Haunted Time in Music Theatre

Abstract

Theatre has always has a fascination with death and ghosts. The temporal underpinnings of these phenomena, however, have not been examined. In this presentation, I explore the concept of “haunted time,” a temporality in which spectres of a mental and/or physical nature haunt the temporal experiences of the living characters on stage. Haunted time in music theatre can be represented both in its physical and psychological manifestations, and is often aided by two particular musical techniques: the glissando, and the use of atonal music—both resulting in a lack of tonal grounding to displace the listener-viewer’s sense of linearity. Drawing on research in hauntology, temporality, philosophy and musicology, this presentation will explore the spectrum of mental and physical hauntological manifestations on the stage by exploring the ghosts and spectres present in three distinct music theatre productions: Ghost: The Musical, Jekyll & Hyde, and Next to Normal. In Ghost: the Musical, Sam is a physical embodiment of haunted time, existing in a state of neither living nor death, defying the ontological binary. In Jekyll & Hyde, the duality of Jekyll and Hyde is a non- physical manifestation of haunted time, represented through the struggle between good and evil. In Next to Normal, Gabe is a physical manifestation of the mental affection of Diana, a representation of how she is haunted by the past living in her present. In all three cases, I will examine the distinct temporal shifts that signal the presence of haunted time.