and creative imaginative and dream-like plot arcs that would otherwise be unrealistic or impossible. They sometimes create a time warp, where large periods of time are expressed or summarized in a montage-like sequence (Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel is one such example.). They also provide insight into a character's emotional or psychological state (like "Laurie's Dream" in Oklahoma!). Musicals featuring dream ballets Dream ballets in film After Oklahoma! debuted onstage, some movie musicals began to incorporate dream ballets into their creations. One notable example is An American in Paris (1951). Directed by Vincente Minnelli and choreographed by both Minnelli and Gene Kelly, the last twenty minutes of the movie is a dream ballet where Kelly's character Jerry Mulligan examines his relationship with Lise Bouvier, played by Leslie Caron. The dream ballet is supposed to stylistically move from painter to painter as Jerry thinks about his relationship in terms of different painters from Paris. Another Vincente Minnelli film to feature a dream ballet is The Band Wagon (1953) starring classic film dancers Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. Based on the musical of the same name, the dream ballet number "Dancing in the Dark" featured choreography by Michael Kidd. In 1954, Stanley Donen directed Seven Brides for Seven Brothers which featured a "Barn Dance" where the seven sisters are fought over by the seven brothers and their rivals. As he was popular at this time, the choreography was by Michael Kidd. Oklahoma! debuted as a film in 1955, keeping Agnes DeMille's choreography for the dream ballet intact. Many additional musicals made the transformation from stage to the big screen including Brigadoon (1954), Guys and Dolls (1955), Carousel (1956), West Side Story (1961), and The Wiz (1978). These film versions tended to have big names as stars such as Gene Kelly, Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, Rita Moreno, and Diana Ross. Since then other films have used the conceit of a dream ballet including the Coen Brothers' The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) which has an unexpected dream ballet number choreographed by Wesley Fata and performed by Tim Robbins and Pamela Everett, The Big Lebowski (1998) featuring Jeff Bridges, and I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020). An episode of television series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015) also features a dream ballet entitled "Triceratops Ballet." In an episode of the musical television show Schmigadoon!, when a character senses a dream ballet is about to begin, she immediately halts it, as