Book Reviews by Adam Rush
Platform: Journal of Theatre and Performing Arts, 2015
Platform: Journal of Theatre and Performing Arts, 2013
Conference Presentations by Adam Rush
The twenty-first century musical is undoubtedly an intertextual landscape formed from fragments o... more The twenty-first century musical is undoubtedly an intertextual landscape formed from fragments of past popular culture. From the recycling of mainstream films to the nostalgic use of popular music, musical theatre is an art form littered with familiar and popular works that ultimately extend the cultural myths fashioned within certain texts beyond their original source. This paper focuses on the 2003 hit musical Wicked as a dominant site for the appropriation and continuation of the cultural myths perpetuated within the iconic American film The Wizard of Oz (1939), and the countless other intermedial texts which surround it. Though there are direct references to the 1939 film within the musical, this paper traces and analyses the broader thematic and conceptual similarities between such texts in the most part. In particular, it considers how the comforting conceptualisation of ‘home’ resonates throughout the Oz canon to argue that the dialectic relationship between any source and its adaptation is considerably more nuanced than the direct referencing of specific texts. In drawing upon Benedict Anderson’s conception of an ‘imagined community’ and Will Wright’s claim that myths are the “social concepts and attitudes determined by the history and institutions of a society”, this paper considers how the notion of ‘finding’ and ‘returning’ home is central to both the formation of Oz, as a fantasy universe, and a national ideology which resonates across America through and between texts.
Producing musical theatre has always been a venture of great financial risk. In the twenty-first ... more Producing musical theatre has always been a venture of great financial risk. In the twenty-first century, this has caused high profile, ‘safe bet’ adaptations to dominate the musical stage. That said, the 2001 hit, Urinetown: The Musical, seemed to reclaim the form from the depths of familiarity and revive the ghostly figure of an ‘original’ musical. It did not feature the back catalogue of a legendary pop group, adapt a celebrated film or even claim to utilise any source material at all. Instead, the musical exploited the recognisable conventions of musical theatre, whether idealised myths or stock characters, and re-energised the ‘traditional model’ established in the 1940s and 50s. Accordingly, this paper argues that musical theatre is as much influenced by its own legacy and artistic heritage, as it is familiar sources from other mediums. In considering the way this musical metatheatricalises wider perceptions of the form, I advocate for a more inclusive use of the term intertextuality within musical theatre scholarship. In challenging the use of popular source material, Urinetown shifts the target of intertextual references from specific texts to broader conceptual ideas. Whilst this musical may seem a precarious idea financially, it is bound by convention, tradition and conformity within its construction.
For Marvin Carlson, the ghostly reappearance of historical and legendary figures has become an es... more For Marvin Carlson, the ghostly reappearance of historical and legendary figures has become an essential element of theatregoing. While seemingly worlds apart, Eva Peron, Buddy Holly, Stephen Ward and Imelda Marcos are not only cultural icons of the twentieth century, whether idolised or despised, but characters within the musical theatre canon who will tread the boards long after the death of the original stars. Although many cultural forms depict the lives of real people, there is something in the ephemeral nature of theatre which keeps the representation of such figures in constant flux. As new productions open, new scores are written and new actors perform these roles, the recognisable traits of each iconic figure are distorted and, as such, musical theatre is active in shaping our impressions of history. As Rebecca Schneider has argued, “theatre is one site where the fake can produce the real and the real colludes in the construction of the fake”. Whilst their bodies may rest, their legacy lives on in the dialogue, music and lyrics of other performers. As such, this paper argues that the liveness of musical theatre enables fluid performances, or perhaps re-performances, of iconicity. Musical theatre engenders a spirit of nostalgia and transforms, often radically, our perceptions of cultural icons.
