Changed for Good

Book excerpt: In this lively book, Stacy Wolf illuminates the women of American musical theater--performers, creators, and characters--from the start of the cold war to the present day, creating a new feminist history of the genre. Moving from decade to decade, Wolf highlights the assumptions that circulated about gender and sexuality at the time and then looks at the leading musicals, stressing the aspects of the plays that relate to women. The musicals discussed here are among the most beloved in the canon--"West Side Story," "Guys & Dolls," "Cabaret," and many others--with special emphasis on "Wicked."