Vaudeville

Vaudeville

• Made its debut in America in the 1870’s
• Vaudeville theatrical entertainment
• A form of comedy acts
• Included music, comedy, acrobatics, juggling, comedy, drama, short films  and live animal shows
• Most popular type of entertainment in America
• 2 million people went to see Vaudeville shows daily

Vaudeville would go under hedonism because the shows were all about having fun and enjoying the show.

“There was usually a dozen or more acts in every vaudeville performance. Starting and ending with the weakest, the shows went on for hours. The performances ranged from the truly talented to the simply quirky. There were musicians, such as the piano player Eubie Blake, and the child star, Baby Rose Marie. There were great acts of physical talent; everything from contortionists, to tumblers to dancers such as the Nicholas Brothers. Actors performed plays, magicians put on shows, jugglers juggled, but the real focus of vaudeville was comedy. Great comic acts such as Witt and Berg and Burns and Allen brought in the biggest crowds” (PBS “American Masters”).

"Theater: Vaudeville." American Decades. Ed. Judith S. Baughman, et al. Vol. 2: 1910-1919. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Student Resources in Context. Web. 2 Oct. 2015.

Carson, Mina. "Vaudeville." Dictionary of American History. Ed. Stanley I. Kutler. 3rd ed. Vol. 8. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. 309-310. Student Resources in Context. Web. 2 Oct. 2015.