The genealogy between the offensive 2011 musical, The Book of Mormon, and the musicals of Rodgers... more The genealogy between the offensive 2011 musical, The Book of Mormon, and the musicals of Rodgers and Hammerstein, with their catchy show tunes, romantic plotlines and 'blue rinse brigade' audiences, is not an obvious one. Despite offering differing perspectives on American culture, The Book of Mormon usurps its reliance on contemporary texts and draws upon the sentimentality of Rodgers and Hammerstein's beloved musical canon, from The Sound of Music to The King and I. Although the Ugandan AIDS crisis and singing nuns seem worlds apart, I propose that The Book of Mormon subverts the tropes found within many classic musicals to sophisticate their often saturated world view. This is not to say that such musicals were not progressive - the representation of race within South Pacific and The King and I, for instance, would suggest otherwise. However, The Book of Mormon transposes such tropes to Uganda, where poverty, AIDS and brutal warlords destroy the population, in equal measure. In doing so, the need to 'climb every mountain' or 'whistle a happy tune' seems outdated. Although many have highlighted the relationship between The Book of Mormon and more traditional works, there has yet to be a substantial study of the musical's intertextual reliance on some of America's most conservative cultural texts. As such, this paper proposes that the romantic lives of singing cowboys, nuns and sailors continues to inspire the vulgar language, overt sexuality and satirical nature of contemporary musical theatre.
The Royal National Theatre is one of the UK's largest performing arts venues and has entertained ... more The Royal National Theatre is one of the UK's largest performing arts venues and has entertained audiences at its home on London’s South Bank since 1976. However, the inclusion of the word 'national' it its title, coupled with the abundance of public funding it receives, implies a reach that extends beyond the capital’s middleclass demographic and in to the nation. With this in mind, this research poster presents the difficulties faced by arts institutions as they seek to represent the nation, whilst programming work that is inherently bound by time and space.
Richard O'Brien's 1973 musical, The Rocky Horror Show, is indisputably a sophisticated collage of... more Richard O'Brien's 1973 musical, The Rocky Horror Show, is indisputably a sophisticated collage of references to classic musicals, science fiction, comic books and glam rock aesthetics, to name but a few. Much criticism has explored the musical, and it's cult film adaptation, as a provocative exploration of queer and gendered identities, but little scholarship has explored its unyielding use of intertextuality. As such, this paper argues that the musical sexualises its intertextual references, through music, to highlight the importance of individuality by subverting long established stereotypes of Otherness, gender and sexuality. Although many postmodern critics, Fredric Jameson, for instance, argue that intentional parody, pastiche and intertextuality restricts artistic development, I suggest that the musical critiques popularised ideals of normalcy to highlight inadequacies within many social constructions of identity, not to emphasise the boundaries of high/low art. Although the texts which influence the musical are from diverse artistic genres, many of which do not include music, The Rocky Horror Show presents a bizarre collection of intertextual references which critique the tropes of popular culture and, by extension, subvert them.
The influx of musical theatre merchandise in the 1980s, through the productions of Cameron Mackin... more The influx of musical theatre merchandise in the 1980s, through the productions of Cameron Mackintosh, saw audiences take home an eclectic range of souvenir items to extend the theatrical experience into their everyday routines. As audiences left the theatres playing Cats, Les Miserables and Miss Saigon, they brought with them souvenir brochures, magnets, mugs and t-shirts, for instance, and became "walking advertisements", as Dan Rebellato has argued. Some thirty-two years later, the years which separate the London openings of Cats (1981) and The Book of Mormon (2013), audiences not only take home their branded jumper, but give something back in cyberspace. Audiences no longer inform their friends about the new hit show, but tweet, poke and post their fandom on public platforms designed to further audience engagement. The global phenomenon of social media, as epitomised by Facebook and Twitter, has seen the ephemeral theatrical event engage with the digitised, and thus unyielding, world of the Internet - they are no longer opposing foes. As such, this presentation investigates the marketing campaign of The Book of Mormon, in which audience's tweets promote the production, to argue that the digitised can extend an audience's relationship with the live. Drawing upon notions of authenticity, sociability and spectatorship, this presentation highlights that musical theatre (the local) can expand an audience's presumed agency, provide an alternative form of criticism and position musical theatre in the cultural mainstream, by way of social media (the global). By having their tweet's plastered on billboards, audiences are progressing from passive spectator, who see a play and leave again, to active fan.
Articles by Adam Rush
As part of an academic placement with Headlong Theatre, I wrote several articles detailing their ... more As part of an academic placement with Headlong Theatre, I wrote several articles detailing their touring production of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull.
As part of an academic placement with Headlong Theatre, I wrote several articles detailing their ... more As part of an academic placement with Headlong Theatre, I wrote several articles detailing their touring production of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull.
As part of an academic placement with Headlong Theatre, I wrote several articles detailing their ... more As part of an academic placement with Headlong Theatre, I wrote several articles detailing their touring production of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull.
