Theatrical liberalism : Jews and popular entertainment in America / Andrea Most.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Most, Andrea, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jews in the performing arts--History.

Jews in the performing arts.

Jews in the performing arts--United States--History.

Jewish entertainers--United States--History.

Jewish entertainers.

Jews in popular culture--United States.

Jews in popular culture.

Theater--New York (State)--New York--History.

Theater.

Musicals.

History.

New York (State)--New York.

Musicals--New York (State)--New York--History.

Broadway (New York, N.Y.).

United States.

Physical Description:

xi, 293 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : New York University Press, [2013]

Summary:

For centuries, Jews lived in diverse countries with vibrant theatrical cultures, yet they were one of the few peoples without a sanctioned theatrical tradition of their own. In the modern era, however, Jews came to be among the most important creators of popular theater and film in America. Why? In Theatrical Liberalism, Andrea Most illustrates how American Jews used theater to navigate encounters with modern culture, negotiating a position for themselves within and alongside Protestant liberalism by reimagining key aspects of traditional Judaism as theatrical. Discussing works from the Hebrew Bible to The Jazz Singer and Death of a Salesman, Most situates American popular culture in the religious traditions that informed the worldviews of its practitioners. Theatrical Liberalism offers a comprehensive history of the role of Judaism in the creation of American entertainment, reexamining the distinction between the secular and the religious, providing a new way of understanding both modern Jewish culture and liberalism, as well as their crucial contributions to a pluralist society. With extensive scholarship and compelling evidence, this engaging volume shows how the Jewish worldview that permeates American culture has reached far beyond the Jews who created it. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Jews, Theatricality, and Modernity 15

2 The Birth of Theatrical Liberalism 39

3 Theatrical Liberalism under Attack 88

4 The Theatricality of Everyday Life 141

5 Theatricality and Idolatry 164

6 I Am a Theater 201.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780814708194

0814708196

9780814724620

0814724620

OCLC:

819717743