Koko Waller
Extended Essay: Melding Theatre and the IB
How do golden age and contemporary performances of Gershwin scores reflect changing American views of love?
My Extended Essay in Theatre discussed the music of the Gershwin brothers and their golden age and contemporary musical theatre performances. Through the power of individual choice and help from my mentor, Mary Hearding, I eventually wrote an in-depth analysis of the performances of Gershwin music and investigated implications of the changes on the American view of love. These topics were explored through the changing role of women and discussion of romantic relationships in musical theatre.
The Beginning
Me, performing in Les Misèrables in Telluride.
Here is my first meeting with Mary, where we listened to the (then 6) songs together and began forming a hypothesis about the changes and their implications on Musical Theatre through the use of theatre reviews. I originally believed that there was only a change in emotion and tone, but I soon realized that there were larger implications within these.
When we began learning about the IB Extended Essay at the end of Junior year, it seemed as if the possibilities of topics and questions were endless. While I struggled to narrow down to one precise question, I knew one thing. And this was that I was going to research and write within the topic of theatre. Throughout my life, the performing arts have always been my safe haven. I’ve spent my middle and high school years obsessing over the industry that I am soon to join. Lucky for me, there is an IB theatre class that I could work within to craft my EE question. I soon realized that I loved the music of the Gerswhins. It is performed internationally by orchestras, actors, and more (even as the United Airlines theme music). But, most intriguing to me, was the music’s ability to transcend time. I noticed that the same music written and performed in musical theatre in the golden age (mid-20th century era of musical theatre) was still just as relevant and prominent when performed today in contemporary theatre. The idea that the same songs could be performed drastically different but still have an impact on audiences captivated my attention and formed my EE topic.
Fears
When I decided upon my topic, I didn’t truly know what I would prove or how I would reach a conclusion. My interest in the changes in the Gershwins’ music was based purely on a hunch. When listening to these songs performed in different decades, I could hear and feel a difference, but I didn’t quite know what it meant. Even as I began writing, I found myself lacking any connection between my analysis and tangible change. When writing, I had a moment when I called Emily over and simply stated, “I don’t know what I’m proving. I don’t think I’m proving anything”. This was terrifying. I had less than two weeks left to pull myself and this paper together, and I couldn’t see that happening. I was engaged and immersed in my topic, exploring theatre history for the first time, which was thrilling. Yet, I was just writing down facts and my personal analysis of music, without making any connections between the two. While I was intrigued by how nuances in orchestrations and lyrics informed character, I couldn’t connect this to anything substantial. I began to wonder if it was too late to change my topic, or if I was doomed from the start. This is where I saw the difficulty of choosing a personal topic--my own instincts were getting in the way.
First, "Someone to Watch over Me", a Gershwin Standard, as performed in Oh, Kay! (1926) and Crazy for You (1992). Sung by a young woman, the piece describes a woman’s affection for her lover, who she longs for, wishing she had “someone to watch over [her]”. In my analysis I began to see how the role of the leading lady changed. Even though both women sang the same lyrics, the subtle changes in tone and tempo along with major changes in plot and character gave way for evidence of a changed image of women. Particularly, the changes allowed for expression of a woman in love.
Someone to Watch Over Me
"In these two shows, the role of the woman shifts from one where she wistfully sings about a man she loves to one where she explores the complexities of love. The Gershwins' music allows the adaptation of women in the musical comedy, and welcomes it, enabling their music to maintain relevancy in a changing society."
The Songs
In my EE I examined two pairs of songs from the musical theatre repertoire. Each pair contained one version of the song performed in the golden age and another performed in contemporary theatre. I analyzed the musical performance elements of each and then compared and contrasted the changes to discover evidence and implications of societal change, particularly in the American views of love.
Second, “Who Cares”, as performed in Of Thee I Sing (1952) and An American in Paris (2015). In this duet two lovers express their affection for each other by singing, “who cares what the public chatters, love’s the only thing that matters”. The first, is a simple love song between two newlyweds. The second, is an introspective quartet between two intertwined couples who are struggling with their complex relationships. In this, I saw a change in the depiction of love between a man and woman in American theatre, reflecting shifts in the societal views of relationships.
Who Cares
"The main disparity is in the context, which informs performance. In Of Thee I Sing, the song reflects a story of true love succeeding, while in An American In Paris, the song covers a story of true love that cannot be. The latter represents the modernity of the piece. Relationships are no longer simple. An American In Paris shows a multi-faceted love story that has difficulty coming to fruition. During 'Who Cares' we see four individuals struggling to come to terms with what love is."
The Value of a mentor
To avoid my instincts, I looked to my advisor, Mary Hearding, for help. With her help, I began to understand the value of my mentors. The tight-knit relationship between students and teachers at TMS is something I’m always grateful for, especially in times like these. I came to Mary one afternoon, after having discussed briefly with Emily, with slight panic in my eyes, silently begging for help. I proposed to her the same problem, that I had no true thesis or argument, and she suggested a variety of solutions. I took her suggestions and started taking my essay in a new, somewhat defined, direction. I found myself naturally examining the social change that occurred alongside the musical changes. When I submitted my first official draft to Mary, I decided that I would follow these parallel changes. This angle ended up bringing me the clarity I needed, thanks to a push in the right direction from my advisor.
In the era of golden age theatre, a love story was essential in a musical comedy. Love embodied perfection and happiness. It was truthful and pure. Today, while still equally essential, love in musical comedies has grown to be more complex. The convoluted nature of the Gershwins' music made this shift easy. Love evolved from something simple and truthful to something still truthful, yet complicated and messy. We can see this in the theatrical depiction of women—how they’ve become strong and grounded versus driven by love—as well as the representation of relationships—how they’ve become elaborate and vulnerable versus simplistic.
My own connections
As a young performer, this essay was fantastic practice in my ability to analyze musical theatre music and how different choices can inform and reflect character. Similarly, studying the differences between golden age and contemporary theatre was an intriguing study in theatre history. However, in particular, I connected most with the focus on the changing role of the leading woman in theatre. My first ever leading role in a musical was when I was a freshman, where I played Sarah Brown, a young, naive missionary, in Guys & Dolls. Though not a Gershwin show, Guys & Dolls is one of the quintessential golden age musicals. However, I struggled to find depth in Sarah. Her storyline followed her journey as she fell in love with the "bad guy", which seemed cliché and 2-dimensional to me. She is the perfect innocent ingenue, as many golden age women are. Since then, I've learned more about how I as an actor can make these seemingly old-fashioned characters into something more, and I am still working on this today. Because of this, I often say that I much prefer contemporary work to that of the golden age. I like to be able to see women of all different complex backgrounds explored on stage. These characters, to me, are inherently more powerful. Yet, as I wrote my Extended Essay, I found that to not always be true as it is the actor's job to make the character more than it is on the page. This became more evident to me during my recent performance as Cosette, another young, naive, woman in love, in Les Misèrables. This time, as a senior, I began to slowly dive in to the things that make Cosette who she is. While the show is technically within the contemporary repertoire, this character is often known for being the wide-eyed ingenue who quickly falls in love ad then does nothing else. While this is true on paper, it was my job to find the parts of her that make her romantic and caring.
