Episode 115: All Play and No Work in the Depression w/ Dr. Paul Gagliardi

There wasn't a lot that was funny about the Great Depression. With millions out of work and geopolitical turmoil threatening overseas, it might seem like the 1930s were a grim time. But there was still quite a lot of comedy, including in the plays put on by the Federal Theatre Project, which brought theatre to audiences across America in the late 1930s while also providing work for artists affected by the economic crisis. Dr. Paul Gagliardi has written about these comedies in his book All Play and No Work: American Work Ideals and the Comic Plays of the Federal Theatre Project, and he joins us to talk about his research.

Lin-Manuel Miranda has become the most prominent figure of American musical theatre over the past decade. Dr. Daniel Pollack-Pelzner joins us to talk about his book, Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist, and how Miranda's been influenced by theatre history and how he's become a part of it.

Zelda Fichandler was one of the founders of the repertory theatre movement in the United States. Her tireless advocacy for the cause of nonprofit theatre led to a substantial volume of writing, much of which has now been edited by Todd London and published as The Long Revolution: Sixty Years on the Frontlines of a New American Theatre, and today Todd joins us to talk about this book.

At the height of the French Revolution, a new fear gripped many people in England: Armed women. Scenes like the storming of the Bastille and riots over the price of bread in Paris, in which women figured prominently, led to concerns like the one expressed in a 1795 letter to a magazine, in which the writer worried that "young and beautiful" women might quit "the quiet scenes of domestic life to riot in the scenes of blood" that were occurring across the English Channel. In fact, there were already plenty of arms-bearing women in Britain – but, in this case, on the stage. The figure of the armed woman is the subject of our guest's new book. Dr. Sarah Burdett is the author of The Arms-Bearing Woman and British Theatre in the Age of Revolution, 1789 – 1815.

TikTok might not seem like a natural fit with Broadway – or, for that matter, with the subject of theatre history. As our guest today writes, "an entire generation's attention span became roughly fifteen seconds" once the short video app caught on, and it's been at the center of numerous controversies, political and otherwise. But there's another side to TikTok and its relationship with Broadway, one that has changed how people from all over the world engage with and share their enthusiasm for their favorite musicals. That's the subject of Dr. Trevor Boffone's TikTok Broadway: Musical Theatre Fandom in the Digital Age, which explores how the worlds of social media and musical theatre collided between 2018 and 2022 in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic.

The 1980s might not seem like a decade conducive to the emergence of a groundbreaking gay theatre. However, amidst the AIDS pandemic and a homophobic backlash to the gains of the post-Stonewall era, Charles Busch and Kenneth Elliott created something unique in New York City. The company that they founded, Theatre-in-Limbo, developed some of the biggest underground hits of the 80s, with unforgettable titles like Vampire Lesbians of Sodom and Psycho Beach Party. Now Elliott is out with a new book: Beyond Ridiculous: Making Gay Theatre with Charles Busch in 1980s New York. It tells the story of Theatre-in-Limbo and makes a case for its underappreciated importance. 

In the 1960s, the English city of Sheffield began work on a new theatre. The new venue, called the Crucible, became an important landmark in the development of theatre in the UK, as well as a point of contention nationwide. At the center of it all was Colin George, who spearheaded the building of the Crucible and fought for its then-unconventional design. Although George passed away in 2016, his memoirs of this era appear in a new book, Stirring Up Sheffield: An Insider's Account of the Battle to Build the Crucible Theatre. It's co-authored by Dr. Edward George, an economist, broadcaster, and writer who's especially well-placed to help tell the story, since he's also Colin's son. Tedd George joins us to talk about the Crucible and Colin George's legacy.

How did scenic designer become a job that people could pursue in the theatre? Dr. David Bisaha joins us to talk about his book, American Scenic Design and Freelance Professionalism. Correction for the episode: The correct number for the historical, segregated Washington, D.C. IATSE Local was 224-A, not 244-A.

Dr. Carla Della Gatta joins us to talk about Latinx Shakespeare productions and her book Latinx Shakespeares: Staging U.S. Intercultural Theater.

Ancient Greek and Roman drama has influenced theatre for millennia, and playwrights and other artists from around the world continue to draw inspiration from these works. Professor Fiona Macintosh joins us to talk about the Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama at Oxford University and how it's been a resource for those who want to learn more about how these works have been - and continue to be - performed.