Scene Study if Momma Was Married
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Cathy Ang Professor Matthew Sheppard Smith Scene Study Questions Scene: “If Momma Was Married” from Gypsy 1. Historical Facts a. Who wrote the musical? i. Book by Arthur Laurents, music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim b. When was it written? i. First Broadway performance: May 21, 1959 c. What was the political and social environment of the time? i. In 1959, the Cold War was ongoing and the Space Race had just begun in 1957. Eisenhower was president and Nixon was vice president. In this period, Sputnik had been launched in 1957, and the US was playing catch up, trying to send it’s own satellites. Russia then sent the first person in to space, Yuri Gagarin, in April 1961. In his term, Eisenhower wanted to accomplish two primary goals: maintaining the national commitment to contain the Soviet influence (in hopes of communism collapsing within itself), and satisfying demands to balance the budget, lower taxes, and curb inflation. Eisenhower primarily used “massive retaliation” and “brinksmanship” tactics in the war. Eisenhower did not want ground wars, like Korea, in order to save money in the budget. This period focused primarily on psychological warfare. 2. Answer the following questions: a. When does it take place? i. It takes place in the early 1920s. b. Where does it take place? i. We are in a vaudeville theatre, backstage.
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Character Analysis
Transcript of Scene Study if Momma Was Married
Cathy AngProfessor Matthew Sheppard Smith
Scene Study Questions
Scene: If Momma Was Married from Gypsy
1. Historical Factsa. Who wrote the musical?i. Book by Arthur Laurents, music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheimb. When was it written?i. First Broadway performance: May 21, 1959c. What was the political and social environment of the time?i. In 1959, the Cold War was ongoing and the Space Race had just begun in 1957. Eisenhower was president and Nixon was vice president. In this period, Sputnik had been launched in 1957, and the US was playing catch up, trying to send its own satellites. Russia then sent the first person in to space, Yuri Gagarin, in April 1961. In his term, Eisenhower wanted to accomplish two primary goals: maintaining the national commitment to contain the Soviet influence (in hopes of communism collapsing within itself), and satisfying demands to balance the budget, lower taxes, and curb inflation. Eisenhower primarily used massive retaliation and brinksmanship tactics in the war. Eisenhower did not want ground wars, like Korea, in order to save money in the budget. This period focused primarily on psychological warfare. 2. Answer the following questions:a. When does it take place?i. It takes place in the early 1920s.b. Where does it take place?i. We are in a vaudeville theatre, backstage.c. Who are you and to whom are you talking?i. I am June, an extroverted and talented young girl that performs on the Vaudeville circuit. I am talking to my sister Louise, who performs in Baby June and Her Newsboys with me as our vaudeville act.d. What do you want?i. I want my mom to get married.e. Why do you want it?i. I want to be able to stop show business because Im sick of our act and of my mom being so domineering over me. I want to be able to go to a performing arts school and actually learn new things rather than repeating this terrible act. f. What happened prior to the scene?i. My mom refused to let me go to a performing arts school after I was offered a spot in order for Louise and me to continue doing our vaudeville act. She also just turned down a marriage proposal from our agent, Herbie.
