Still Here? Aging Female Vocalities in Musical Theatre.

Abstract

Musical theatre has a complex relationship with ageing (and especially female ageing). As youth has always been at the forefront of musicals, essentialist approaches to ageing in articulation and enactment of ageing musical characters often lead to aesthetic peripheries and creative stagnation. Aiming for a deeper understanding of how female ageing vocalities are perceived, dramaturged and performed in musical theatre, the article takes under consideration viewpoints from ‘outsiders’/ageing performers who work ‘at the centre’ of the musical theatre industry (West End and Broadway).Through a close analysis of two ageing female characters (Madame Armfeldt and Grandma) in the musicals A Little Night Music and Billy Elliot, this article discusses and critiques preconceptions of ageing in the dramaturgy and performance of these roles, and it argues that musicals frequently fail to give agency to the voice of their ageing women.