraints of face masks. The body must convey the story whilst the face illuminates the emotion. Lecoq theories a system for conveying mime through exercises designed to able the body. However, Lecoq laments that this system of exercises once used must be discarded of a true and spontaneous performance is to be conveyed. The body moves spontaneously, with reflective action and the system of exercises must not prevent this. All rhythm is organic and no two rhythms are the same and this is key to the creation of the art of mime. (Lecoq, 2006)

Jos Houben: The Neutral Mask

Once again this piece focuses on the freedom of expression necessary in acting. Through mask work, Shrubsall speaks of Houben’s techniques, as inspired by Mosho Feldenkrais and Jacques Lecoq. The ability to separate and un-clutter one’s own psychology which lays behind all our human movement, readying the body for meaningful spontaneous movement using techniques such as understanding the relationship between different parts of the body and their related movements. This is conveyed in the important of the mask in acting. The mask will only exist if there is a connection between the actor and the mask. They must become the mask. When the actor looks to the sky, the mask must convey this use of sight, his head expressing the movement and his back and shoulders responding as such. This piece is about the use of organic and functional movement, free from judgement and prior interpretation. (Shrubsall, 2002)

Murray: Practical Exercises

In this chapter Murray attempts to produce a series of exercises in which to share the experience of Lecoq’s theatre and understanding how to prepare one’s body for theatre as expressed by Lecoq. Murray defines the fundamental principles behind Lecoq’s theories and hence his exercises. It is the idea that essentially movement provokes emotion and the body remembers this. This chapter focuses mainly on the teaching of these actual exercises rather than the theory behind but considers most primarily the body’s relationship between push and pull, balance and imbalance in the creation of Lecoq’s work on tragedy, melodrama the neural mask and commedia del’arte. (Murray, 2003)

Conclusion

There is a theme within these readings, that of body and movement in space and time incorporating ideas of freedom without influence. In order to grasp this freedom the readings suggest that the use of exercises is of prime importance for the natural, free vocal and bodied actor. The muscles of the mind and body must be warm and content in order to open up the actor’s full potential. There is the suggestion that acting without such consideration is meaningless and insincere. That to act is to be free from our human constraints.

Globalisation refers to the increasing interaction and integration of people socially, economically, and culturally through increasing interconnectedness, in which, theatres are also affected by. Performances originally in English are now performed in multiple languages, allowing other cultures around the world to experience watching similar theatrical performances. Singapore, a globalised community, consists of much cultural variety. Due to the immersed cultural diversity, Singapore would like to expand their theatrical performances, appealing to a broader audience of different cultures and eventually become the ‘Broadway of the East’. It is the contention of this essay to analyse the impacts of globalisation on theatres via the examination of McTheatres, modernism, interculturalism, and the impact of Western theatre culture on Singapore’s theatre culture in accordance to theatre design.

In the McTheatre franchise, the workers have little or no control over their conditions of work; all the creative decisions were taken years ago and are locked down. The choreography is fixed, and the movements are largely determined by the automated sets and standardized lighting designs, which means that any deviation from the pattern risks injury or singing in darkness (Rebellato 2009: 44).

The concept of McTheatre productions are methods of global imperialism. The pro side to this can be explained when the concept was founded by Cameron Mackintosh during the 1970s when he began working in a British theatre. After experiencing a “shabby imitation” of a metropolitan original, Mackintosh wanted audiences anywhere in the world to have the same high-quality experience instead of a cheap reproduction. However, because of standardization, the virtues of theatre are depreciated, such as the liveliness, immediacy, and the uniqueness of each performance. “In a show such as The Lion King, the costumes are the stars, and the actors merely their operators. When we think of the mega musicals, we often think of the brand images: the big eyes orphan, a cat’s eye, a combined Japanese pictograph/helicopter. The star performers are never part of the brand image, because in McTheatre even the biggest star is replaceable” (Rebellato 2009: 45). Cities such as Toronto, Las Vegas, Basle, and Denver hold theatres that have been built specifically for these mega musicals. However, they are not built well acoustically, considering all mega musicals are miked performances. Thus once that particular mega musical performance has moved on, the theatre is limited to performances requiring well built acoustics.

