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The Great White Way: Race and the Broadway Musical Paperback – February 18, 2014

by Warren Hoffman (Author)

4.1 11 ratings

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Broadway musicals are one of America’s most beloved art forms and play to millions of people each year. But what do these shows, which are often thought to be just frothy entertainment, really have to say about our country and who we are as a nation?

The Great White Way is the first book to reveal the racial politics, content, and subtexts that have haunted musicals for almost one hundred years from Show Boat (1927) to The Scottsboro Boys (2011). Musicals mirror their time periods and reflect the political and social issues of their day. Warren Hoffman investigates the thematic content of the Broadway musical and considers how musicals work on a structural level, allowing them to simultaneously present and hide their racial agendas in plain view of their audiences. While the musical is informed by the cultural contributions of African Americans and Jewish immigrants, Hoffman argues that ultimately the history of the American musical is the history of white identity in the United States.

Presented chronologically, The Great White Way shows how perceptions of race altered over time and how musicals dealt with those changes. Hoffman focuses first on shows leading up to and comprising the Golden Age of Broadway (1927–1960s), then turns his attention to the revivals and nostalgic vehicles that defined the final quarter of the twentieth century. He offers entirely new and surprising takes on shows from the American musical canon—Show Boat (1927), Oklahoma! (1943), Annie Get YourGun (1946), The Music Man (1957), West Side Story (1957), A Chorus Line (1975), and 42nd Street (1980), among others.

New archival research on the creators who produced and wrote these shows, including Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Robbins, Stephen Sondheim, and Edward Kleban, will have theater fans and scholars rethinking forever how they view this popular American entertainment.

Print length

264 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Rutgers University Press
Publication date

February 18, 2014
Dimensions

6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

0813563348
ISBN-13

978-0813563343
See all details

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In this lively and engaging book, Hoffman examines the Broadway musical's attribution of American utopian visions exclusively to those with white skin." -- Lary May ― University of Minnesota

"An important and necessary intervention in the study of Broadway musicals, Hoffman’s book reveals the cultural power the form has to shape oft-unacknowledged American attitudes towards race and identity."
-- Andrea Most ― author of Making Americans: Jews and the Broadway Musical

"The Great White Way is an eye-opener for anyone studying the racial implications of commercial musical theater. Idiosyncratic and surprising, Warren Hoffman strips Broadway of its colorful glitz and reveals its naked whiteness." -- Michael Kantor ― Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, Broadway: The American Musical

"All culture aficionados should read this book—indeed, a condensed version of it should be inserted into every musical's playbill."
― Library Journal

"Hoffman's book describes how Broadway musicals reflect American social life. He gives prominent attention to A Chorus Line as depicting the 1970s as 'a decade of multiculturalism, ethnic and racial pride, and gay rights.' This useful colume is sure to stimulate discussion. Recommended."
― Choice

"One strength of The Great White Way is Hoffman's ability to make even the most familiar of musicals seem unfamiliar to readers by providing new meanings and resonances for dialogue and lyrics and revealing other visions of what these classic shows might have been. The enterprising musical theatre fan will enjoy this book and its refreshing perspective."
― Theatre Topics

"Hoffman’s encyclopedic knowledge, his love for the subject, and some astute analyses make The Great White Way well worth reading." ― Theatre Journal

"An important advance in musical theatre scholarship, drawing attention to the enduring power of whiteness in the Broadway musical. It will be essential reading for scholars and students alike, for its effort to braoden how we think about power and identity in musical theatre, and how these are supported by the theatricality and performativity that contribute so much to audiences' pleasure in musical theatre." ― Studies in Musical Theatre

"Thought-provoking analysis rooted in a deep sense of the history of American theater makes Hoffman's book a worthwhile addition to the study of the Broadway musical." ― The Journal of American Culture

"The Essential Jewishness Of Carol Channing — And Lorelei Lee," by Benjamin Ivry ― The Forward

"In this lively and engaging book, Hoffman examines the Broadway musical's attribution of American utopian visions exclusively to those with white skin." -- Lary May ― University of Minnesota Published On: 2013-03-01

