My Dissertation

“‘Here in America’: Broadway Musicals and the Making of Jewish Americans” examines the reoccurring themes and tropes in musicals that recreate, reframe, and reclaim narratives of and Jewish American cultural memory and Progressive Era New York City. The dissertation features an comprehensive intertextual study of Funny Girl, The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N, Rags, and Ragtime. Each thematic chapter emphasizes the study of musical theatre aesthetics as a way to examine how Broadway musicals create narratives that intersect with history and become part of cultural memory. The first chapter, “The Haunted Jewish City” is a study on the ghosted presence of Ellis Island and the Lower East Side as seen through set design, staging, and ensemble work. The second chapter, “American Rags” is a thorough examination of the history of the Progressive Era garment industry and it’s inexorable connection to the history of Jewish Americans; the analysis traces historic moments such as Emma Goldman’s rallies and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire as told through Broadway musicals. And the final chapter is an investigation of how Jewish American identity is complicated by show business, featuring the story of Fanny Brice and the musical Funny Girl, accompanied by stories of Yiddish theatre, vaudeville, and how Jewish Americans found success in the U.S. entertainment industry.

Publications

“Finding Henry Street: the Broadway Revival of Funny Girl and New York City Dramaturgy” in the Ransom Center Magazine.

“‘To Being an Us for Once, Instead of a Them’: Musical Theatre Aesthetics and Youth-Oriented Musicals” in Milestones in Musical Theatre , edited by Mary Jo Lodge

The article, “Glee and the Ghosting of the Musical Theatre Canon,” was published in Popular Entertainment Studies. The research on the use of the Musical Theatre Canon and Glee was then expanded into a chapter in the edited collection Queer in the Choir Room. 

Book Reviews in Academic Journals

I have written book reviews about formative texts in Theatre Journal, Theatre Topics, and Studies in Musical Theatre.

Review of Beyond Broadway: The Pleasure and Promise of Musical Theatre Across America by Stacy Wolf in Studies in Musical Theatre vol. 16, no. 1

Review of America in the Round: Capital, Race, and Nation at Washington, D.C.’s Arena Stage by Donatella Galella in Studies in Musical Theatre vol. 14, no. 2

Review of Wonder of Wonders: A Cultural History of Fiddler on the Roof by Alisa Solomon in Theatre Journal vol. 66, no. 2

Review of Changed for Good: A Feminist History of the Broadway Musical by Stacy Wolf in Theatre Topics vol. 22, no. 1

Conference Presentations

I regularly present my research at theatre conferences, including ATHE and ASTR (a full list of conference presentations is included on the resume page of this site). In addition to my scholarly research on theatre, I have presented papers on using Writing Across the Curriculum methodology in theatre history classrooms and presented my work with digital tools in theatre history courses. At ATHE, I have been a panel coordinator most years and have been responsible for devising a panel, writing the abstract, gathering participants, and structuring the session. I am regularly asked to participate in post-show discussions for off-off Broadway shows and I am the resident curator and moderator for GalleryTalks at the Gallery Players. I also lead pedagogical workshops and am regularly invited to be a guest speaker at professional training events.