Musical franchises are successful to a certain extent, but they are limited to an English speaking audience. Musicals such as The Lion King and Tarzan however, even though they are global musical theatre hits, are performed in multiple languages in order to appeal to a larger range of audience members. Cats have been translated into 10 different languages such as Japanese, German, and French and The Lion King will be making its first Spanish debut in Madrid on October 21st of 2011 (Cats the Musical 2011; Gans 2011). Aside from mega musicals, past theatrical performances such as Shakespearean plays are currently performed around the world. Variations of Shakespeare’s plays are also created to appeal towards the audience of the 21st century, for example, The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) is an interactive and humorous parody of Shakespeare’s plays where improvisation plays a huge roll. Hence, every performance is never the same and is unique.

While older theatre acts are adapting to a more modern perspective, new performances are created to relate towards the 21st century audience. “The theatre might be thought to contribute to the globalization of politics through plays that critically represent the workings of globalization…” (Rebellato 2009: 9). The musical Avenue Q, is ranked 21st of longest running shows in Broadway history with 2,534 performances (Avenue Q 2009). The musical, ironically portrayed as an adult version of Sesame Street, isn’t a globalized musical because it has been performed around the world, but also because the musical itself is about globalization. Considering its relevance towards the 21st century audience, it is able to connect with the majority of the world population. The puppets in the musical goes through stereotypical problems and activities people go through every day, such as, the relation towards internet within their song “the internet is for porn”, pokes fun at how the modern day population makes use of the internet, though not many may admit or embrace the new mentality.

Culture and globalisation goes hand in hand with each other, and theatres are no exception from the interculturalism. Defined by nationalists of the Canadian province of Quebec, “interculturalism is the philosophy of exchanges between cultural groups within a society.” Theatres in particular have been able to share multiple cultures with the world for centuries. This alone is a huge part on globalisation because different parts of the world are able to experience different cultures through the form of theatrical performances, whether it would be through dance, acting, and music. “I consider ‘theatre’ to refer to all cultural forms in which performers and active or passive participant-audiences coexist in the same space for a set time” (Knowles 2010: 3). During the Nara period, the Japanese, Chinese and Koreans exchanged performance traditions with each other, hence the bukagu court dance and gugaku, the Buddhist processional dance play, was eventually integrated with the Japanese culture. Western cultures did not intermix with the Asian cultures until American and European invasions in the late 19th century. Ric Knowles makes this point in his book Theatre & Interculturalism:

Beginning at the turn of the twentieth century and lasting almost a hundred years, the shingeki (new drama) movement saw a turn in Japan to Shakespeare, Ibsen, Chekhov, Stanislavski, and the performance styles of western naturalism and spoken drama. In the first decade of the twentieth century, in the wake of China’s defeat in the Sino-Japanese war of 1894-5, a similar movement developed in China, largely through the conscious efforts of Li Xishuang and Tokyo’s Spring Willow society, and visits to the society by Chinese students who produced the first huaju (spoken drama) (Knowles 2010: 8-9).

Much like the plays from Shakespeare, as mentioned before, it has come to a point where we have the ability to share knowledge easily around the world, and theatrical performances are also able to be shared with equal amount of ease.

One of the most well known types of performances known to globalise are circuses. It is in their nature to be mobile and move from place to place entertaining audiences. This leads to globalization through culture, “…the interconnection of world cultures, perhaps even the development of a ‘world culture’” (Rebellato 2010: 5). The most world renowned circus to this day would be Cirque du Soleil. Originally named Les Echassiers, it was founded by two former street performers in 1984 in Baie-Saint-Paul. It is now a Canadian entertainment company based in Montreal, Quebec, self-described as a “dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment” (Cirque du Soleil 2010). Cirque du Soleil has a wide variety of performances, all of which are an integration of circus styles from around the world with its own theme and storyline. They attract audiences through continuous live music, which allows the performance to be cross cultural because one doesn’t have to understand the language in order to enjoy the performance, hence it appeals to everyone and they are able to expand to different cultures around the world.

