All tagged #WomenInTheatre

Mama Rose, Julie Jordan and the Other Strong Female Roles of Musical Theatre

It is true that, for most of the history of the American Musical Theatre, Women have been given few opportunities to shine in the roles of book writer, composer, lyricist, director and choreographer. The restraining social mores of the times, married with a “boys club” mentality, kept women at bay and little was done to foster their creativity and involvement. That is not to say that there weren’t ground breakers over the years: Dorothy Fields was one of Broadway’s most enduring lyricists, her work often outshining many of her male counterparts in the field. Betty Comden maintained a very successful partnership with Adolph Green and together the two wrote the books and/or lyrics for many a Broadway hit. Agnes de Mille was an essential force in how dance evolved in musical theatre, especially in her groundbreaking ballets for musicals like Oklahoma!CarouselBloomer Girl and Brigadoon. In general, however, it was the boys who were anointed the legacy of musical theatre, for decades and decades.