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She didn1 act like a n~n orrhe way we poOr ignorant souls thought ~uns acted Shemiddot was bouncy~ enthusiasric with an ambling Waik Uke a good oa~baJLplayeiShe also had beautiful clear skin and sparkling snapping brown eyes We all fell in love with

her

~ary Martin on ~jster Gregory I -

By the late 1950S~ Mary Martin was a famo~s poyerful Broadway star After stealing the show singing and doing a striptease to My H~art Betongsto

Daddy in Leave It to Me in 1938 she solidified iterstardom as the goddess come-tomiddot1ife in One Touch-of Venus ~[943) chaImedaudi~ncesall over the country in the national tour of An1ieuro Ge Your GunJI947)andbrought the house d~wn fora record~settiDg 1925 ~rformanc~siriHJuthPacific(I949) ~ She played afbnef but memorable run In- Peterlanftsects4)andmiddotlater middotfilmed~

bull the performance f9r tel~yjsifn ~rrnanerttly lamimitingh~rstarid~n~ty ont~ lmiddotmiddot bull

therol~ of themiddot bOy who wouldnt grow up Marunmiddotio tUrne~down some notable parts including the leads in F~rlIlY Girft My Fair LadymiddotXissMeKare ~

7and OklahomatBut Martin actively puTsl1ed fin~ciallybated and created

another role which to this day is associatedwith~her Mana in Th~ SQund 0 l

Music ~ =

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~ WHYMySIC~LS w1yenLESBI~~SiN~H~W~ ~ A THEOREticAL M6I)EL

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Until rec~ntlygt musical theatreoc~upied 8 ~p~cewhe~ feW ideolc)gic~l1y invested scl10lars (including feminists) would admit they like to traffic Musi-

calsweremiddotigfpred pr trashed as PoPUIarcultqrean~ the few scholarly texts _-that were publishedtended t6 be positivist histories formalist analyses or thinly veled 1r~ctSof~dota~ioh Irt the past ~ew te~ thlti~gh~ork in cultural I

lt~~~-~ ~i ModernDrahia39(199sect)s ~ i - ~ ~i- - ~i ~~

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SACY WOLF

~tudi son HoJlywood musicals has generated a considerable body~~fusefuI theo alld criticism reminding theatre scholars that efltertainmenti bulldoes mue ideological work4 In theatre studies Bruce McConachies recent readmiddotmiddot in of Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals during the Cold War and Robin

reons analysis of the revivalof Showboat usefully redress acajiemicinatlen- tion to musical theatres Both McConachie and Breon critique the reactionary

politics of the snows they study This new and significaiu scholarly attentiQn to musical theatre reinforces its reputation of being unbearably conservative frequently misogynist and ragingJy heterosexual that is a seemingly unlikely site of pleasure for lesbian feminist spectators )

White gay mens affinity focmusicals however has been well documented in print and in the theatre From Michael Bronskis Culture Clash The Mflkshying of a Gay Sensibility to Richard Dyers work on gay men and Judy Garshyland to representations of white gay men in Broadways Love Valour Compassion (1994) and in Party (1995) on Theatre Row white gay mens love for knowledge of and attachment to the musical verges on the (obsesshysively) possessive6 The visibility of white gay mens alliance with musicals stems in part from capitid (cultural and real) and the general visibility of a relshyatively identifiable affluent urban white gay male culture As Michael Warner asserts queer culture gets practiced primarily through material culshyture

The playful and political uses of musical theatre by gay men offer models for lesbian intervention (by fantasy and criticism ifnot through material prac tices) My purpose here then is not to bemoan the lack of a coherent lesbian cullure but rather to trace in Martins perfonnance as Maria what Chris

Straayer calls the hypothetical lesbian heroine 8 Generated by lesbianlpecshytatonal activity the hypothetical lesbian heroine is constructed from textual and extra-textual contradictions by a viewer who insists on assertive even transgressive identifications and seeingt9 To speak anecdotallylhave been surprised and delighted by how many la~-baby-boom mi~dleclass lesbians willingly and breathlessly confess their love of musiltals their acting out of musicals and their crushes on perfomlers The Sound ofMJlSic functions asa leey site of such desire These stories confinn that Lesbians have always found ways to r~d between tJie lines projecting our fantasies of desire and identifica~ion onto heterosexual mainstream feiyalt igonso That these deviant readings are generated through desiremakes therti no less I valid More conventional (read straight) readingsslmply rely onmiddotdiff~rent if natli ralized assumptions about representational ractices and by extension social relations Id like to begin then to theorizea lesbian ~pectator ()hrlusi cals usin~ The Sound ofMusic as an ex~ple and reading Mary yenartin as a lesbian star II f ~ - fill

I want to ask Can musicals bemiddot used by feminist ana lesbian audiences1ls bull there a space fotlesbian pleasure7teSbi~pgtlitics How woulsl such (resis- i

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Q~rmiddot~~i~~~f~6~~~middot - tant-) ~djngs of Mana oTofMartin) be activated atIidwliyrnig ftb~y ~ ~

usmiddotefui1 What~ideoloiicaiworkmigbtrinlslca)sQoifreadIrQniilesbl bullfelni~middot nist pO~ition Al1d-aIsdtwhatkin(korpeff~rrnanCes of femminitydidtpe s~ow enablefor t1u1i~~ gtgt H gt gt gt

L~keworKinfe~Jnist fi~mstud~es~a~argy~s~tiaf real~p~e~QQ~O~ci~the ~ movIes 89d find pleas~rem thel~ expenen~estAere I begm from th~ste ~f - my own and my frienCls and coll~aguesrea) II1ateri~r liv~ ple~ur~jnmiddotmiddotf musicals I take my theoretical cues from fltrexmiddotamplebull AlexandeiDott~ Making Things Perfectly Queer i~ which he demoristrat~s a queer spedat9~al practice with a vengeance 2 He poaches read~ r~sjstantly emphasi~es e unspoken and convincingly iHustraies howmeanings emerge from a struggl among text (81mie televisual or mu~ica))t context andmiddotsPec~(or Doly lses - ~~eer 10privneseany non-straight readiilg partic~larlY in tenns of sexual- -~

My readings of Martin and The Sound ofMusic are queer lesbian an4 fem middot ~ jnist They are negotiated across theplayt~xts reviews of lost performances and Martins autobiography The ways in which The SoundojMuslc is queer lesbian originate with Mary Martin ana yet they existapiu-t from her the play ~ is queer Martinin it makes it queerer Knowledge of Martins bisexuaiity and ~

her pri~ate lif~bilttresses a les~iahreadingo~ o~e ~f her Javorhe roles bUl (~f the readmgs don t de~nd on sucH knowledge-gossIP f 4 raquo

J 1- )~ 11 HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLBM LIKB MARYMARIA

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SISTER BamE (sjnging) Shes a headache bullSISTER MAROARElTA Shes an angel- MOIKER ABBESS Shes a girl (They all assume rh~ Qujrude iiprayer eyeSloward heaven) I 3