Cirque du Soleil does not only travel around the world, but they have also left permanent set ups in different parts of the world. Las Vegas, United States, has the most Cirque du Soleil performances in one area. Performances such as KA, LOVE, Mystere, O, Viva ELVIS, and Zumanity are performed to many new audiences because it’s in an area of visiting tourists from all around the world. ZED Cirque du Soleil is stationed in a theatre build specifically for this performance at Disney Resort in Tokyo, Japan, with seven million people watching this spectacular performance every year. Cirque du Soleil has been able to create and show many different performances, but it couldn’t have been done without more than 600 of their performers. (Cirque du Soleil Inc. 2009) Hence, the interconnectedness of culture is shared amongst performers and audience alike all around the world.

Though most of the casts of Cirque du Soleil are trained for this specialized art, there are also performers who were past Olympic participants from all around the world. Zoltan Supola, a gold medal gymnast who competed in the Olympic three times, retired in the year 2000 after the Sydney Games. He landed a job with Cirque du Soleil and became a part of the gravity-defying troupe of performers, which now incorporates a total of 17 former Olympians. Another example is gymnast, Paul Bowler, who performs in “Mystere” at the Treasure Island hotel in Las Vegas after failing to make it with the British Olympic team in 1996 (Martinez 2011). Performances themselves aren’t the only ones affected by globalisation, but the people who work within those performances as well. It is without a doubt that Cirque du Soleil is one of the most globalised theatrical performances to have spread from North America all the way to Asia.

Singapore is known to be a global community with multiple cultures integrated in one city, and because of this, different kinds of theatrical acts dedicated to the different cultures and all cultures are continuously performed. Singapore is a perfect example of interculturalism in general and for theatres. With the amount of international theatrical performances arriving every few months and with the amount of audiences watching these performances, it is clear that Singapore has embraced the idea of interculturalism within their theatres. This is a country in which Western and Asian performances are accepted together and appeal to a large portion of the public, hence Singapore’s wish to be a global pin point, the ‘Broadway of the East’ so to speak. As Kenneth Lyen states:

Yes, Singapore can indeed be the Broadway of the East. We have several unique attributes. Firstly, there is a wealth of stories waiting to be told in the genre of musical theatre. We also have a fascinating variety of Asian music, with different rhythms and different instruments. Our talent pool is immense, and largely untapped. We have not reached the stage where musical theatre prohibitively expensive to stage (Lyen 2010).

Aside from Singapore bringing in theatrical performances from other parts of the world, Singapore themselves are trying to globalise their own local theatre productions. It is obvious how much Western performances have influenced the local productions. By trying to maintain a unique theme to Singapore, the structure is very much of the western style. A good example of this is the musical, Forbidden City. “It’s Singapore’s most successful musical – first commissioned for the opening of the Esplanade, now in its third run, greeted with interest by American investors who’d like to adapt it for Broadway” (Yi-Sheng 2010). By exploring the fusion of Western and Eastern styles, there is a possibility for Singaporean theatrical productions to become worldwide and achieve globalisation with their own culture and local acts.

Theatre of the 21st century is affected by social standing and social status of the community, hence the design of theatres affect the people’s want and reason to attend a performance based on prestige. Theatre of Ancient Greece was an open air, semi-circular layout with only the use of a skene and costumes for visual distinction between characters and scenery (The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 2008). It was a place for the gathering of people to enjoy a performance by being taken to another dimension. The use of lighting was available only through natural lighting; hence performances were casually held during the daytime. The globalised theatre design of the 21st century however, is incorporated on the theatre experience influenced by the modern American stage design through the use of lighting, props, and moveable stage parts. With the discovery of lighting, theatres became enclosed and performances became a nightly event, which is gives off a more formal experience. Now it is a place not only for people to gather and enjoy a performance, but also a place of prestige. Theatres in general have become a social marker.

The concept of an exposed theatre within the new proposed design of the Victoria Theatre situated in Singapore is aimed to attract audiences through the act of interaction or communication with the general public and raise awareness of theatrical performances to help Singapore reach its goal of being the ‘Broadway of the East’. The use of an open-air theatre and an enclosed theatre together is to create two different experiences much like the casual experience of Ancient Greece and the more formal experience of the 21st century.

