Unintentionally Racist Showtunes

I'm writing an essay on racism in musical theatre through the ages. Not musicals or songs that talk about racism but songs with racial slurs (or lines from musicals). Ie: "I'm an Indian too" or "Ugg-a-Wugg".

---

There are a couple of doozies in the Anthony Newley british show "The Good Old Bad Old Days"

---

The use of the 'N' word in Ragtime was intentional. It is used to portray the common word usage and mindset of the period. Much like the songs in Grey Gardens.

Songs from Peter Pan are unintentionally racist. Specially the ones concerning or sung by the Native Americans. Ug A Wah!

---

Updated On: 10/13/09 at 08:20 PM

"Ugh-a-Wug" doesn't bother me much anymore now that they changed the lyric from "I will come and save the brave noble redskin" to "I will come and save the brave noble warrior".
The song as a whole is still slightly offensive because of the gibberish, but not nearly as much as it was.

Show Boat:

In "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man of Mine," Queenie sings "My man is shiftless / An' good for nothin' too. / He's my man just the same. / He can be happy / With just a spot of gin. / I even loves him when his kisses got gin."

Later in the scene Magnolia (the white daughter of Captain Andy) imitates the black characters dancing and one of the characters says, "Lookit dat gal SHUFFLE!"

Oscar Hammerstein's original lyric for the song "Old Man River" began "N****rs all work on de Mississippi / N****rs all work while de white folks play." Hammerstein was making an intentional progressive social statement.

By 1936, the line had been changed to "Darkies all work on de Misssissppi..."

By 1946, the line had been changed again to "Colored folk work on the Mississippi..."

By 1951, it had been changed to "Here we all work on the Mississippi..."

---

I wonder if we will hear the original lyrics in the Signature Theatre's SHOWBOAT.
As much as we don't like to hear the N word, when it is placed in historical context, it can have power to show the racist times the story is placed.
PORGY AND BESS and SHOWBOAT were written by White composers,
from a certain generation.
In the 60's when Civil Rights were emerging, Laurents, Comden and Green wrote HALLELUJAH BABY. Three white writers explaining the Race Story in two Musical Comedy hours.

There are a ton from Avenue Q

"No, just little judgments like thinking that Mexican
busboys should learn to speak goddamn English!"


Princeton:
There's a plane going down and there's only
one parachute. And there's a rabbi, a priest...
Kate Monster:
And a black guy!
Gary Coleman:
Whatchoo talkin' 'bout Kate?
Kate Monster:
Uh...
Gary Coleman:
You were telling a black joke!
Princeton:
Well, sure, Gary, but lots of people tell black jokes.
Gary Coleman:
I don't.
Princeton:
Well, of course you don't - you're black!
But I bet you tell Polack jokes, right?
Gary Coleman:
Well, sure I do. Those stupid Polacks!
Princeton:
Now, don't you think that's a little racist?
Gary Coleman:
Well, damn, I guess you're right.


Christmas Eve:
BRIAN! Come back here!
You take out lecycuraburs!
Princeton:
What's that mean?
Brian:
Um, recyclables.
Hey, don't laugh at her!
How many languages do you speak?
Kate Monster:
Oh, come off it, Brian!
Everyone's a little bit racist.
Brian:
I'm not!
Princeton:
Oh no?
Brian:
Nope!
How many Oriental wives
Have you got?
Christmas Eve:
What? Brian!
Princeton:
Brian, buddy, where you been?
The term is Asian-American!
Christmas Eve:
I know you are no
Intending to be
But calling me Oriental -
Offensive to me!
Brian:
I'm sorry, honey, I love you.
Christmas Eve:
And I love you.
Brian:
But you're racist, too.
Christmas Eve:
Yes, I know.
The Jews have all
The money
And the whites have all
The power.
And I'm always in taxi-cab
With driver who no shower!
Princeton:
Me too!
Kate Monster:
Me too!
Gary Coleman:
I can't even get a taxi!

---

Updated On: 10/13/09 at 11:43 PM

Would "Hominy Grits" from Grey Gardens count?

I love that Siamese cat song.

"We are former residents of Siam
There are no finer cat than I am"

I don't think the song itself is racist. What they did with the artwork in some version I can't tell you.
The Siamese Cat Song

Updated On: 10/14/09 at 12:29 AM

How about that stupid song from Memphis (I know, there are a lot of them) where they sing, "everybody white wants to be black on Saturday night"????

Make sure you understand the difference between racism, racial sterotypes, and racial slurs.

Most of the examples here aren't racism.

The Mikado has two -- Ko-Ko's "little list" song in Act I and the Mikado's song in Act II -- that use the n-word. That's a big reason why a lot of times those songs are completely rewritten for a production using modern-day references.

Updated On: 10/14/09 at 10:13 AM

I think there are a few lines in Anything Goes that are unintentionally racist, referring to the Chinese men on board the ship.