Queer Approaches in Musical Theatre

Queer Approaches in Musical Theatre introduces readers to a facet of musicals often assumed but misunderstood: how queer approaches in musical theatre extend deeper than fabulosity. Queerness in musicals challenges their typical heteronormativity but also sometimes simultaneously reinforces it.

Readers will be introduced to histories of queerness in musicals as well as methods of how to study musicals by examining their historical context, text, staging, and reception. Featuring four case studies centered around musicals such as The Book of Mormon, Cabaret, Fun Home, La Cage aux Folles, and Rent, this volume examines the stakes of representation in the theatrical genre most often presumed to be openly queer.

Published as part of the Topics in Musical Theatre series, this foundational book provides readers with an understanding of the historically shifting terminology of queerness as well as offering a brief overview of how queer theory informs the study of musicals themselves.