With today’s technology and interconnectedness, theatres has become a huge part of globalisation through the sharing of performances and performers around the world not only through the use of “McTheatres”, but also through the creation of fused cultural performances in order to reach out to a broader audience. Through Western influence, the design of theatres has created a social status through the theatre experience. Singapore, being a social marker and huge globalised community, has attracted theatrical performances from around the world in order to share the multiple cultures with its local audience, to become the next ‘Broadway of the East’, and to create their own theatrical performances as well, such as Forbidden City.

Dance is defined as the art of movement. It can be used to express feelings, to exercise, to perform, and some can even interact and have nonverbal conversation though the art of dance. Dance is usually performed through the rhythm and beat of music, but it doesn’t necessarily have to involve music. Sports even sometimes incorporate a certain dance, or type of dance. For example, a martial arts kata is simply a series of movements put together to be performed with the grace and strength of a dance. Dance is also used in sports such as synchronized swimming, ice skating, and gymnastics.

There are many types of dance, ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, modern, and contemporary just to name a few. Most people can’t go through the day without seeing a type of dance performed in some way. Whether its seeing kids dance at a prom, a person walking down the street moving to the beat of their iPod, or simply turning on the television, it’s something that’s in our everyday lives. But have you ever wondered where it all started, or how it became what it is today?

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It was believed that dancing was a ritual in early ancient civilizations; priests would dance to the rhythm of harps and pipes to tell stories to the ancient gods, people also danced at funerals to express their sorrow. Around this same time period ballet was beginning to evolve in France. As it continued to spread through Italy, England, and Russia, it became a concert dance, which is often, even today, seen in movies and events all over the world. Dancing has continued to blossom into what it is today, and the best way to show how it has become what it is today, is though film.

One of the first movies that involved sing and dance was the 1952 film, Singing in the Rain, starring Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds. This movie was more of a Broadway musical, but it is one of the first movies that involved dance at all. The most famous part of this movie is when the main character, Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly), dances through the streets with an umbrella as he twirls and sings the title song. He then grabs onto a pole and swings around it continuing to sing. During the filming of this scene he had a 103 degree fever, but thanks to the help of the camera crew, this scene only had to be shot one time.

After the production of this movie, dancing became the new craze. Dances such as, the Bop, the Stroll and the Swing became popular. Also when the song “Willy and The Hand Jive” was released, it stayed at the top of the charts for 16 weeks. Poodle skirts and pony-tails were the style, and “Do Wop” music was what everyone wanted to hear.

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The 60’s rolled around quickly and with a new decade, came new traditions. A brand new dance became the new trend. In 1960 Chubby Checker released his song entitled “The Twist.” The Twist was the first Rock & Roll dance in which partners didn’t have to touch each other.

The Twist was once said to be like, “putting out a cigarette with both feet and drying off your bottom with a towel to the beat of the music.” It was performed with the feel shoulder width apart, standing straight up, with the arms fully extended and slightly bent at the elbows. Then the next move was simply to twist the body back and forth.

Other popular dances during this time period were the Mashed Potato, the Monkey, and the Madison. The “Baby Boomers” definitely played a role in all the dance explosion of the 60’s. Throughout the end of this decade many of these dances were seen in movie productions and on Broadway.

Next we enter the retro years of the 70’s, KC and the Sunshine Band topped the charts, and Disco was the new craze. Everyone was aware that sooner or later the sex appeal of disco would make its way to the film industry. There isn’t a movie that shows this better than Saturday Night Fever starring, John Travolta and Karen Lynn Gorney. Saturday Night Fever became an instant box office hit with the famous dance by John Travolta to the Bee Gee’s smash hit Stayin’ Alive. Disco was one of the fast dances of the decade, with 110-140 bmp (beats per minute). It wasn’t long before everyone wanted to become a part of the raging disco scene, eventually

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groups such as Kiss, and The Rolling Stones, and people like Cher and Rod Stewart were all in on the fun.

