A Taste of Broadway: Food in Musical Theater

by Jennifer Packard

Overview

Beyond being just fuel for the body, food carries symbolic importance used to define individuals, situations, and places, making it an ideal communication tool. In musical theater, food can be used as a shortcut to tell the audience more about a setting, character, or situation. Because everyone relates to eating, food can also be used to evoke empathy, amusement, or shock from the audience. In some cases, food is central to show’s plot. This book looks at popular musical theater shows to examine which foods are used, how they are used, why they are important, and how the food or usage relates to the broader world. Included are recipes for many of the foods that are significant in the shows discussed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442267312
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	12/01/2017
Series:	Rowman & Littlefield Studies in Food and Gastronomy
Pages:	214
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Jennifer Packard has nearly twenty years of experience in the food industry. She currently does freelance writing on food issues and works as a research associate at Harvard University. Jennifer loves to make up new recipes which she tests out on her husband and three teen-aged sons.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The First Taste
Chapter 1: Food to Set the Scene
Chapter 2: Regional Foods
Chapter 3: Food as Identity
Chapter 4: Explaining Characters and Relationships
Chapter 5: Just Trying to Put Food on the Table
Chapter 6: Food Representing Class
Chapter 7: The Way to a Man’s (or Woman’s) Heart
Conclusion: The Last Morsel

Editorial Reviews

A fascinating look at the use of food in Broadway musicals to reflect story, character, and atmosphere, including food as a symbol which provides short-cut information to the audience about the plot. This banquet of a book even includes recipes, and is a wonderful treat for gourmands, Broadway and otherwise.

Dan Dietz