Before ~aria has spoken~ vord in the play the Mother Abbesstri~s to

describe her but the audience alr~ady knows that Maria is aproblem not because she is a girl butbecentause she is a tombOy We see her in the fi~t scene lying on her back at the base ofa tree Herposition with One00 htghi(l the air aruLher pettic~~tsllpwing is unpost~ant7like(6) i4 Refu~ing tlle tltmlS pC femininity define~by the abbey Maria isuncontrQUableundefinable

J ~ virtuallYunnameable -a~problemlf asAndreaWeiss~rites Suggestioii~ of l~sbianisl1Dc~e encOded t ~ sociadevi~ce agafns~wh~ch normal r womens se~u~lity and social ~le are defincd then Maria is doubly queer IS

Mari~wantftolrea r)lll1andcomesfrom ac~~vent)i tpica) ~pJCsenta l~ tionalI~lti9~ Qf lesbirul proclivitie~16The nun~ in The- SOlind ofMusic fmiddot

u~like rep~st(ntations that use aconvent to show womenwithout-men as I

~ repie~edirep~eSsive nysterical and unbalanceo17 arelikewle andmiddot quite ) bull gtwise~eY are portrayed as~tieterosexuaIly innoCerit but~uriousmiddot thei~titilia~ ~-_ _ t lt gt -~- - - - ~

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54

-

tion over Maria~s wedding negligee easily read as lesbianamusementrather than virgin fear They are thoroughly accepting (perhaps more than alesbiail spectator) of Marias transformation into heterosexuality anlti marriage The nuns perspective introduces notions of proper femininity artd the opening hymn creates a hegemon against which Mariais measured again~l which she seems a problem While the play tries to suggest that Manas irrepressible nature is I~tent (as-ye~-uri~iscovered) heterosexuality I see it as lesbian lustishyness As I will show the ~arrative that apparently recuperates Maria into hetshyerosexuali~y and proper ~emini~ity is shaky gap-ridden and ultimately unconvIncIng

The narrative of Martin scareer from Peter Pano Marla from (tomboy to heterosexual woman echoes Manas transformation And while Mana may be a problem in the play the role itself solved some performative probshylems for Martin At age fony-six st)e played a particular kind of white femishyninity simultaneously recuperating her performance as a woman and resisting traditional rigid gender roles of the Cold War

In preview articles Martin ~mphasizes both the boxing workouts she endured to prepare for the show (in which she walked ran and danced three miles during each performance) aridher happiness in playing a woman

I ve played very young parts for so long Here as Maria von Trapp I start off young but have to grow up and mature become a woman with a husband and seven children Vinnie Donehue [the shows director] said Every time you sound yoJng like a little girl Im going to come back and tell you And he does - and I liKe it Im delighted

because 1 do wanllo playa woman IS

Unlike her performance as Peter Pan in which she felt as if she was Peter effortlessly Martin knows that for her playing a woman is acting She writes HI had a remember the character always keep a tight rein on my emotions and my performance She at onceacknowedges that she has not played women before and that ~o~en a~e not natural ae to be played with restraint ( You could never do a klddmg thmg never play It broad1y9 ~

In the press Martins hair also signifies her transition to femininity An interviewer writes Close up Mary Martin tumed out to be more diminutive than Qne expected and now that she was letting herblond hair grow for the part she was quite different For that writer she had become Peter Pan and he seems to think hes witnessing her maturation Perhaps because of Martins fame perhapsbeclluse of her well-ltiocumentedboyishness the writer expects her to be larger Longer hair mes a difference to Manintoo aSVpe writer notes The first thing she did was pat herhairappreciativ~Jy and ~xclaim Tqank heavens Im not playing boys pans any more o(hillbiliiestInibein~ a mature womm again and I like it ~o Not only do the writer and i1artin r~ly on European traditionalnotions of long hair as a marker of true femininity and

amp gt-1 i

c~---_~c c __ ~

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bull bull bull r- - bull Or bull bull ~ shy

itie Qu~tpje~u~sofM~Marti~ ~ middotmiddotmiddot middot55 -~ ( $ T lt ~~gt~ of womensmiddothetero)sexuaJitY but Martin alSQtemngIYp~nelsgeri4e~ an4

~lassj Maria allo~s her topblyfeminiJle aiitlupper ~l~ tt ~lt Lik~M~Ma~nt MciriailiTJitSo~~dofM~~kmiddotneed~ to~ta~ghih~w to middoti ~

perfonn femininlty l how to ~rf()nria(awoin~Mw~ t() plaYliet~r9sexuality In the first part ohhe piay4Manals~~xual a~ociattyPe ~i~is~g1li~ticallf

coded as lesbian 21 She fail~toseemiddottheCaptaitl asap6t~nti~rsliitQ~andher longing is focused OQ ~natufe middotandSjngingNo one imagines heras~ opjectcgt-middot desire and when the Captain ficSt looks at nerhe commentsonlyoill1er dress which the stage directi9ns ~eScribe ismiddotidesigned by an etie~yoltl1eleinale ~J bull sex (Z5) Maria does not signifylackburrather opportunity tsjnalesbian fantasy ofself-generation she bas nbJamny Notbound byendassshehilSno money but it matterS not to her will hercharismaandheisuc~ssmiddot

The plays ideological work hingas on Mariasmobilityin anmiddotAroericentim cultural context Although it taKes place in Austriaandis peppered With folk songs like Edelweiss the Rodgers and HamJllersteinrilusiCalporuays a white American family reinventing itself throughinnocetlce and energy Maria represents an ~nsocializedfemininity and the playvaiues Marias dis- order and negates discipline (of the nuns of the Captain oJ the Nazis) But the boundaries of disorder -in the context of Cold War American musical theatIe are sti1lclosely guarded Marias irrepressible spiritispriz~d because she is white22 The nature of The Sound of Mu~ic with which she is metaphoric~liy and at times literally linked is the nature of whiteIless - mountains blue s~y pastures fields of flowers dotted with the civiliiationofcaStles and chQco 1ates not the nature of darkness and the primitive KotJenadercer eXplains how the label Caucasian (the name chosen by the Westsmiddotnarcissisticdelushy -

sion of superiority) originated in 1795 when Frederich Blumenbachused it to describe white Europeans in general (or he believed thaUheslopesof the Caucasus mountains (mountains in eastern Europe]we~tbe original home of the most beautiful European species 23 Marias whiteness as~ures that her natural disorder is aestheticized

M~ria emerges as whaqgtltiula Graham calIS an arnazortcross-dressin~ tart~ -an apparen~y heterosexual character with whom lesbianspectators readily identify24 The amazon tart as Graham ~xplains is fundamen~ny aciive She ~

makes things happen she gets what she wants Hergoalsoftensuppbr(~ con- servativeagenqa (thus Marias wiiling marriage and lnstantexcessive m()fh~ erhood) but she off~rs a site of spectatorial pleasure in contrasf tQother bull imageampofVoiQenas~lesbian~