As the years passed Broadway musicals became popular for a short period of time. After the great success of Hair in 1970, movies continued to make it from Broadway to the big screen. Grease, All That Jazz, and Dreamgirls, just to name a few.

Toward the end of the 70’s came the first big Broadway film to hit the box office. Grease hit the cinemas in 1978 and it soon became a dance sensation. The dances from this film are often recreated in dance classes, at recitals, shows and other events; some of these dances are even trademarked. This movie was not only a musical it was also very popular for its energetic cast and it’s “feel good” love story. One of the most famous dance moves from this movie was “The Hand Jive.” Since then there have been many different variations of how it is done.

Grease is one musical that has been said to “never get old” with the catchy songs and the disco and jive moves of John Travolta. Grease produced one of the best selling soundtracks in the world. Also, once Grease went to Broadway, it was one of the longest running musicals of all time, until Cats overtook it just recently.

The next movie of the 70’s that shows a definite change in the music and dance of the decade was All That Jazz in 1979. This film starring Roy Scheider and Jessica Lange is based on the aspects of a dancer, a choreographer, and a director’s life and career. It was inspired by the

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director’s effort to edit a film, while also staging a 1975 musical Chicago. This film closed out the 1970’s with a “bang.” It was awarded many honors, and four Oscars. Also, in 2001, the United States deemed the film “culturally significant” and it is now preserved in the National Film Registry.

So to wrap up the 70’s the Twist, the Bump, the Jitterbug, the Hustle and the Swing were all very popular dances, but through these years nothing compared to the Americans love for the Disco. It was the last immensely popular move driven by the baby boomers generation, but soon enough came the 80’s and with a new decade came new traditions, fashions, and of course a brand new dance.

The 80’s was definitely one of the best decades for new dance moves, and movies that portrayed this. From the musicals like Fame and Footloose, to the break dancing skills showed in the film Breakin’, a rewind of 70’s disco in Saturday Night Fever, the mambo and freestyle dance of Dirty Dancing, to the unusual dance moves of the extremely popular Michael Jackson. The 80’s was another step to make dancing what it is today. These 10 years were some of the best in dance history.

One of the first 1980’s dance movies to earn a spot in the all-time movies hall of fame is Fame (1980), starring Eddie Barth, Irene Cara and Laura Dean. Fame mainly took part at a Performing Arts Academy, with many great performances. Fame is considered a musical with a large amount of singing and dancing. It was awarded 3 honors, 2 Oscars, as well as 16 other

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nominations. It wasn’t a huge hit, but it still remembered by some and it showed how the sing and dance of this time period was done.

1983’s Flashdance was a major pop culture influence, with a style of its own. This film is the story of a Pittsburgh woman (Jennifer Beals) that juggles two jobs, one as a welder, and the other as an exotic dancer. Of course, during this time exotic dancing wasn’t twirling on a pole and taking off clothes, it was much different. She longs to make a career of her dancing and apply to a ballet school, but doesn’t have to confidence in her skills to apply. Flashdance had a worldwide box-office gross of 100 million, won 10 honors, one Oscar, and was nominated for 13 other nominations. This was a very stylish movie that entertained millions with the 80’s pop music and new dance moves. Flashdance popularized the dance of the 80’s with many new hit songs and dances.

The next movie that shows an evolution in the dance moves of the 80’s is actually a sequel to the 1977 movie Saturday Night Fever. Stayin’ Alive was a 1983 movie starring John Travolta, Cynthia Rhodes, and Finola Hughes. This film begins five years later with the main character, Tony Manero, dancing on the weekend nights at a disco club to run from his problems. Eventually he decides to leave his life as a dance instructor and club waiter to pursue a career on Broadway. He ends up getting the lead role in a Broadway show called Satan’s Alley. This film brought in 65 million, it was a lot less than its predecessor in 1977, but it managed to be one of the top 10 successful movies of the 80’s.

