SU's Adventures in Ideas: Humanities Seminar Series Continues Saturday, February 20

Drs. Leanne Wood of Salisbury University’s Bellavance Honors Program, and John Wesley Wright and William Folger of the Music, Theatre and Dance Department explore the social significance of Broadway shows from the 1920s-40s during this semester’s installment of SU’s Adventures in Ideas: Humanities Seminar Series.

Their presentation, “Songs of Social Significance: Broadway During the Great Depression and Second World War,” is 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, February 20, in Teacher Education and Technology Center Room 179.

Though today’s audiences may think of Broadway musicals merely as popular entertainment, many shows have offered trenchant commentary on issues, disguised as subversive satires or dressed as pointed critiques of politics, unions, gender, race and more.

For example, Kern and Hammerstein’s Show Boat (1927) tackled the issue of segregation, while George and Ira Gershwin’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Of Thee I Sing (1931) lampooned the U.S. political system. Blitzstein’s The Cradle Will Rock (1937) pitted unionization efforts against the greed and corruption of big industry.

Sponsored by the Charles R. and Martha N. Fulton School of Liberal Arts and the Whaley Family Foundation, admission is $30, and advance registration is required. Breakfast and lunch are provided. To register call 410-543-6450 or e-mail dmcarey@salisbury.edu.

For more information visit the SU website at www.salisbury.edu.