Sarah Green
Recently I read a book by Stacy Woolf documenting the feminist history of the musical (Changed For Good: A feminist history of the Broadway musical, 2011: Oxford University Press) and it got me thinking about the female characters in shows I adore.
The writing of musicals has largely been dominated by men – with a few exceptions such as lyricists Dorothy Fields and Lynn Ahrens – and although that doesn’t mean men haven’t written some stonking great female roles, female characters can often be seen as sentimental drips: I don’t know many who like Christine in Phantom of the Opera as a character and let’s not get started on Cosette in Les Misérables.
The biggest example recently of womanhood and female domination is of course Wicked. ‘Defying Gravity’ is sticking two fingers up to the world and is the defining song for the character. Equally ‘For Good’ is a song of unity about two friends highlighting how the other has touched them and shaped their life – a sentiment most women can identify with. Most of the men are dispensable in this show, even poor Fieyro is mainly there for the girls to have something to fight over. The focus is well and truly on the two female friends.
For me, the strongest female musical theatre character is Elle Woods in Legally Blonde: The Musical, written by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin. I like Elle for the fact she is smart and works hard to get in to Harvard Law School. Elle is friendly and gives everyone a chance even if that is thrown back in her face by people such as Vivian. Importantly she realises marrying Warner is not the purpose of her life and she can help people as a lawyer; when she chooses to be with Emmett it is on her terms, to the point of her being the one to propose. She also takes her dog everywhere, says “masturbatory emissions” and makes orgasm noises on stage to show up her ex. Who doesn’t find that great? Most of all though she is real, still larger than life but I can identify with her more than I can the green witch Elphaba. For all the comedy and razzmatazz of the staging in Legally Blonde, this is women supporting women and saying that no matter what you look like you can be attractive.
This isn’t to say there were no strong women before Wicked, it’s just that the more recent shows have them front and centre. I also have a fascination with older roles such as Mama Rose in Gypsy and Sally Bowles in Cabaret, and would love to hear what other people’s favourite female roles are.
Image: This Breed of Woman (1964)