{"product_id":"9780472076444-seriously-mad","title":"Seriously Mad","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMental Distress and the Broadway Musical\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eExplores the history of American musical theater’s engagement with notions of madness, from \u003ci\u003eMan of La Mancha\u003c\/i\u003e to \u003ci\u003eA Strange Loop\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eTheatermakers in the United States have long been drawn to madness as a source of dramatic spectacle. During the Broadway musical’s golden age in the mid-twentieth century, creative teams used the currently in-vogue psychoanalytic ideas about mental life to construct troubled characters at odds with themselves and their worlds. As the clinical and cultural profile of madness transformed over the twentieth century, musicals continued to delve into the experience of those living with mental pain, trauma, and unhappiness.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSeriously Mad\u003c\/i\u003e offers a dynamic account of stage musicals’ engagement with historically significant theories about mental distress, illness, disability, and human variance in the United States. By exploring who is considered mad and what constitutes madness at different moments in U.S. history, Aleksei Grinenko shows how, in attempts to bring the musicals closer to highbrow sophistication, theater dramatized serious medical conditions and social problems. Among the many Broadway productions discussed are \u003ci\u003eNext to Normal\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eA Strange Loop\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSweeney Todd\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMan of La Mancha\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eGypsy\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eOklahoma!\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eLady in the Dark\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56345112772982,"sku":"9780472076444","price":93.43,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/stand_31295133.jpg?v=1758800387","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9780472076444-seriously-mad","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}