~ - - The SoundoMusic contains an extraordinary nUlll~rofwofuencharaCt~rs

whoplaystereotypicatlespians S(sleBerihe~h6irisistSthai Marialsa ~eJlcin (l2)bullandfrau Schmidfthemaideach middotrepre~ent the stereotype of

bullmiddotmiddotmiddotthe lSexual humltirlessspinsterl~sbiant While Elsasigriifies the voracious ~o~~rly~ex~~l~i~c~vampirelesbi~25 l3lsa js ~osi~onedsYlllbolicanyasmas~

Jcllh~e hQnds()m~~ the s~ge d~epoundtl~l n~lcate~~xual1y s~rved (her first ~ _ I - t

j STACYWOLP

54

-

tion over Maria~s wedding negligee easily read as lesbianamusementrather than virgin fear They are thoroughly accepting (perhaps more than alesbiail spectator) of Marias transformation into heterosexuality anlti marriage The nuns perspective introduces notions of proper femininity artd the opening hymn creates a hegemon against which Mariais measured again~l which she seems a problem While the play tries to suggest that Manas irrepressible nature is I~tent (as-ye~-uri~iscovered) heterosexuality I see it as lesbian lustishyness As I will show the ~arrative that apparently recuperates Maria into hetshyerosexuali~y and proper ~emini~ity is shaky gap-ridden and ultimately unconvIncIng

The narrative of Martin scareer from Peter Pano Marla from (tomboy to heterosexual woman echoes Manas transformation And while Mana may be a problem in the play the role itself solved some performative probshylems for Martin At age fony-six st)e played a particular kind of white femishyninity simultaneously recuperating her performance as a woman and resisting traditional rigid gender roles of the Cold War

In preview articles Martin ~mphasizes both the boxing workouts she endured to prepare for the show (in which she walked ran and danced three miles during each performance) aridher happiness in playing a woman

I ve played very young parts for so long Here as Maria von Trapp I start off young but have to grow up and mature become a woman with a husband and seven children Vinnie Donehue [the shows director] said Every time you sound yoJng like a little girl Im going to come back and tell you And he does - and I liKe it Im delighted

because 1 do wanllo playa woman IS

Unlike her performance as Peter Pan in which she felt as if she was Peter effortlessly Martin knows that for her playing a woman is acting She writes HI had a remember the character always keep a tight rein on my emotions and my performance She at onceacknowedges that she has not played women before and that ~o~en a~e not natural ae to be played with restraint ( You could never do a klddmg thmg never play It broad1y9 ~

In the press Martins hair also signifies her transition to femininity An interviewer writes Close up Mary Martin tumed out to be more diminutive than Qne expected and now that she was letting herblond hair grow for the part she was quite different For that writer she had become Peter Pan and he seems to think hes witnessing her maturation Perhaps because of Martins fame perhapsbeclluse of her well-ltiocumentedboyishness the writer expects her to be larger Longer hair mes a difference to Manintoo aSVpe writer notes The first thing she did was pat herhairappreciativ~Jy and ~xclaim Tqank heavens Im not playing boys pans any more o(hillbiliiestInibein~ a mature womm again and I like it ~o Not only do the writer and i1artin r~ly on European traditionalnotions of long hair as a marker of true femininity and

amp gt-1 i

c~---_~c c __ ~

~ ~~)_~~ ~ t ~~~I ~ ~ bullbullt

bull bull bull r- - bull Or bull bull ~ shy

itie Qu~tpje~u~sofM~Marti~ ~ middotmiddotmiddot middot55 -~ ( $ T lt ~~gt~ of womensmiddothetero)sexuaJitY but Martin alSQtemngIYp~nelsgeri4e~ an4

~lassj Maria allo~s her topblyfeminiJle aiitlupper ~l~ tt ~lt Lik~M~Ma~nt MciriailiTJitSo~~dofM~~kmiddotneed~ to~ta~ghih~w to middoti ~

perfonn femininlty l how to ~rf()nria(awoin~Mw~ t() plaYliet~r9sexuality In the first part ohhe piay4Manals~~xual a~ociattyPe ~i~is~g1li~ticallf

coded as lesbian 21 She fail~toseemiddottheCaptaitl asap6t~nti~rsliitQ~andher longing is focused OQ ~natufe middotandSjngingNo one imagines heras~ opjectcgt-middot desire and when the Captain ficSt looks at nerhe commentsonlyoill1er dress which the stage directi9ns ~eScribe ismiddotidesigned by an etie~yoltl1eleinale ~J bull sex (Z5) Maria does not signifylackburrather opportunity tsjnalesbian fantasy ofself-generation she bas nbJamny Notbound byendassshehilSno money but it matterS not to her will hercharismaandheisuc~ssmiddot

The plays ideological work hingas on Mariasmobilityin anmiddotAroericentim cultural context Although it taKes place in Austriaandis peppered With folk songs like Edelweiss the Rodgers and HamJllersteinrilusiCalporuays a white American family reinventing itself throughinnocetlce and energy Maria represents an ~nsocializedfemininity and the playvaiues Marias dis- order and negates discipline (of the nuns of the Captain oJ the Nazis) But the boundaries of disorder -in the context of Cold War American musical theatIe are sti1lclosely guarded Marias irrepressible spiritispriz~d because she is white22 The nature of The Sound of Mu~ic with which she is metaphoric~liy and at times literally linked is the nature of whiteIless - mountains blue s~y pastures fields of flowers dotted with the civiliiationofcaStles and chQco 1ates not the nature of darkness and the primitive KotJenadercer eXplains how the label Caucasian (the name chosen by the Westsmiddotnarcissisticdelushy -

sion of superiority) originated in 1795 when Frederich Blumenbachused it to describe white Europeans in general (or he believed thaUheslopesof the Caucasus mountains (mountains in eastern Europe]we~tbe original home of the most beautiful European species 23 Marias whiteness as~ures that her natural disorder is aestheticized

M~ria emerges as whaqgtltiula Graham calIS an arnazortcross-dressin~ tart~ -an apparen~y heterosexual character with whom lesbianspectators readily identify24 The amazon tart as Graham ~xplains is fundamen~ny aciive She ~

makes things happen she gets what she wants Hergoalsoftensuppbr(~ con- servativeagenqa (thus Marias wiiling marriage and lnstantexcessive m()fh~ erhood) but she off~rs a site of spectatorial pleasure in contrasf tQother bull imageampofVoiQenas~lesbian~

~ - - The SoundoMusic contains an extraordinary nUlll~rofwofuencharaCt~rs

whoplaystereotypicatlespians S(sleBerihe~h6irisistSthai Marialsa ~eJlcin (l2)bullandfrau Schmidfthemaideach middotrepre~ent the stereotype of

bullmiddotmiddotmiddotthe lSexual humltirlessspinsterl~sbiant While Elsasigriifies the voracious ~o~~rly~ex~~l~i~c~vampirelesbi~25 l3lsa js ~osi~onedsYlllbolicanyasmas~

Jcllh~e hQnds()m~~ the s~ge d~epoundtl~l n~lcate~~xual1y s~rved (her first ~ _ I - t

