Two Paths DIEverged: Faustian Bargains, 19th Century Crossroads, and Queering the Gothic Musical with West Ambrose

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Elaine Showalter theorized that it is a “surfeit of feeling” is what dooms Gothic heroes while Howard Ashman said a musical’s song must be written when a character can’t speak their desires anymore. From the campy fin de siecle vaudeville to the 80s megamusical’s symbiotic relationship with penny dreadfuls, come take a look at what makes the Gothic so very musical! We will first briefly deconstruct the period itself (Gothic stage tradition, popular adaptations at the time,) then the modern revivals (Wildhorn’s Jekyll and Hyde, various Dracula adaptations, or Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd) and finally preview a song from our upcoming musical, Into The Labyrinth.

We will discuss what what makes a song/chord progression/lyric specifically Gothic. Gothic aesthetic, stories and themes proliferate freely within musical theatre as well as the subgenre of ‘dark academia.’ Ambrose and Anderson’s Into the Labyrinth is a full musical situated in the intersection of theatre and the gothic mode, satirizing the widespread romanticization of academia’s tragic hustle culture. Set at a crumbling university where absinthe-fuelled burnout and Faustian bargains are just another part of campus life, the songwriting portion of this workshop will analyze what makes the “music” of gothic crossroads as spine-tingling as they are queer— using sonorous descriptions of the Sublime from Dorian Gray, Carmilla, and Wuthering Heights. Join us in mapping a variety of interdisciplinary pathways including: devilish deals, lovers meetings, ritual ceremonies... and of course, faculty meetings!

We will bring glow in the dark skull shakers—please, bring your nascent dread!