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In 1984 Kevin Bacon’s moves and energy made one of the best “high budget” dance movies of the 80’s. Footloose combines great dance music with dancers and a story of a guy that came from a big city, to a small town where dance is banned. Jazz, Hip-hop and freestyle were the main dances of choice throughout this film. Around this time in the 80’s Footloose was a rival to Flashdance, but it was said many times that Footloose was definitely the favorite for most people. This film starring not only Kevin Bacon, but Lori Singer and John Lithgow as well, brought in 80 million, it was nominated for 2 Oscars and 4 other nominations.

The next 1984 movie was one of the “lower budget” movies, and according to some, it put some of the “higher budget” movies to shame. Breakin’ was one of those movies that were very different than what most people were used to. Unlike most movies, it used talented dancers, rather than talented actors to dance. The difference with this movie rather than most during the 80’s was that it’s a celebration of dance; it doesn’t really have any particular style it was more of a freestyle dance movie. This movie was about a jazz dancer named Kelly (Lucinda Dickey) that meets two break dancers who combine their dance styles. Although the acting wasn’t great, the dancing definitely made up for it. The sequel was released a year later, but it wasn’t near the hit as this one. Because this movie wasn’t like the traditional movies of the 80’s it was only nominated for one award and it only brought in 38 million, however this movie was also very different than the rest during this time period that was a major factor in the downfall.

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In the film industry of the 80’s one of the biggest successes was Dirty Dancing. This is a 1987 film starring Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey and Cynthia Rhodes. Personally this is my absolute favorite movie of all time. Something that most people don’t know was that Dirty Dancing was a true story based on the screenwriter, Eleanor Bergstein’s own childhood. This movie was the story of a 17 year old girl and her family who goes on vacation at a resort, eventually Baby Housman (Jennifer Gray) falls in love with the resorts dance instructor (Patrick Swayze), while her family strongly disapproves. She spends her entire summer with him as he teaches her to dance. When this film was finished and about to be put in theatres the directors and cast were informed that this film would be a huge “flop” and possibly one of the worst films made during this time period.

Little did they know that Dirty Dancing is considered today, “the best dance movie ever made” and it would still be the favorite of many people today. As of 2007 this film earned $213.9 million worldwide, and it was the first home video to sell more than a million copies. The Dirty Dancing soundtrack also produced two multi-platinum albums and multiple singles. This film went on to win an Oscar, as well as 9 other awards, and 5 nominations.

Although there wasn’t a movie about the dance styles of Michael Jackson, I believe that he played a major part in the shift of styles in the 80’s. Michael Jackson’s career was booming with new dances, songs and styles during this time. In 1982 his album “Thriller” still remains

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today, the bestselling album of all time, and remained on the Billboard 200 peak position for 37 weeks straight. It contained 7 top ten hits, and it was only a 9 track album. “We Are the World” and “Bad” were also big hits during this time period, making music and dance even more popular. As the 80’s continued Michael Jackson was said to be one of the biggest stars of the world. He popularized dances such as the Moonwalk, the Kick, the Soulful Robot and the Never-Ending Spin.

The 80’s has been said to be “the decade of dance,” there was break dancing, the Worm, the Moonwalk and more. During the 80’s the dancing definitely took a step up to what it is for most people today. Also, many movies through these 10 years showed a change in the dance styles.

The beginning of the 90’s dance styles was very similar to the 80’s. Michael Jackson was still popular; the same dance movies were being watched over and over; and most people were still stuck in their 80’s ways of life. As the 1990’s continued dance moves such as the Macarena, the Cha Cha Slide, the Running Man, and the Electric Slide.

One of the first dance movies in a long time came out in the year 2000, Center Stage, starring Amanda Schull, Zoe Saldana and Peter Gallagher was one of those dance movies with a plot that “wasn’t so good”, but the dancing was excellent. This film revisits styles of ballet, Broadway dancing, and disco, and blends together styles of its own. It also shows the difficulty

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and common issues of professional dancing and how some people cope with the stress without computer special effects.

