| Description |
1 online resource (x, 290 pages) : illustrations |
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data file rda |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 267-280) and index. |
| Contents |
Popular culture, Broadway, and World War II -- Before Pearl Harbor -- Overseas -- The home front -- Anticipating the postwar world -- Conclusion. |
| Summary |
"In Broadway Goes to War, Robert L. McLaughlin and Sally E. Parry analyze how American theater actively addressed and debated timely and controversial topics during World War II. Productions such as Watch on the Rhine (1941), The Moon is Down (1942), Tomorrow the World (1943), and A Bell for Adano (1944) encouraged public discussion of the war's impact on daily life and raised critical topics about the conflict well before other forms of popular media. McLaughlin and Parry reveal that while film studios, radio stations, newspapers, and other media outlets widely chose to echo official government communications and opinions regarding Nazi Germany and the war, Broadway remained stunningly independent. In the absence of pressure from the US Office of War Information or an industry-based agency like Hollywood's Hayes Office, the New York stage became an important venue for debating topics that would have been considered taboo on a film set, including neutrality and isolationism, racism and genocide, and heroism and battle fatigue. American drama of the 1940s is frequently overlooked, but the plays performed during this eventful decade provide a picture of the rich and complex experience of living in the US during the war years. McLaughlin and Parry's work fills a significant gap in the history of theater and popular culture, showing that American society was more divided and less idealistic than the received histories of the WWII home front and the entertainment industry recognized"-- Provided by publisher |
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The American theater was not ignorant of the developments brought on by World War II, and actively addressed and debated timely, controversial topics for the duration of the war, including neutrality and isolationism, racism and genocide, and heroism and battle fatigue. Productions such as Watch on the Rhine (1941), The Moon is Down (1942), Tomorrow the World (1943), and A Bell for Adano (1944) encouraged public discussion of the war's impact on daily life and raised critical questions about the conflict well before other forms of popular media. American drama of the 1940s is frequently overlooked, but the plays performed during this eventful decade provide a picture of the rich and complex experience of living in the United States during the war years. McLaughlin and Parry's work fills a significant gap in the history of theater and popular culture, showing that American society was more divided and less idealistic than the received histories of the WWII home front and the entertainment industry recognize. |
| Note |
Print version record. |
| Subject |
World War, 1939-1945 -- Theater and the war.
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War and theater -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
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American drama -- 20th century -- History and criticism.
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World War, 1939-1945 -- United States -- Literature and the war.
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Theater -- New York (State) -- New York -- History -- 20th century.
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Theater and society -- United States.
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Popular culture -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
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PERFORMING ARTS -- Theater -- Broadway & Musical Revue.
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American drama. (OCoLC)fst00806998
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Popular culture. (OCoLC)fst01071344
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Theater. (OCoLC)fst01149217
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Theater and society. (OCoLC)fst01149315
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War and literature. (OCoLC)fst01170442
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War and theater. (OCoLC)fst01736385
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New York (State) -- New York.
(OCoLC)fst01204333
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United States. (OCoLC)fst01204155
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World War (1939-1945) (OCoLC)fst01180924
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| Chronological Term |
1900-1999
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| Genre/Form |
Electronic books.
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Criticism, interpretation, etc. (OCoLC)fst01411635
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History. (OCoLC)fst01411628
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| Added Author |
Parry, Sally E., author.
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| Other Form: |
Print version: McLaughlin, Robert L., 1957- Broadway goes to war. Lexington, Kentucky : University Press of Kentucky, [2021] 9780813180946 (DLC) 2020053333 (OCoLC)1190853602 |
| ISBN |
9780813181011 (electronic book) |
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0813181011 (electronic book) |
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9780813181004 (electronic book) |
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0813181003 (electronic book) |
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