~ ~~)_~~ ~ t ~~~I ~ ~ bullbullt

bull bull bull r- - bull Or bull bull ~ shy

itie Qu~tpje~u~sofM~Marti~ ~ middotmiddotmiddot middot55 -~ ( $ T lt ~~gt~ of womensmiddothetero)sexuaJitY but Martin alSQtemngIYp~nelsgeri4e~ an4

~lassj Maria allo~s her topblyfeminiJle aiitlupper ~l~ tt ~lt Lik~M~Ma~nt MciriailiTJitSo~~dofM~~kmiddotneed~ to~ta~ghih~w to middoti ~

perfonn femininlty l how to ~rf()nria(awoin~Mw~ t() plaYliet~r9sexuality In the first part ohhe piay4Manals~~xual a~ociattyPe ~i~is~g1li~ticallf

coded as lesbian 21 She fail~toseemiddottheCaptaitl asap6t~nti~rsliitQ~andher longing is focused OQ ~natufe middotandSjngingNo one imagines heras~ opjectcgt-middot desire and when the Captain ficSt looks at nerhe commentsonlyoill1er dress which the stage directi9ns ~eScribe ismiddotidesigned by an etie~yoltl1eleinale ~J bull sex (Z5) Maria does not signifylackburrather opportunity tsjnalesbian fantasy ofself-generation she bas nbJamny Notbound byendassshehilSno money but it matterS not to her will hercharismaandheisuc~ssmiddot

The plays ideological work hingas on Mariasmobilityin anmiddotAroericentim cultural context Although it taKes place in Austriaandis peppered With folk songs like Edelweiss the Rodgers and HamJllersteinrilusiCalporuays a white American family reinventing itself throughinnocetlce and energy Maria represents an ~nsocializedfemininity and the playvaiues Marias dis- order and negates discipline (of the nuns of the Captain oJ the Nazis) But the boundaries of disorder -in the context of Cold War American musical theatIe are sti1lclosely guarded Marias irrepressible spiritispriz~d because she is white22 The nature of The Sound of Mu~ic with which she is metaphoric~liy and at times literally linked is the nature of whiteIless - mountains blue s~y pastures fields of flowers dotted with the civiliiationofcaStles and chQco 1ates not the nature of darkness and the primitive KotJenadercer eXplains how the label Caucasian (the name chosen by the Westsmiddotnarcissisticdelushy -

sion of superiority) originated in 1795 when Frederich Blumenbachused it to describe white Europeans in general (or he believed thaUheslopesof the Caucasus mountains (mountains in eastern Europe]we~tbe original home of the most beautiful European species 23 Marias whiteness as~ures that her natural disorder is aestheticized

M~ria emerges as whaqgtltiula Graham calIS an arnazortcross-dressin~ tart~ -an apparen~y heterosexual character with whom lesbianspectators readily identify24 The amazon tart as Graham ~xplains is fundamen~ny aciive She ~

makes things happen she gets what she wants Hergoalsoftensuppbr(~ con- servativeagenqa (thus Marias wiiling marriage and lnstantexcessive m()fh~ erhood) but she off~rs a site of spectatorial pleasure in contrasf tQother bull imageampofVoiQenas~lesbian~

~ - - The SoundoMusic contains an extraordinary nUlll~rofwofuencharaCt~rs

whoplaystereotypicatlespians S(sleBerihe~h6irisistSthai Marialsa ~eJlcin (l2)bullandfrau Schmidfthemaideach middotrepre~ent the stereotype of

bullmiddotmiddotmiddotthe lSexual humltirlessspinsterl~sbiant While Elsasigriifies the voracious ~o~~rly~ex~~l~i~c~vampirelesbi~25 l3lsa js ~osi~onedsYlllbolicanyasmas~

Jcllh~e hQnds()m~~ the s~ge d~epoundtl~l n~lcate~~xual1y s~rved (her first ~ _ I - t

--

-SfAcYWOLF

gesture hl the play is to help herself to a pastry) and selfserving (54)10tro-middotmiddotmiddot duced as the object of the Captains gaze (Captain von Trapp ls siqiuliifg center admiring Elsa (54]) she quickly rhetoricaliy castrates him by reminding him that she isa corporation president (56) Elsa laughsthatshe~ll

never learn the childrens names (shes too busy with more important things) while Maria learns them instantly (68) Maria is constructedagainstthese repmiddotmiddot J resentations of stereotypicaliesbians

Part of Marias representational attractiveness stems from her lack of money The plays Austrian setting displaces possible racializedsocial conshyfucts onto class issues valuing restraint over pretentiou~essElsa and Max (a

charming dilettante (57]) represent stereotypical gay characters because of their insincere excessive self-performances their narcissism their frank desi~e for money and their lack of political conviCtions Max portrays a dandy as Bronski writes The dandy catered to the autocratic sensibility all style and no content Taste was lifes most important attainment anypolishyticS emotions or ethics that conflicted with this goal were to be discarded6

Max says I like rich people I like the way they live I like the way i live when Im with them (58) And when he receives a telegram from a Nazi officer he shrugs it off saying Georg why dont you look at it the way I do Whats going to happen is going to happen Just be sure it doesnt happen to you (63) Elsa too lacks political convictions the proposed marriage between Elsa and the Captain faits because they are both rich and because she refuses to take a pro-Austrian political stance When the Captain turns

toward Maria the play ignores how Maria acquires a life of lUXUry rather she has changed the Captain it seems They sing An Ordinary Couple which underlines their domestiC normalcy and he sings For aliI want of living is to keep you close to me

Recognizing the displacements of difference matters as all queer identities are always already racialized and classed The complexproblemati~sofWestshyem representations binarisms structure musical theatre anci even the most transgressive spectating practices The dynamic of Class differences and the

reconfiguration o class as queerness while parochial conservative and homophobic simultaneously open a space for Maria-as-lesbian as tbeamashyzon tart bull

The recurring visual im~ge of ih~ Sound 0 Music exemplifies Martinas the amazon tart It shows her standing left with Ii~gsspread and head up - not unlike her Peter Pan pose - guttar ih ~and an4 smiling broadly The seven children are gatheredmiddot right in a grou~) in sailor suiis all butQne bent over hands Qn knees looking up at Martin ~ild srniling Lauri Peters who played

Lies stands behind the other children atld eyes MaI1inMaria suspiciousfy (or

with curiosity or with desire) oespit~the publicity about ManjngroViing~ her h~ir JorTheSound oMusic it is very short and sheIookS quit~boyish next to Peterss softness andlo~germiddothair rhephot()graphIgt~llsonesgaZemiddot

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tmiddot lt ~ gt -~-~--~ gt ~ _ bull -shy