"An important and necessary intervention in the study of Broadway musicals, Hoffman’s book reveals the cultural power the form has to shape oft-unacknowledged American attitudes towards race and identity."
-- Andrea Most ― author of Making Americans: Jews and the Broadway Musical Published On: 2013-09-11

"The Great White Way is an eye-opener for anyone studying the racial implications of commercial musical theater. Idiosyncratic and surprising, Warren Hoffman strips Broadway of its colorful glitz and reveals its naked whiteness." -- Michael Kantor ― Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, Broadway: The American Musical Published On: 2013-09-24

"All culture aficionados should read this book—indeed, a condensed version of it should be inserted into every musical's playbill."
― Library Journal Published On: 2014-03-01

"Hoffman's book describes how Broadway musicals reflect American social life. He gives prominent attention to A Chorus Line as depicting the 1970s as 'a decade of multiculturalism, ethnic and racial pride, and gay rights.' This useful colume is sure to stimulate discussion. Recommended."
― Choice Published On: 2014-07-01

"One strength of The Great White Way is Hoffman's ability to make even the most familiar of musicals seem unfamiliar to readers by providing new meanings and resonances for dialogue and lyrics and revealing other visions of what these classic shows might have been. The enterprising musical theatre fan will enjoy this book and its refreshing perspective."
― Theatre Topics Published On: 2014-06-01

"Hoffman’s encyclopedic knowledge, his love for the subject, and some astute analyses make The Great White Way well worth reading." ― Theatre Journal Published On: 2015-03-01

About the Author

WARREN HOFFMAN, PhD, is the author of The Passing Game: Queering Jewish American Culture. He has worked professionally in the theater for more than ten years as a program director, producer, theater critic, and playwright.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Rutgers University Press; None edition (February 18, 2014)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 264 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0813563348
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0813563343
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.5 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,006,023 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,053 in Broadway & Musicals (Books)
- #3,973 in American Dramas & Plays
- #10,283 in Discrimination & Racism

Customer Reviews:
4.1 11 ratings

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Warren Hoffman

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Warren Hoffman is the Executive Director of the Association for Jewish Studies, the largest Jewish Studies membership organization in the world. Warren has spent most of his career working in academia, the arts, and the Jewish nonprofit world including over five years as the Senior Director of Programming at the Gershman Y where he innovated numerous new programs and was named the "next wave" of Jewish culture by the Jewish Exponent. In the world of theater, Warren was the literary manager and dramaturg for Philadelphia Theatre Company where he dramaturged multiple world premieres by writers including Terrence McNally, Chris Durang, and Bill Irwin. In New York, Hoffman was the Associate Artistic Director of Jewish Repertory Theatre and was a writer and reviewer for TalkinBroadway.com where he covered the Off-Broadway and cabaret scene. In addition to working in the theater community, Hoffman holds a Ph.D. in American Literature from the University of California-Santa Cruz. He earned rave reviews for his book The Passing Game: Queering Jewish American Culture published by Syracuse University Press. His most recent book is The Great White Way: Race and the Broadway Musical. Warren is also a playwright and his last play The Black Slot was produced with Aston Rep in Chicago in Fall 2016. Learn more about him at www.warrenhoffman.com

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P. F. Schmitz

You think you already know what this book is about, but you really don't . . .

Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2014

Verified Purchase

Warren Hoffman has written a wonderfully insightful and original piece of scholarship that is a pleasure to read, despite all of the difficult truths it addresses.

Not just an examination of African-American, Latino, Asian, or Native American culture in American musicals, it is also examination of how the very definition of 'Whiteness' is exhibited and developed over the history of this theatrical form. Hoffman uses his scholarly background to marvelous effect. I learned so much from this book - it has broadened and deepened my knowledge of something I had thought I was already pretty savvy about. I can't recommend it enough.

I teach a course on Theater History, and my students are always fascinated and appreciative of the insights and erudition of this well-researched and clearly argued approach. The language Hoffman uses doesn't intimidate them, but it doesn't condescend to them, either. Every student that I have steered to this book ends up thanking me for sharing it with them.

