Vaudeville, Burlesque, And Cabaret

1
Vaudeville, Burlesque, And Cabaret

• How They Influenced Popular Culture
• Kelsey Stevenson

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Table of Contents

• A History of Vaudeville
• A History of Vaudeville (contd)
• A History of Burlesque
• A History of Cabaret
• A History of Cabaret (contd)
• So What Does All of This Have to Do With
  Popular Culture?
• Pop Culture Vaudeville
• Pop Culture Burlesque
• Pop Culture Cabaret
• Chicago
• Works Cited

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A History of Vaudeville

• A (usually) family friendly variety show.
• Met entertainment demands of the 1880s. Less of
  the population lived in rural areas, and most had
  steady jobs with steady pay. This meant more free
  time, and more free money.
• Variety shows were prominent in the decades
  before, but often too crude for women or
  children.
• Vaudeville acts included comedians,
  contortionists, instrumentalists, plate spinners,
  animal trainers, dancers, acrobats, basically
  anyone who could keep an audiences attention for
  more than 3 minutes. If an act was successful, it
  was repeated and became the performers signature
  act.

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A History of Vaudeville (contd)

• Vaudeville was developed to bridge the gap of
  entertainment for classes. Opera was for
  upper-middle and upper classes, minstrel shows
  and melodramas for the middle class, and variety
  shows for the working and slum middle class.
  Vaudeville theatre owners wanted top appeal to a
  wider audience.
• When the radio became commercially available,
  people experienced similar entertainment in the
  comfort of their own homes. Performers went on
  each night to smaller and smaller crowds.
• Many vaude troupers went on to perform in silent
  films, making use of their physical comedy
  experience. (Charlie Chaplin).

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A History of Burlesque

• Burlesque shows started in 1840.
• Burlesque was a cruder, more raunchy vaudeville,
  designed to entertain a lower class audience. In
  short, the attraction of burlesque was sex.
• Before being associated with strip tease,
  burlesque was a from of musical entertainment
  that parodied operas, ballets, and Shakespearian
  plays.
• Several rules that separated it from other forms
  of musical theatre
• Scantily clad women (relative to the values of
  the time)
• Sexually suggestive dialogue, songs, dances,
  plotlines, and staging.
• Quick-witted puns that lack complexity
• Short routines with little plot and cohesion
  across the entire performance.

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A History of Cabaret

• Cabaret originally meant any place selling
  liquor.
• The cabaret as we know it originated in Paris,
  France. In 1881, a saloon named Le Chat Noir
  opened. It was for artist, poets, musicians, and
  composers to share ideas and their new works.
  Perfomers could test new material and audiences
  enjoyed entertainment for just a few drinks.
• After the success of Le Chat Noir other cabarets
  popped up all over Europe. Soon acts were
  scheduled, and ranged from individuals to full
  bands.
• Performances were more intimate than theatre
  shows.
• The film Cabaret gives an accurate view of post
  WWI cabarets.

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A History of Cabaret (contd)

• In the US, cabarets were all about glamour!
• Cabarets did not suffer during Prohibition. They
  provided booze in secret, and this ambiance
  demanded music. Prohibition allowed cabaret-style
  entertainment to conquer the entertainment
  industry of America, albeit in an illegal manner.
  
• Celebrities who can credit cabarets as their
  break into show biz include Woody Allen, Carol
  Burnett, and Barbara Streisand.

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So What Does All of This Have to Do With Popular
Culture?

• Aspects of all three of these forms of musical
  entertainment can be found in everyday
  entertainment.
• Some examples are more obvious, such as music
  videos and movies, and others are more discreet,
  like television programs.

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Pop Culture Vaudeville

• Shows such as the Jay Leno Show, American Idol,
  and the Late Night Show with David Letterman all
  have a vaudeville format. Several acts, or
  routines, are performed, with no plot or thematic
  connection between them.

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Pop Culture Burlesque

• To see the influence of burlesque, turn on any
  music channel. The focus on the female form, and
  the objectification of the female is very much
  drawn from burlesque.
• Blatant examples include the 2001 movie Moulin
  Rouge!, the 2001 song and music video Lady
  Marmalade, based off the incredibly popular 1974
  song of the same name by LaBelle. Several
  burlesque shows can still be seen, such as
  Peepshow in Las Vegas, and The Pussycat Dolls in
  LA, and Dita Von Teese, who tours.
• Many performers cite burlesque as an influence in
  their performing style, such as Madonna.

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Pop Culture Cabaret

• Modern dinner theatres have a format very similar
  to cabarets. Diners eat (or drink) whilst the
  show is going on, and the audience is often
  involved in the performance.
• Movies such as Cabaret (1972), and Nine (2009)
  are both examples of cabaret-style shows.
  Cabaret, as previously mentioned, is a prime
  example of 1930s cabaret, while Nine, which had
  yet to be released when this was written, appears
  to be a movie about 1960s cabaret.

12
Chicago

• The movie Chicago (2002) contains elements of all
  three musical entertainments. It cant be placed
  in one particular genre simply because of the
  vast variety of scenes, and ways the music is
  presented.
• In the first scene, where the song All That Jazz
  is sung by Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma Kelly,
  is an example of cabaret. The audience is seated
  at tables with drinks while Velma performs on
  stage.
• Burlesque is evident in several scenes, most
  obviously in the song When Youre Good To Mama
  sung by Queen Latifah as Matron Mama Morton.
  The song, and performance, has multiple sexual
  innuendos, and is performed by a female.
• Finally, the song They Both Reached For The Gun,
  sung by Richard Gere as Billy Flynn and Renée
  Zellweger as Roxie Hart, is an example of
  vaudeville. The characters are in a theatre, and
  there are several aspects to the performance.
  Initially, Billy and Roxie are creating a
  ventriloquist act, then a dance act.

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Works Cited

• Burlesque (genre). Wikipedia. 2009. Online.
  November 26, 2009.
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burlesque_(genre)
• Chicago (2002 film). Wikipedia. 2009. Online.
  December 10, 2009.
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_(2002_film)
• Kendrick, John. A History of the Musical
  Burlesque. 2003. Online. November 26, 2009.
• http//www.musicals101.com/burlesque.htm
• Kendrick, John. Cabaret. 2003. Online. December
  4, 2009.
• http//www.musicals101.com/cabaret.htm
• Kendrick, John. Vaudeville 101. 2003. Online.
  November 27, 2009.
• http//www.musicals101.com/vaude1.htm
• Vaudeville About Vaudeville. PBS. Online.
  November 24, 2009.
• http//www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/
  vaudeville/about-vaudeville/721/
• Vaudeville Lives. UA News. 2009. Online.
  December 13, 2009.
• http//uanews.org/node/19369