{"product_id":"problem-like-maria","title":"Problem like Maria","description":"\u003cp\u003eSubverting 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. \u003ci\u003eA Problem Like Maria \u003c\/i\u003ereexamines 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.\u003cbr\u003eChapter by chapter, the book analyzes the stars' best-known and best-loved roles, including Martin as Nellie in \u003ci\u003eSouth Pacific,\u003c\/i\u003e Merman as Momma Rose in \u003ci\u003eGypsy\u003c\/i\u003eAndrews as Eliza in \u003ci\u003eMy Fair Lady \u003c\/i\u003eand Guinevere in \u003ci\u003eCamelot,\u003c\/i\u003e and Streisand as Fanny Brice in \u003ci\u003eFunny Girl.\u003c\/i\u003e The final chapter scrutinizes the Broadway and film versions of \u003ci\u003eThe Sound of Music,\u003c\/i\u003e 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, \u003ci\u003eA Problem Like Maria\u003c\/i\u003e is a groundbreaking contribution to feminist studies, queer studies, and American studies and a delight for fans of musical theater.\u003cbr\u003eStacy Wolf is Associate Professor of Theatre and Dance, University of Texas, Austin.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The University of Michigan Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54248931721560,"sku":"9780472067725","price":28.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9780472067725_8d1c45fe-38b3-41c2-86e8-09bfd145db4b.jpg?v=1778635820","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/problem-like-maria","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}