The next movie isn’t exactly a “dance” movie, but it shows how dancing has recently been incorporated into other activities, such as cheerleading. Bring it On was the 2000; film starring Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku and Gabrielle Union. Bring it On shows how cheerleading involves dance as well, and how had dance has spread to other activities. Not only does cheerleading involve dancing, but many other sports too, such as synchronized swimming it’s nothing more than a dance in water, or figure skating. Even professional football players are sent to ballet classes to obtain balance and poise. This is an excellent film that shows the importance of dancing in sports such as cheerleading.

The year 2004 takes us to a memorable movie where the style changes to ballroom dance. Shall We Dance shows many types of ballroom dance, like the Waltz, Quickstep and Tango. This film was first a Japanese film, but this version starring Jennifer Lopez, Richard Gere, and Susan Sarandon, is the story of a workaholic lawyer who is getting bored with his daily routine, and he decides to take ballroom dance classes to make his life a little more interesting. As the time he dances continues he finds joy in it more and more. This film brought in 57.8 million dollars and was nominated for 4 awards.

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The next film takes us back to the musicals of the 70’s and 80’s, Hairspray, starring Zac Efron, John Travolta, Amanda Bynes, Queen Latifah and Michelle Pfeiffer was the fourth highest grossing musical film in US cinema history, behind Grease, Chicago and Momma Mia! This film is set in Baltimore in 1963; the story is about a plump teenager Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky) who seeks stardom as a dancer on a local television show. The 1988 original version of Hairspray earned 6.6 million and was nominated for 4 awards, while the 2007 version earned 188.8 million in the box office, was nominated for 3 Golden Globes, won 12 other awards, and had 18 other nominations. This was an energetic dance movie, much like Grease, with plenty of heart, it was said to make people “want to get up and sing and dance.”

The final and most recent successful 2006 dance movie is very similar to Dirty Dancing. Step Up, starring Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan, is a perfect example of what dance has become today. Step Up is the story of a privileged ballet dancer who meets a free style dance rebel with a dream of making it in the real world of dance. In this film there was a mix of hip-hop, ballet, modern and break dancing to make this film perfect for this list of movies that helped our styled evolve today. This movie earned 65.3 million in the box office, and won one award and was nominated for 3 other awards.

Things have definitely changed from the 1950’s until today, but one thing in common with all of these movies is the real message; follow your dreams, and never give up on the things that you want. Another thing that all these movies have in common, it that it gives most people the urge to get up and dance.

The show “The Cradle Will Rock” written my Marc Blitzstein is a piece of work that reflects the struggles and politics of its time. In researching this show and it original production, one has to also know about the events in history surrounding and affecting the lives of every-day Americans. Then one must realize how these experiences influenced and inspired the creativity and brilliance behind Blitzstein’s vision and the creation of “The Cradle Will Rock”. It is in specific events of the nineteen thirties that sparked, what was for its time, a controversial incident in the history of theatre had never before transpired.

When the Depression began Herbert Hoover was the President and then in 1932 Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected President. Roosevelt, seeing his country in a state of decline, lunched what is referred to as “The New Deal”, a series of economic programs to get American back on its feet. One of these programs was The Works Progress Administration or the WPA which aimed to find jobs for the unemployed. The WPA consisted of five Federal One projects and the Federal Theatre Project or FTP was one designed for employment of out-of-work artists, writers, and directors, with the secondary aim of entertaining poor families and creating relevant art.

Other event s that lead to important plot points of Blitzstein’s “The Cradle Will Rock” where the forming of unions and labor strikes. In Scott Miller’s “An Analysis of The Cradle Will Rock” he writes:

The political atmosphere in America in 1937 was ripe for a show like The Cradle Will Rock. In 1936 not a single employee at U.S. Steel belonged to a union, but by February 1937, just five months before Cradle’s premiere, the steel workers had unionized and forced U.S. Steel to sign a collective bargaining agreement. In response to this new movement, anti-labor organizations were springing up all over America.”

With all this going on Blitzstein felt the need to express the frustrations of the union workers, but the creation of “The Cradle Will Rock” first began with a single song call Nickel under the foot. It was performed for Bertolt Brecht a German poet, playwright, and theatre director. It was Brecht’s idea to take the song further into a full length show. “Brecht said, “Why don’t you write a piece about all kinds of prostitution – the press, the church, the courts, the arts, the whole system?” (John Jansson)”

While he did not get to work on it right away the idea never left his mind. It was not until the death of his wife that he dove headfirst into the writing of the musical. It took him all of five weeks to complete his work of art, that of which he dedicated to Brecht.

