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High Noon Lecture: “Saints on Stage: The Depiction of Mormons in American Musical Theater”

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The following is a guest post from Music Archivist Janet McKinney.

One year ago this month the rush to buy tickets during the members only presale to see the Broadway tour of The Book of Mormon musical here in Washington, DC crashed the Kennedy Center website. The incident reminded me of a topic in which I had taken interest in the past: the depiction of Mormons in musical theater.

janet flyerA few years prior I had contributed to It’s Showtime! Sheet Music from Stage and Screen, an online database of sheet music selections from musicals, operas, television shows and movies. There were a few titles that portrayed Latter Day Saints which I took note of, such as the “palpable hit” from the comic opera The Mormons,Who Would Doubt That I’m a Man?”. I was interested in learning more about these productions, and the ticket sale incident was an excellent catalyst for renewing focus on the topic. Who wrote these musicals and operas? Who was involved in the productions? Are they numerous? Were any of these musicals as successful in their day as the contemporary The Book of Mormon? How are Mormons depicted and how are they integrated into the plot of the story? What can they tell us about our history?

Please join me on Tuesday, February 25th in the Mumford Room of the Madison Building as part of the Music Division’s High Noon Lecture Series. We will make observations from a survey of several productions depicting Latter Day Saints that are represented in the Library’s collections. These materials do not come from any one collection, but through copyright deposits of published sheet music, full scores and librettos, as well as materials from special archival collections. In addition to the presentation, some of the materials discussed will be on display.

Comments (2)

  1. Sounds like an interesting talk! I’ll be there.

  2. Mormons and musicals? 2 of my favorite things!!

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