3 people found this helpful

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Thom Taylor

A new book on the American Musical sheds light on race in America

Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2014

Having read Warren Hoffman's previous book, The Passing Game, I expected this new work to be filled with extensive research and deep analysis of a subject that I'm greatly interested in. I was not disappointed. This is a story that presents the American musical as an expression of the history of white identity in America, and how the experiences of people of color have become absent in our musical theater culture, even when there was every reason to consider making them part of the story of the 20th Century. Mr. Hoffman has a powerful vision and a good story to tell. His analysis takes us into the world of several classic musicals, from Show Boat in 1927 up to the present day musicals such as The Book of Mormon, in a way we have never seen them before. One particularly favorite part of the book is his detailed exploration of Rogers and Hammerstein's 1943 musical Oklahoma! and Irving Berlin's 1946 Annie Get Your Gun. Both musicals are about "the creation, negotiation and consolidation of caucasian identity as it is played out between whites and natives on the western frontier." (p.57) In Oklahoma!, cowboys like Curley function to protect the frontier from an unseen enemy: the Native American. Best of all, we learn the meaning of the name Oklahoma: Red People! I wonder how many people in Oklahoma know what their state's name actually means? "You're doing fine Oklahoma," is what the famous title song proudly proclaims. But the people in Rogers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! are actually saying "You're doing fine Red people!," but there are no Red people to be seen in this show. There are other excellent chapters on Show Boat, A Chorus Line, West Side Story and The Music Man. Another highlight is the chapter, "Carbon Copies: Blacks and Interracial Productions of White Musicals" which features Pearl Bailey as Dolly Gallagher Levi in Hello Dolly! In The Great White Way, Dolly's maiden name is an important clue to her background. How actresses playing her choose to interpret what being a Gallagher means is one important detail brought to light in this chapter which manages to cover many facets of our culture. For those who like to read the footnotes, there are treasures to be found there as well. One in particular concerns the box office returns for Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd which was quite surprising.

I understand that Mr. Hoffman is no longer in the academic world which seems unfortunate. This book, however, truly belongs in classrooms, and hopefully that is where this important new book will get to do the most good. I know a few academics, and all have expressed great interest in reading The Great White Way. I look forward to Warren Hoffman's next work. But until then, I encourage as many people as possible to read The Great White Way: Race and the Broadway Musical. You will definitely learn many new interesting and important things. One thing I learned is that Warren Hoffman's star is rising!

6 people found this helpful

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Susy Q

Hoffman does a good job explaining his viewpoint

Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2017

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Mr. Hoffman does a good job explaining his viewpoint. I would say that if you have already thought about this topic and have already noticed the relative paucity of blacks involved in Broadway musicals throughout the entire 20th century. He does a very thorough job analyzing "black" musicals, blackness in specific musicals etc. It is very nice indeed that certain shows on Broadway are showing much more evidence of inclusiveness - "Hamilton" being one of the outstanding examples of that!

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Keith VanCamp

Brief summation of "The Great White Way"

Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2014

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Thank you for asking me my opinion. I have not finished the book completely, but so far it is fascinating reading. I believe it is well researched as well. Hope to get back to you when I'm finished.

One person found this helpful

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David Levy

Not the book I expected; instead a fascinating look at Whiteness on Broadway

Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2016

If you dive into Warren Hoffman's The Great White Way: Race and the Broadway Musical expecting it to be a catalog of minorities on stage, you might want to take a second look at the title. Hoffman's book does indeed cover shows like Show Boat and Flower Drum Song, which focus on the experience of minorities in this country, and it takes a look at all-black productions of traditionally white shows like Hello, Dolly! and Guys and Dolls. But Hoffman is quick to point out that an understanding of race and the Broadway musical can't possibly be complete without an attempt to understand Whiteness on stage as well. Hoffman asks readers to consider not only what shows like West Side Story (which place white characters in opposition to characters of other races) might have to say about being white, but also to focus on shows like The Music Man and 42nd Street, which white audiences have typically seen as "not about race." The Great White Way provides an enlightening experience with the potential to open the reader to radical reconsideration of classic and contemporary shows alike.

(Read my full review at [...] )

3 people found this helpful

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