It’s Not a Phase, It’s a…Musical?: The Innate Theatricality of the Emo Movement of the 2000s

Author

Kylie Alyssa Price

Date of Award

5-2025

Degree Type

Honors College Thesis

Academic Program

Theatre BFA

Department

Theatre

First Advisor

Kevin Greene, Ph.D.

Advisor Department

History

Abstract

This project is an exploration of the rock subgenres emo and pop-punk and how they interact with musical theatre conventions. Emo, short for emotional hardcore, is a descendant of hardcore punk music that is characterized by its focus on the emotional core of lyrics as well as softer, more pop-influenced sounds musically. In this project, the history of emo is delineated alongside the history of rock musical theatre. Subculture is also defined as it relates to this thesis. The natural theatricality of emo is then characterized as being through emo/pop-punk’s performance culture, through the existence of the concept album, and through performances of gender and sexuality present in the genres. Examples analyzed in this project include: Panic! At the Disco’s debut album, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, a highly theatrical album and tour cycle from emo; My Chemical Romance’s The Black Parade, a concept album from emo; Green Day’s American Idiot and its subsequent Broadway musical; and the phenomenon of staged homoeroticism in emo. This is an interdisciplinary project combining elements of history, musicology, sociology, and American studies. The specific timeframe set for this thesis is the years 1999-2008, the major years for emo/pop-punk’s involvement with mainstream culture. This project is significant by virtue of being a heretofore unexplored area in both areas of study, emo and musical theatre. It also engages with broader cultural topics, like queer theory and performance theory. Emo at its pinnacle has been defined as a highly theatrical genre, engaging in a symbiotic relationship with American musical theatre.

Copyright

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Recommended Citation

Price, Kylie Alyssa, "It’s Not a Phase, It’s a…Musical?: The Innate Theatricality of the Emo Movement of the 2000s" (2025). Honors Theses. 1034.
https://aquila.usm.edu/honors_theses/1034