Jay Maenhout interviews Dr. Stacy Wolf, musical theater scholar and professor at Princeton University. She discusses the growth of musical theater scholarship, her writings on gender and sexuality in American musicals, and her work as a professor.
- 0:12: Childhood, “utopian impulses”
- 0:40: Involvement in musical theater beginning in childhood and through college
- 3:18: College education
- 4:22: Career as high school teacher, decision to study theater academically
- 7:28: Doctoral dissertation on the experiences of theater audiences
- 10:07: Implementing her research in performances
- 11:06: Favorite shows
- 13:34: What makes an unsuccessful show
- 16:19: Female characters and stage time
- 19:46: Gender roles and sexuality in the American musical
- 21:58: Courses she teaches on musical theater, performance studies
- 24:20: Writings on gender, sexuality, and musical theater
- 26:12: Queer conventions in Wicked
- 28:28: How her work has changed since coming to Princeton
- 29:11: Engagement with Princeton’s musical community
- 30:35: Shift from performing to directing
- 31:16: Prior and current academic positions
- 33:22: Closing thoughts: the importance of her scholarship
You can read Jay’s reflections on this interview here.
