Confronting the Past through Popular Musical Theater: The Effects of Austrian Postwar Cultural Policies on the Reception History of Musicals

Exploring the effects of Austrian postwar cultural policies on the reception history of popular musical theatre, I analyze the role of the Opfermythos narrative and Kulturnation concept in the critical response to Broadway musicals after World War II. Because of their fictional portrayal of National Socialism, I focus on the Austrian premieres of Cabaret (1970), The Sound of Music (1993), and The Producers (2008). How does each musical figure into the Austrian discourse on Vergangenheitsbewältigung? Do they challenge the narrative of the Opfermythos? I argue that the anti-American undercurrents in the reviews of Cabaret, numerous references to Austria’s image in the reviews of The Sound of Music, and the resurgent bias against musicals in the political conflict over funding behind the premiere of The Producers are all part of a pattern that points toward the cultural elitism and cultural protectionism inherent to the Kulturnation politics favored by the founding fathers of the Zweite Republik.