The QueeimiddotPl~asJJres of-Mary Martiir-middot ~ - - - ~ - ~

- - ~- ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ shy ~ t~~ar(ls Martin confiderit and competitive utterlyuninQIved with ~e eliil

drcentri Martin looksmiddot upand out~ n(jt-dlre(~ly middotau)lemiddot~er~ buf6ier tlle beads of _ th~ imagined audi~nce middotin fh~ Qi6bestraWhitemiddotMartin ~e middotstaralid~tije- chil~ ~ dren wereth~ shoWsgr~ai appe~Jtheph~togniph ~col)veys ~ot~lin~ge9L cmiddot

nurtunmceor interaction bufoncent-of indePen~enceTheguitaiserves bOth as a markerof POWer and asmiddotaphYsical birrier Altfiotig~ shec1rume(ft6~ gt

delighted thatuIm singinglegato for ac~futg~2thisimmiddotagefstypidlMar- bull tin the tomboy Martin 5 peiformanc~re~stStheplays nOrrrlalizing fQrcesof heterosexual femininity she standsapail~ ~

-

~

III~middotNAR~ATIVBSOF iLBsBIAN MU8JCAL j (

BRIO~A And the way youmiddotlookedat him just now when yo~ w~redancing~yciure inlove with him

(Maria stands in stunned silence) (80) tmiddot i

The Sound ~fMusiciHustrates the fine rewards ofentering into heterosexual- ity withinthe context of Cold War jde-ologYseff~rtto ~ontain womenwlthin the familyl8 Maria naturally instantly anddeiigptedly becomes amoth~r of seven but through what David Van Leer caUscultural carelessness the playmiddot middotaI1owsqueer intervention Van LeerexphHnshow cultlll-al SsUTnptioqs ate ~ often represented so casually that the very absence of anxietY permits bull coiuitefhegemonic readings29 J would suggest that these~m~ngirievitability

of Marias heterosexualiZation is culturallycareless and opensmiddotwssibilitiesfor - _ other readings - c bull

The narrative of The Sound of Musiccari~uccessfully interpellate Maria into heterosexual marriage because of her whiteness itsseemingineyiiability l

rpasking the white privilege that enables it Her identity as asingle~prPhaned pennil~ss serVant who somehow behaves as ifsheamves atthe vonmiddot Trapp household by choice makes cultural sense by whatmiddotWsnot a Mammy figmiddot ure30 Like the representational Mammy MariahaSnochiId~nof ~erownnomiddotmiddotmiddot history noculture She is a ciphe~But uril(ke the Mammy whomiddotdespitehergt- love ~nd dedication to her white family remains outside it Maria eaSily siips from servant-governess to wife-mother~1 She wears tlle c1othe~ and the demelnor of Mrs Captainvon Trapp with frighteni~ase (after of couTSe ~

the ~ritical transitional whi~e wedding dres~) partly caUse perhap~ those roles are lot ~o different in a household like the von Tra RS middot(amiddottypicalAmeri-

y ~Cause her Wh thinness ~dexce Can hme)and Part i t~esS(~dlj~r uent ~ posture) allows htr unhmlledcassmoblJuyY ~ bull orwhat is Mariasmiddot heterose~uaIization composed F~rst shefuakesthe ~ ~ world to herlti~n Iikipg she changes the Gaptaininto awalmind loving man and brlngsmusic (back) into thehousehold she escapes fromthemiddotapOeygt ~ but~an still detndon~henunsshemiddotc~ ~hlyoJitsid~and sing wh~qever she - ~ - - - ~i~_ lt - lt i

I 1 ~

- ~

shy bull J ~

tmiddot lt ~ gt -~-~--~ gt ~ _ bull -shy

The QueeimiddotPl~asJJres of-Mary Martiir-middot ~ - - - ~ - ~

- - ~- ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ shy ~ t~~ar(ls Martin confiderit and competitive utterlyuninQIved with ~e eliil

drcentri Martin looksmiddot upand out~ n(jt-dlre(~ly middotau)lemiddot~er~ buf6ier tlle beads of _ th~ imagined audi~nce middotin fh~ Qi6bestraWhitemiddotMartin ~e middotstaralid~tije- chil~ ~ dren wereth~ shoWsgr~ai appe~Jtheph~togniph ~col)veys ~ot~lin~ge9L cmiddot

nurtunmceor interaction bufoncent-of indePen~enceTheguitaiserves bOth as a markerof POWer and asmiddotaphYsical birrier Altfiotig~ shec1rume(ft6~ gt

delighted thatuIm singinglegato for ac~futg~2thisimmiddotagefstypidlMar- bull tin the tomboy Martin 5 peiformanc~re~stStheplays nOrrrlalizing fQrcesof heterosexual femininity she standsapail~ ~

-

~

III~middotNAR~ATIVBSOF iLBsBIAN MU8JCAL j (

BRIO~A And the way youmiddotlookedat him just now when yo~ w~redancing~yciure inlove with him

(Maria stands in stunned silence) (80) tmiddot i

The Sound ~fMusiciHustrates the fine rewards ofentering into heterosexual- ity withinthe context of Cold War jde-ologYseff~rtto ~ontain womenwlthin the familyl8 Maria naturally instantly anddeiigptedly becomes amoth~r of seven but through what David Van Leer caUscultural carelessness the playmiddot middotaI1owsqueer intervention Van LeerexphHnshow cultlll-al SsUTnptioqs ate ~ often represented so casually that the very absence of anxietY permits bull coiuitefhegemonic readings29 J would suggest that these~m~ngirievitability

of Marias heterosexualiZation is culturallycareless and opensmiddotwssibilitiesfor - _ other readings - c bull

The narrative of The Sound of Musiccari~uccessfully interpellate Maria into heterosexual marriage because of her whiteness itsseemingineyiiability l

rpasking the white privilege that enables it Her identity as asingle~prPhaned pennil~ss serVant who somehow behaves as ifsheamves atthe vonmiddot Trapp household by choice makes cultural sense by whatmiddotWsnot a Mammy figmiddot ure30 Like the representational Mammy MariahaSnochiId~nof ~erownnomiddotmiddotmiddot history noculture She is a ciphe~But uril(ke the Mammy whomiddotdespitehergt- love ~nd dedication to her white family remains outside it Maria eaSily siips from servant-governess to wife-mother~1 She wears tlle c1othe~ and the demelnor of Mrs Captainvon Trapp with frighteni~ase (after of couTSe ~

the ~ritical transitional whi~e wedding dres~) partly caUse perhap~ those roles are lot ~o different in a household like the von Tra RS middot(amiddottypicalAmeri-

y ~Cause her Wh thinness ~dexce Can hme)and Part i t~esS(~dlj~r uent ~ posture) allows htr unhmlledcassmoblJuyY ~ bull orwhat is Mariasmiddot heterose~uaIization composed F~rst shefuakesthe ~ ~ world to herlti~n Iikipg she changes the Gaptaininto awalmind loving man and brlngsmusic (back) into thehousehold she escapes fromthemiddotapOeygt ~ but~an still detndon~henunsshemiddotc~ ~hlyoJitsid~and sing wh~qever she - ~ - - - ~i~_ lt - lt i

I 1 ~

- ~

58 I

)j

wants When the n~ns sing a reprise of How Do You Solve ~ ~ro~leIllLike ~c1 Maria at her wedding it serves as a reminder that in spi~ of aweddjng Maria hasnt changed and the problem is stilllhere Second she plays quite the unconventiOrialmothez the child-ghost of the mother lost and notanorigshyinary mother In her portrayal ~f Maria Martin could support a valorization of- the nuclear family without sacrificing her spunk

