Arts and Humanities Commons^™

"Still Dreaming Of Paradise": Rodgers And Hammerstein ' S Oklahoma!, South Pacific , And Postwar America, Randall Bond

Dissertations - Open Access

Oklahoma! and South Pacific were Rodgers and Hammerstein's most successful and popular musicals of the 1940's. This study demonstrates their function as modern morality plays for their audiences. Specifically, the two musicals provided Americans with a prescription for a postwar Paradise. This was a Paradise based upon the American Dream of rebirth and renewal acted out in a landscape of second chances. The components of this Paradise are examined in topical essays that consider such issues as Americanism, consumerism, tourism, racism, and optimism. Each of these elements links what would otherwise appear to be disparate narratives: the American West at …

A Directorial Experience: Noises Off, Jennifer Lynn Forrest

Theses

Over the years I have been exposed to hundreds of shows, some excellent and other's not quite as good. Few shows that I have read, seen, or been involved with seem to have the appeal to both audiences and theatre groups as that of Michael Frayn's modem farce Noises Off. There are several strong reasons for its appeal.

One of the primary reasons for the play's popularity is that it is a reaction against modem theatre's tendency toward preaching at the audience. Contemporary plays tend to teach morality; and while modern playwrights do occasionally use comedy as a vehicle …

Baba Yaga, The Russian Witch: An Operetta In Two Acts, Julie Moulds Rybicki, Stephan Moore

Honors Theses

Libretto by Julie Moulds Rybicki

Music by Stephan Moore

Honor Among Thieves? Socio-Economic Theories Of Thorstein Veblen In The Plays Of David Mamet, Steven Allan Halverson

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Award-winning playwright David Mamet has acknowledged numerous times his indebtedness to the socio-economic theories of turn-of-the-century economist Thorstein Veblen, whom Mamet credits as influencing the motivation of the characters in several of his plays set in work-related environments.

Veblen, who was largely influenced by Darwin and Freud, declared that the economic institution of capitalism encourages an instinctive "predatory animus" in man to surface due to capitalism's encouragement of the ownership of private property. Veblen asserted that the desire for private property goes beyond one's essential physiological needs and is driven instead by the psychological drive to improve one's self-esteem and …

Eighteenth Century Men's Civilian Waistcoats, Frances Burroughs Loba

Theses and Dissertations

A number of general studies of the history of eighteenth century men's clothing have been written by authors such as Zilla Halls, Avril Hart, and Norah Waugh. However, a cursory review of costume literature reveals a lack of academic study on specific men's garments and their history. This work focuses on documenting the development of eighteenth century men's waistcoats using the artifacts themselves. The purpose of using extant waistcoats is to study closely their construction and decorative details with close attention to the similarities and differences in the style, cut and assembly of the garments.

A Directorial Approach: Tom Stoppard's Enter A Free Man, Jeffrey David

Theses

Unavailable.

An Experiment In Acting: Miss In Her Teens, Todd Gillenardo

Theses

The purpose of my thesis is to find ways of making Restoration characterization more natural, believable, and more realistic to a contemporary audience. In my attempt, I will study the works of David Garrick, and attempt to replicate an evening at the Drury Lane Theatre in the 18th century, by directing Miss in Her Teens, one of Garrick's comedies.

The first chapter of my thesis will explore David Garrick's natural style of acting which was revolutionizing theatre after the Restoration. He believed actors should be more natural and believable in their roles, portraying actual people in circumstances and not paper …

A History Of The Shepherd Of The Hills Dramatizations: The Branson Productions, Michael Lewis Frizell

MSU Graduate Theses

Harold Bell Wright's most successful novel, The Shepherd of the Hills, was, in the 1920's, ranked behind only The Bible, The Koran, and Gone with the Wind in popularity, and has been filmed five times. The story has been dramatized by several different theatrical agencies, including The Federal Theatre Project and the Poli Players of Connecticut. The Branson, Missouri, productions have been staged by Southern Illinois State University, Central Missouri State University at Warrensburg, The Old Mill Players, Inc., and finally The Shepherd of the Hills Historical Society, Inc. This final production was partially responsible for the influx of tourism …

Staging The Illusion Director As Magician, Steven Harders

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis serves as an examination of the process I underwent to arrive at answers to those questions. Chapter I examines differences between Pierre Corneille's seventeenth century L'Illusion Comique and Kushner's modern-day adaptation. Chapter II takes a closer look at textual analysis specific to Kushner's adaptation. Chapter III documents pre-rehearsal and designer collaboration. Chapter IV follows the production process from casting to performances. This chapter also includes many of the problems encountered and solutions reached. Chapter V, the summary, includes an assessment of the entire process, including; rehearsals, production, and my role as director. A summary of audience evaluations also …

Eldorado: The Poes In Norfolk, Myreen Moore Nicholson

Institute for the Humanities Theses

Edgar Allan Poe is one of the best known Americans in the world, as a great poet, literary critic and essayist, and innovator of the analytic detective story. Yet he basically remains his own best mystery. Major cities have monuments to him. This creative work's object is to show that Norfolk, Virginia, was central in his life and art. In fact, the theatre company with which his actress mother, Eliza Arnold Poe (and her friends, the Sullys), was longest affiliated, was headquartered there. Edgar's sister Rosalie was born in a house on Brewer Street. Times and the circumstances of Poe …