Subverting assumptions that American musical theater is steeped in
nostalgia, cheap sentiment, misogyny, and homophobia, this book
shows how musicals of the 1950s and early 1960s celebrated strong
women characters who defied the era's gender expectations. "A
Problem Like Maria "reexamines the roles, careers, and performances
of four of musical theater's greatest stars-Mary Martin, Ethel
Merman, Julie Andrews, and Barbra Streisand-through a lesbian
feminist lens. Focusing on both star persona and performance, Stacy
Wolf argues that each of her subjects deftly crafted characters
(both on and offstage) whose defiance of the norms of
mid-twentiethcentury femininity had immediate appeal to spectators
on the ideological and sexual margins, yet could still play in
Peoria.
Chapter by chapter, the book analyzes the stars' best-known and
best-loved roles, including Martin as Nellie in "South Pacific, "
Merman as Momma Rose in "Gypsy"Andrews as Eliza in "My Fair Lady
"and Guinevere in "Camelot, " and Streisand as Fanny Brice in
"Funny Girl." The final chapter scrutinizes the Broadway and film
versions of "The Sound of Music, " illuminating its place in the
hearts of lesbian spectators and the "delicious queerness" of
Andrews's troublesome nun. As the first feminist and lesbian study
of the American Broadway musical, "A Problem Like Maria" is a
groundbreaking contribution to feminist studies, queer studies, and
American studies and a delight for fans of musical theater.
Stacy Wolf is Associate Professor of Theatre and Dance, University
of Texas, Austin.
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