As part of an academic placement with Headlong Theatre, I wrote several articles detailing their ... more As part of an academic placement with Headlong Theatre, I wrote several articles detailing their touring production of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull.
As part of an academic placement with Headlong Theatre, I wrote several articles detailing their ... more As part of an academic placement with Headlong Theatre, I wrote several articles detailing their touring production of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull.
Books by Adam Rush
Rush, A. (2016) It’s Just a Jump to the Past!: Subverting Intertextual Otherness in The Rocky Hor... more Rush, A. (2016) It’s Just a Jump to the Past!: Subverting Intertextual Otherness in The Rocky Horror Show. In: Luis Campos and Fiona Jane Schopf (eds.) Music on Stage: Volume II. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Press, 120-135.
Papers by Adam Rush
Routledge eBooks, Nov 29, 2022
Producing musical theatre has always been a venture of great financial risk. In the twenty-first ... more Producing musical theatre has always been a venture of great financial risk. In the twenty-first century, this has caused high profile, ‘safe bet’ adaptations to dominate the musical stage. That said, the 2001 hit, Urinetown: The Musical, seemed to reclaim the form from the depths of familiarity and revive the ghostly figure of an ‘original’ musical. It did not feature the back catalogue of a legendary pop group, adapt a celebrated film or even claim to utilise any source material at all. Instead, the musical exploited the recognisable conventions of musical theatre, whether idealised myths or stock characters, and re-energised the ‘traditional model’ established in the 1940s and 50s. Accordingly, this paper argues that musical theatre is as much influenced by its own legacy and artistic heritage, as it is familiar sources from other mediums. In considering the way this musical metatheatricalises wider perceptions of the form, I advocate for a more inclusive use of the term intertextuality within musical theatre scholarship. In challenging the use of popular source material, Urinetown shifts the target of intertextual references from specific texts to broader conceptual ideas. Whilst this musical may seem a precarious idea financially, it is bound by convention, tradition and conformity within its construction
The genealogy between The Book of Mormon, the provocative and offensive musical from the creators... more The genealogy between The Book of Mormon, the provocative and offensive musical from the creators of South Park, and the comforting musicals of Rodgers and Hammerstein is not an obvious one. Despite offering different perspectives on American culture, The Book of Mormon draws upon the sentimentality of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s most beloved works, from The Sound of Music to The King and I, to sophisticate their often sanitised world view. This is not to say that these musicals were not progressive in their initial runs, however The Book of Mormon transposes the central tenets of Rodgers and Hammerstein to Uganda, where poverty, AIDS and brutal warlords destroy the population in equal measure. In turn, the need to ‘climb every mountain’ or ‘whistle a happy tune’ seems outdated and, in particular, this paper argues that the romantic lives of singing cowboys, nuns and sailors surprisingly inspires the vulgar language, overt sexuality and satirical nature of this contemporary musical, even whilst “fondly spoofing it”
The twenty-first century musical is undoubtedly an intertextual landscape formed from fragments o... more The twenty-first century musical is undoubtedly an intertextual landscape formed from fragments of past popular culture. From the recycling of mainstream films to the nostalgic use of popular music, musical theatre is an art form littered with familiar and popular works that ultimately extend the cultural myths fashioned within certain texts beyond their original source. This paper focuses on the 2003 hit musical Wicked as a dominant site for the appropriation and continuation of the cultural myths perpetuated within the iconic American film The Wizard of Oz (1939), and the countless other intermedial texts which surround it. Though there are direct references to the 1939 film within the musical, this paper traces and analyses the broader thematic and conceptual similarities between such texts in the most part. In particular, it considers how the comforting conceptualisation of ‘home’ resonates throughout the Oz canon to argue that the dialectic relationship between any source and its adaptation is considerably more nuanced than the direct referencing of specific texts. In drawing upon Benedict Anderson’s conception of an ‘imagined community’ and Will Wright’s claim that myths are the “social concepts and attitudes determined by the history and institutions of a society”, this paper considers how the notion of ‘finding’ and ‘returning’ home is central to both the formation of Oz, as a fantasy universe, and a national ideology which resonates across America through and between texts
Uploads
Book Reviews by Adam Rush
Conference Presentations by Adam Rush
Articles by Adam Rush
Books by Adam Rush
Papers by Adam Rush