ThepJay also reworks the assumptive male gaze Straayer sees the lesbian look of exchange as a structural element which (ontrasts to the male gaze and is vulnerable to lesbian pleasuring33 Within the framed world ofthe play The Sound ofMusic does not eschew the gaze but rather opens it to variously gendend gazers arid then turns it to looks of exchange) Maria isto-be-lookedshyat the nuns in the convent observe her each person whom she meets 4n the von Trapp household scrutinizes her from the butler to the maid to the Capshytain to the children Elsa and Max look closely when they arrive But what they see is not easily fetishized Rather than objectify Maria all of the c~aracshyters identify with her and in effect want (to be) her

Straayer argues that the male gazes narrative corollary is love at first sight while the look of exchange results in female bonding34 TQe play moves through a series of scenes in which each character bonds with Maria This structure reframes a conflict-driven plot as Marlas journey through the upper class barely presents her with obstacles Through song and dance Maria unknowingly channs 3fld seduces each character Difference Jades and a world of female bonding occurs a world that is queer-lesbian

Patricia White specifies a representational mode of female bonding seeing different tropes of lesbian seduction [as] nurturance and dominance35 Marias relationships with the Mother Abbess and Liesl exemplify such dynamics Although the Mother Abbess symbolizes the plays first site of order (constructed as repression against Marias desire for the freedom of music and nature) she soon admits similarities to Maria They bond in singing My Favorite Things together before Maria leaves the abbey for the von Trapp house As Richard Dyer notes the song is less about the particular things that cheer one up - raindrops on roses whiskers on kittens and so on and moreabollt the joy of music itself36 that is it provides a site ofsimilarity of understanding of bonding It is also a way for the Mother Abbess to temper he dominance over Maria - who strongly protests being sent away frointhe abbey - withnurturance Despite tlieabbeys rules about singing ~he Mother

Abbess does so unabaShedly after she admits that she too wanted lOQe anun as a smail girl Whefl Maria leaves the abbey she knows that the Mother c

Abbess understands her deepIY_ While the Mother Abbess bOth nurtures and dominates (6ver) Marla Maria

in tum nurtures and doritinates Liesf The eldest daughter Whose characteri~ mainly delineated by her hovering on the edge of sexu31ity~ Lieslopenly rejects Maria at first insisting that I don pound need a ~overiles~ M~ria

f

bull I

(

~

- ~

ih~middotQ~eerFI~ti~~ ofM~Mahi~ gt _ bull ~ 4 ~ _ - i ~ ~ ~ - shy

-res~n~ Well jusqe friep~s(~) ~~-isee~S to~f~~e~ ~sitiOI of ~ommmce choosmg to ~seduc~ Ll~sllmiddotthroughmiddot nurturance and fnen~shlp

~c They~nitethat rerynightoverWesecretofLlesnsSciu~ltiaris~resS~orimiddotsh~S bcentenout IdssinifRolf liitd climbs iilihroughMaiia~sbecJr09h1window)ir(a

presumably iri~ocehrbedLiesjissoakelina tllitnder~lortp and do Maija~s nightgown an excha~ge charge with i)1timacy Mruiamiddotcomm~dshermiddotTe

yourdress in there and put ino~Qak inth~ bathtub then coni~bllCk Jlere ~ and sit on t~e edgeofmy bed andweU have~tal~ht6wlilcJl Bestespon~s~ C ~

I told you tod~y that I didnt need a governess Wfl1 maybe I do (48) Liesl and Maria barely interact if the rest of piaYd~xcept for a repris~ of

Sixteen (Joing QnSeventeen~ in which Liesi~onfesses hetconfusionllbOut ~ love Maria Jxgtthdominant and~nurturingsuddenly hetenexual and sud- lt~ ~ -

denly Uesls mother advises hedo wait aYtar or two for this ~indof adventure when you tgtelong to him (~24) It ihishumorousand(unJntenshytionally) ironic song of seduction Mariadisplaces R61f middotInmiddotbot1iofitu~scen~ with Maria and Liesl men simply provide the toptcthrough which ilie wOmen become intimate While a preferred hegemonic reading of the play expl~ins Mariasabi-lity to charm asmiddotsjmply that herguiIeiess chatni-areadingof Maria as a lesbian is enabled bythe plays cult~ralcarelessnessmiddot

Mart~ns chapter in her autobography on TheSoundoFMusicaIsp creafesamiddot female world as there are no photographs of Illen but rath~r a publiCityphoto of Maria and the Mother Abbess and personal photographs ofMartinaId the real Maria von Trapp and of Sister Gregory holding M~i~~s grandSonnmiddot Martin describes Sister Gregory as tall strongvitalrandMartiri ideritifies with her She came straight in and boomed Mary inth~kind(jfvoice you would expect from - well me but not from a nun3 Manina1s()bOndedmiddot and blurred with thereaHife Maria von ~rapp(onwh9seautobignlphY tl)e ~ play is ~ased) who told her Mary you were hornin Texasani IWasborn in Austria but underneath we are the same MariaMartinstudied with Maria von Trapp before r~hearsals and she explains ~After- Ilearned to kilow her I could see what she meant We both havethesamedrive~the saine~deter- mination We are alike 39 All thteerejectpas~ileand tracUtiona( femininity and insist on clostmessbetween women ~The love plot between Maria and the Capujin in The Sound of Music

bull despite itS heterose~uidity demonstr~tesfemalebo1dingAccordingto Straayer

i - ~ I bull ~

While love at flISt sight necessanly deemphasizes ma~eriality and context femate bondi~g~s~~i~ron~n inv~lvementin sPecificpersollai ~nvl~~ents~Ftirthertofe be

reIati()ns~ipacquires a physical quality f~on thepresenc~ ~fpe~omilitems that when exchangedsuggcentstintiriulcy4o -

+ gt

- Migh~jt tie possible to read the relationship betw~en Nlria and ~he Captain as

_Jf

gt t t T

I

~ ---~~ bull i

y)~ ~j~~~ji~ ~ flt ~ 5 gtraquo )~~

- ~

ih~middotQ~eerFI~ti~~ ofM~Mahi~ gt _ bull ~ 4 ~ _ - i ~ ~ ~ - shy

-res~n~ Well jusqe friep~s(~) ~~-isee~S to~f~~e~ ~sitiOI of ~ommmce choosmg to ~seduc~ Ll~sllmiddotthroughmiddot nurturance and fnen~shlp

~c They~nitethat rerynightoverWesecretofLlesnsSciu~ltiaris~resS~orimiddotsh~S bcentenout IdssinifRolf liitd climbs iilihroughMaiia~sbecJr09h1window)ir(a

presumably iri~ocehrbedLiesjissoakelina tllitnder~lortp and do Maija~s nightgown an excha~ge charge with i)1timacy Mruiamiddotcomm~dshermiddotTe

yourdress in there and put ino~Qak inth~ bathtub then coni~bllCk Jlere ~ and sit on t~e edgeofmy bed andweU have~tal~ht6wlilcJl Bestespon~s~ C ~