Troubles for Blitzstein came when it was time for him to find a company that would accept his piece. Many companies though it to be too sensitive a subject with the recent troubles in America and its large political statement, all in all for many it seemed too risky. But that would not stop Blitzstein in finding a way to get his play to the people; he would not give up his quest to make his message heard. A message many Americans needed to hear.

The plot of “The Cradle Will Rock” as explained on Musical Heaven is as follows:

Moll, a streetwalker in “Steeltown USA” is arrested and finds herself in Night Court witnessing the arraignment of “The Liberty Committee,” a handful of distinguished citizens who are opposed to organizing activities by the Steelworkers Union. In an ironic twist of fate, they have been mistaken for union organizers and arrested. A drunken vagrant, once a prospering pharmacist, explains to Moll how this minister, newspaper editor, doctor, college president, professor and artist have all sold their principles for money and power. The wealth and authority of Mister Mister, a leading industrial boss, has corrupted the city, and the process is also revealed in the committee members’ furtive dialogues and strained efforts for release.

Ultimately the chief union organizer, Larry Foreman, is brought into court. An uncompromising and charismatic man, he exemplifies how one person can make a difference and gives hope to the bitter prostitute and druggist. When Steeltown’s boss, Mister Mister, arrives at the courthouse to rescue his lackeys, he attempts to buy Foreman’s loyalties but is rebuked. At the conclusion, word arrives that other unions have joined with the Steelworkers’ struggle. Even the Liberty Committee, sensing the drift of things, abandons its rich patron. Mister Mister, cowardly and alone, realizes that working people have finally developed a backbone and that he has met his match.

It was not until Orson Welles, an actor and theatre director who was working for the WPA at the time, had Blitzstein play it for producer John Houseman. This finally gave Blitzstein his big break. Houseman loved the concept and put it into production straightaway.

With Orson Welles as the director the vision of the show started taking shape, perhaps it was a vision that Blitzstein was not expecting. Blitzstein believed in his character’s two-dimensionality. He viewed them more as cartoon characters, larger than life. But with the direction of Welles he wanted a spectacle. As read in the article “The Cradle that Rocked America” Joseph Gustaitis writes:

As director, Welles launched himself into The Cradle Will Rock with characteristic Wellesian style, promising Houseman a grandiose production that would be “extremely elaborate and expensive.” It was. Welles’ vision would expand to include a 44-member chorus, a 28-piece orchestra, and a set design that used large glass carts to shift scenes. (20)

At this time The FTP, and its director, Hallie Flanagan began experiencing pressure from conservative congressmen. Although not directly some congressman had even enquired as to whether there was Communist Ideals in the FTP. It seemed that there would soon be budget cuts made in the WPA Federal theater program.

On June 12 word from Washington came through that budget cut were indeed a reality. It read, “any new production scheduled to open before July 1, 1937, must be postponed”(Gustaitis). This news fell hard upon Welles and Housemen. They then hear news “Actors Equity would not permit any of their members to appear on stage, and that the Musicians Union had imposed conditions making it impossible to have an orchestra in the pit” (Jansson). They believed that they show would now never open. When they arrived at the Maxine Elliott Theater they found armed guards surrounding the entrance and a pad lock on the door. People in the streets gathered to see what all the commotion was all about. Seeing the crowd wells and housemen realized that, as the saying goes, the show must go on. All they needed was a venue and a piano, and since Blitzstein was not part of any union he could play, sing and act out all the parts.

With the Venice theatre willing to open house to them for a small fee and the piano found and on its way, Welles song out to the crowd that “The Cradle Will Rock” will open as planned in the new location featuring Marc Blitzstein himself. The people gathered and begin to follow them some twenty blocks to the Venice Theater. Onlookers joined the parade, and the crowd grew larger. By nine o’clock every one of the Venice theatre’s 1742 seats were filled (Jansson).