Singing history: The musical construction of patriotic identity in '1776' and 'Assassins'

Musical theatre is commonly proclaimed to be a uniquely American art form. Yet little has been published to date that attempts to explicate how the American musical represents American patriotism. In dramatic and musical terms, what does it mean to be an American devoted to one's country?; This study examines two American musicals whose creators took up the project of reflecting upon American identity by singing American history: Edwards and Stone's 1776, about the creation and signing of the Declaration of Independence, is commonly perceived to be one of the most patriotic of musicals; Sondheim and Weidman's Assassins, about nine attempted or successful assassins of American presidents, is often perceived to be the most unpatriotic of musicals. The aim of this study is to explore how these two musicals either contest or reify conventional concepts of patriotism through the analysis of selected musical quotations and patriotic themes. Focusing on four musical numbers from each production that comment upon specific issues endemic to American identity, thorough analysis reveals how musical quotation, configured with the text of the historical characters, provokes the audience to construct, contest, reflect and reassess what it means to be a citizen of the United States of America. Toward that end, this study also examines how each musical spoke to the social issues of America during the period in history when it was first composed and produced.; Careful analysis of the musical quotations, together with the examination of each musical in the historical context in which it was first produced, reveals the intricate and subtle ways in which these musicals require Americans to reflect on the limitations, challenges, and scope of the "American Dream." Such attention to both the musical and historical texts resists reductive summations of history and points to the power of singing history within the context of historical memory. Further, this study establishes a method of script analysis integrating an understanding of musical form, an approach useful to both theatre scholars and practitioners alike.