I told you tod~y that I didnt need a governess Wfl1 maybe I do (48) Liesl and Maria barely interact if the rest of piaYd~xcept for a repris~ of

Sixteen (Joing QnSeventeen~ in which Liesi~onfesses hetconfusionllbOut ~ love Maria Jxgtthdominant and~nurturingsuddenly hetenexual and sud- lt~ ~ -

denly Uesls mother advises hedo wait aYtar or two for this ~indof adventure when you tgtelong to him (~24) It ihishumorousand(unJntenshytionally) ironic song of seduction Mariadisplaces R61f middotInmiddotbot1iofitu~scen~ with Maria and Liesl men simply provide the toptcthrough which ilie wOmen become intimate While a preferred hegemonic reading of the play expl~ins Mariasabi-lity to charm asmiddotsjmply that herguiIeiess chatni-areadingof Maria as a lesbian is enabled bythe plays cult~ralcarelessnessmiddot

Mart~ns chapter in her autobography on TheSoundoFMusicaIsp creafesamiddot female world as there are no photographs of Illen but rath~r a publiCityphoto of Maria and the Mother Abbess and personal photographs ofMartinaId the real Maria von Trapp and of Sister Gregory holding M~i~~s grandSonnmiddot Martin describes Sister Gregory as tall strongvitalrandMartiri ideritifies with her She came straight in and boomed Mary inth~kind(jfvoice you would expect from - well me but not from a nun3 Manina1s()bOndedmiddot and blurred with thereaHife Maria von ~rapp(onwh9seautobignlphY tl)e ~ play is ~ased) who told her Mary you were hornin Texasani IWasborn in Austria but underneath we are the same MariaMartinstudied with Maria von Trapp before r~hearsals and she explains ~After- Ilearned to kilow her I could see what she meant We both havethesamedrive~the saine~deter- mination We are alike 39 All thteerejectpas~ileand tracUtiona( femininity and insist on clostmessbetween women ~The love plot between Maria and the Capujin in The Sound of Music

bull despite itS heterose~uidity demonstr~tesfemalebo1dingAccordingto Straayer

i - ~ I bull ~

While love at flISt sight necessanly deemphasizes ma~eriality and context femate bondi~g~s~~i~ron~n inv~lvementin sPecificpersollai ~nvl~~ents~Ftirthertofe be

reIati()ns~ipacquires a physical quality f~on thepresenc~ ~fpe~omilitems that when exchangedsuggcentstintiriulcy4o -

+ gt

- Migh~jt tie possible to read the relationship betw~en Nlria and ~he Captain as

_Jf

gt t t T

I

~ ---~~ bull i

y)~ ~j~~~ji~ ~ flt ~ 5 gtraquo )~~

i ~

(

60 STACYWOLP

lesbian Their connection is founded solely on its context they alinost litershyallyexchampnge the children (and reversIng parent-child toles Maria urges the Captain to ask the children for permission to marry her) she makes clothes from his curtains Maria seems not so much to love the Captain as to love ~e children music playfulness and nature Their marriage is one of conve~ nience compelled through similar pro-Austrian political views

Like Martin and her second husband Richard Halliday whose marriage according to Martin was founded on similarities in their attitude about work the Captain and Maria need to be pushed into attraction41 Their affeCtion is only expressed when Brigitta insists that they are inJlove and when Maria feels while dancing an emotion [which she has never experienced [an~J does not understand (75) The Captain aSKs her to wearothe dress that makes her look soft and white (80) and Marla tells the Mother Abbess that sh~ likes him with no representational signs of heterosexual desire (88) bullThe s6ng in which they declare their love An Ordinary Couple (in which they ) mostly seem like good pals) emphasiies the materiality and context of female bonding Their marriage does little tp shift the female focus in the world of the play it rather pulls together the sites of Marias life - the abbey and the villa the nuns and the children By the end of the play Maria is still the amazon tart who as Graham writes practices an extremely traditional protestant ideal of companionate heterosexual femininity42

That Maria marries and becomes heterosexual is textually explicit and that Martin won the Tony that year (Qver Ethel Mermans portrayal of Gypsys Mama Rose the bad mother) is documented The story is clear and the lesshysons are learned But Jve found through various theoretical and critical tools that queer readings can be persuasive they render The Sound ofMusic Marshytin and Maria undeniably irresistibly lesbian Transgressive reading practices open up a traditionally sexist and heterosexist form Not only do they provide pleasure and power for queer-lesbian readerspectators but they also rewrite the text itself Once ooe sees the lesbian in Martin-as-Maria she has become one once the heterosexualizipg narrative seems unconvincing it becomes that If we believe that culture works to interpellate us and position us in line

with dominant ideology then resisting normalizing forces by insiSlingly readshying queerly enables new texts new meanings and new subjectivities even at the site of musical theatre the hills aremiddotaliye with new sounds of music

NOTES

I Mary Martin My Heart Belongs (New York 1976)244-45 2 I might suggest that from the beginping of her career Martin created a personaof

queer contradictionS Cole Porters lyrics offer double meanings and Martinsrenshydition of the song was not a striptease af allbull but a c1eversweet dance in which she wore a fur coat and appeared to strip without ever actually doing itat all Her per-

~

~ ~

~ lt~-~~~~~middot~~~~i~~~~~~i

TheQue~rpi~~~~e~~fMryMa~i~

~

6~1 ~St~ ~ -~ ~ ~ ~ ~ -~ ~ ~

t

formance ofhy -femininitYiOntainedwithiri Br()idW~y~Sfamily ~eslheii9~ resonat~~queerlY n reiationto herfaJ1iea~~(tom)~yac~ess

3 Richard Rodgers s nther flowers onthe opening nightoftbe smashhilOklahqma thanking her for tu ing downthe l~adp~confessingthat ~earidlia~m~istehl

would have written staivehic1e fQiherand iot the rtliisicalthey createoAn9tber version of the Funny irl sagahadSt~phenSondheiinllireatehiilgto quit the pro t

duction team if Marti (rather than~-Jewish~ctre~s)wascasl~inlherole~fFanny ~ Brice Sondheim did q it heedless tosay--even IhQugh Mlhinwasnolofferedthe

~

4~l for example Jane~euer The HIlYW~OdMusiciil nd~dBl~ington 1993)

5 Bruce A McConachie ~ Oriental Musicalsof RltXJgers ~ml H~merstlin and _ the US War in Southea AsiaTheatre Journal 463 (Oct 1994) 85798 Robiri Breon Snowboat The evival the Racism TDR 392 (TI46) (Sumller 1995) 86-r05

~ 6 Michael Bronski CultureClash The Making ofGay Sensibility (Boston (984) RichardDyer Heavenly Afdies Film Starsand Society (London 1986) 6t ~mer and David Van Leer among others usefully read inusicaltheatre for their pleasure from a white gay ~ale perspective See forexampleDavid Vim Leer I

The Queening ofAmerica ~New York 1995) 7 Michael Warner Introduction Fear ofa Queer Planet Queer Politics and

