Parody, Stereotype, and Jewish Representation in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015-2019) by Ashton Collard from Sonic Representations of Jewishness On Screen and Off, a Conference at UCLA, April 19-21, 2026.

“This song’s another thing I can see two sides to”: Parody, Stereotype, and Jewish Representation in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015-2019)
This paper examines how the musical comedy television series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015-2019) uses parody and pastiche to negotiate Jewish identity through its musical numbers. It draws on seminal texts exploring parody, in particular Linda Hutcheon’s works on parody as ‘repetition with critical distance’ (1985; 1994; 2012) and Simon Dentith’s account of parody as socially embedded (2000). The analysis argues that the series uses musical genre-play to simultaneously invoke and interrogate entrenched stereotypes and cultural assumptions. The research builds on Sander Gilman’s work on the historical construction of Jewish bodily and vocal stereotypes (1986; 1991) to show how Crazy
Ex-Girlfriend exaggerates gendered and ethnic tropes in order to reveal their cultural persistence whilst reframing them through a self-aware comedy. It further situates the show within longer histories of Jewish self-representation, drawing on Joyce Antler’s account of the Jewish mother trope (2007), Vincent Brook’s analysis of Jewish sitcoms (2003), and Henry Bial and Andrea Most’s explorations of Jewish performance within musical theatre (2004; 2005). Through visual, musical, and lyrical analysis of key songs—including “Where’s the Bathroom?”, “JAP Battle”, and “Remember That We Suffered”—the analysis demonstrates how the series uses parody as a means of articulating Jewish self-recognition, from in-jokes to critical reflection on stereotypes. The paper argues that
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend uses parody to explore contemporary Jewish identity, exposing the tensions between stereotype, self-recognition, and cultural continuity.

ASHTON COLLARD

Ash Collard (he/him) is an orchestrator, composer, musical director, and researcher based in Birmingham, UK, with interests in inclusivity and diversity in musical theatre. He composed the music for the film Home Safe (2022) and has orchestrated music for various groups, including for Fantasies Come True (2023), a concert at The Other Palace (London) which platformed and celebrated the growing body of LGBTQ+ representation within musical theatre. He is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Wolverhampton. His thesis, titled “Trans Performance Framework: Barriers and Benefits in the Inclusion of Trans Masculine Performers in Professional Musical Theatre in the UK,” explores the ways in which the inclusion of trans performers on the musical theatre stage benefits both trans and cis people across the industry.