Social Theory (Minneapoll~ 1993) vi-vii 8 Chris Straayer The Hypoetical Lesbian Heroine in Narrative Feature Film in

Out in Culture Gayusbidr and Queer Essays on Popular Culiure edCorey K Creekmur and Alexander DOty (Durham 1995)44

9 Straayer 45 0

~gt --

10 Diane Hamer and Belinda BMge eds Introduction The Goodlhe Bad and the Gorgeous PopularCulture~ Romanu with Lesbianism (London 1994) 2

II By lesbian spectator Jam rot referringto an essntialistid~ntity butrather to a theoretiyal spectatorial P9sition that may be embodied by a variety of identities I

12 Ai~ander ~oty Making ThiAgs Perfectly Queer Inl~rpreting Mass Culture (Mmneapolls (993)1

13 Richard Rodgers and Os~ar ~mmerstein II The SourtdoJMusic book by Howard -lLindsay and RusseU C-rous~ ( ewYorlt 19ampgtgt r2~ All flithefPagerefererices

appear parenthetically in thetxt 14 Tne notable differencesbetwnUlestage and filin (wi~flJuHe Andrews) versions

bull deserve extendc(tdiscussion i 15 AndreaWeissVal11pires olld (oi(isLesbians in Firm~(NeyYorki992) 55 16 For dociulientation on lesbian uns see Rosemary Curb and NancyManahm BreakingSilencetesbia~ Nu sonConvent SexuciUr) (LOndon I 985)

17fauia Grahi~didsCamp ePoiitics ofParody~I inmmortallnvisihie LesiansaiiitheM~vikgflJ~ e edTamsiriWJit6n(fllewY~rk i99S)nS

- ~ ~

~~~

- f

j

-

~ ~r bull

~~gt

62 ~w~Jjt 18 Seymour Peck They Made the SO~~d Of~u~itNew York Times (Is Nov

1959) I 3 I I bull

19 Martin 239middot~ ~ 20 TH Wenning The New Season View poundrom Bac~slage Newsweek (28 Sept

1959) 108 Contrary to whatrMartin says ill tltis interview Peter Pan s~pposedJy remained her favorite pan Qfall lime AlsoMartin wore hOer hair short il1roughout het life as her preferred style

21 Patricia White Supporting Ch~acter The Queer C~ of Agnes Moorehead in Our in Culture 95

22 The historical conceptultll pairi 5 of ~l1iteness ~ith CJl lpre and blackness with nature are well documented As rnotes representation also tends to link whiteshy

lt I

ness with order and rationality blackness with disorder Io()seness and irrationalshy 7 o

ity The Sound ofMusic ullimately does little to di~rupt such racialized ~inaries See Richard Dyer rWhite inT~e Mattrr ofImages EssaYf0Represe~tatifns (New York (993) 125

23 Kobena Mercer Welcome to the Jungle New Pasition$ in Black Cultural Studies (New York 1994) 102

bull 24 Oraha~ 163-81 bull 25 For a typology of characters who Signify as lesbian see Barbar~ Creed Lesbi~

Bodies Tribades Tomboys and Tarts in Sexy Bodies The Strange Carnalitiesoj Feminism ed Elizabeth Orosz and Elspelh Probyn (New York199S) 86-103

26 Bronski 57 t 27 Wenning lOS bull C

--

28 See Elaine Tyler May Homeward Bound American Familiesin the Cold Waripoundiq shy(New York 1988) Llaquo~ 1l- t ~

29 David Van LeerWhat Lola Oot Cultura~arelessness in 19S6sMusicals~ I]npubJiShedpaer (Amfrican Studies Association Convention 1992~1 2 ~~

30 For an historical account of the Mammy character in reprEten~tion s~ Patricia J Turner Ceramic Unells qndCelulod Mammies Black Images and Tjleir InfIu 1 U~

ltlaquo bull

ence on Culture (New York 1994)4[-61 Also see Diane Roberts The Mytholmiddoti Aunt Jemima RepresentQrionsojRace andRegion (New YorkJ994 I~ ~

31middot It is also possible to readtheCaptairlis anxietyen apout Marasittfl~~c~ as r~cftf ized as his children become white pickaninnies unlt1er Marias guidance Tfi~y w~nder aro~ndthe countryside singingpl~yingan~ m~king isct~f~~h ~~~dg- ~

amuffin appearance (andl devilishhaSits See Tumer13-I8 32 For ari excelIegument about while wP1ens repre~elitationilmo~Hity~el

Kate Davy Outing WhitenessA FeministLesbian ProjectttrheatrJ4fnal 472 (M~y 995) 189-206 ~~ ~ i

33 Straayer44 i ~ (~~I 34 Straayer44 f j 35 White loqmiddot r -~ bull gt

3~ Richard Dyer ~Thc SoUridIOPd~~(~~)ieJ (winteiI9~7)13lt) 37 SisterOregol1rWas a~gQod frienW of Martins forntjiny yeaI~ The~ili~~d~ti~g

~ ~I ~~ ltOi

lt- -1 ~~ -~-lt

lt ~ ~~~

- ~~ ~

TheQllee((gtitasuresof Mary Martin

~ bull ~gt -

renearsals for South piIcific andSjst~rG~egoiys~lVedas cOlsulialltJor Thesectoundmiddot ofMusic Martinreceived anhOri~degree fromthe c9111~ge ~Itbvhich Sist~rlt

Gregorywas affiliatec gt~ middotmiddotimiddotmiddotmiddot 38 Martin 244 Martin ~ldmiddotSisterGregory might havcenthad tnore than a clds~ friena~ ~

ship In an amusing stotyopen Itmultiple rea~ings~Mart~~ell~ofSister Gregory~ bull ~ - -1_ bull - - - bullgt-middot~1_~ti

helping her to re~earse for I DoN po tiY playmg(gaYH~o1ertPreston (284)~ ~ ~ - ~ ~ f~ ~~~ ~~_gt~

39Ma11m 243middot bull 40 Straayer 52 In her aUIo~ip~phYlJartintalltsaboutexchangi~gc1oWesmiddot~iUiher ~1r~~F)

~ar friendMildredW~ ~~)In~disclositre tllat~~VealSinO~ tpanM~~ ~ i~~middot 0 bull l~tends she also descnbesa~~~WhenShe thoughtshesaw herself~on lelevl~lon ~~~ and it turned outto be her 1i(~p1g b~t friend JanetGaynor oraquomiddot~) ~ c

41 In a review of a I 98Zproducti9n of~ Souhd ofMusicAlvi~ laquolein~ntespontmiddotmiddot expect che~istry betwe~~thestarsQbut Llttn we didnt get that~3 y~ago between Mr13i~el and t1atyMalJ~~ Alvin Kl~~ Sound of M~sic S~ng ~ Superbly New YorkTiesX2~j~g 198) sec It (~ng Island Section) 21 l l tmiddot 42 Graham 17311

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~ f ~~~gt r~j~r 1 -cmiddotmiddot bull ~ I t h l

~~~ middotmiddotmiddot-r ~~ ~ 1

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