What is vaudeville

A. Vaudeville is the American version of British music hall and variety. It flourished from the last quarter of the 19th century to the mid 20th.

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Q. Where does the name come from

A. The term originally referred to a kind of popular satirical song�that developed in France in the 18th century. Probably a corruption of Vau-de-Vire, the name of a town in Normandy where such songs were composed, it came to mean the whole show of which such songs were a part, by the early 18th century. It was a type of entertainment put on by professional actors to circumvent the dramatic monopoly held in France at that time by the Com�die-Fran�aise. Forbidden to perform legitimate drama, they presented their plays in pantomime, interpreting the action with lyrics and choruses set to popular tunes. It developed into a form of light musical drama, with spoken dialogue interspersed with songs, and became popular throughout Europe.

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Q. So it's not actually American

A.�Well, the form developed thoughout North America, in frontier settlements as well as in urban centres. In the 1850s and 1860s straight variety grew in popularity. Often held in beer halls, the coarse and sometimes obscene shows were aimed toward a primarily male audience.

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Tony Pastor, a ballad and minstrel singer, is credited both with giving the first performance of what came to be called vaudeville by the late 19th century and with making it respectable. In 1881 he established a theatre in New York City dedicated to the 'straight, clean variety show'. His unexpected success encouraged other managers to follow his example.

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By the 1890s vaudeville was family entertainment and exhibited high standards of performance. By the early 20th century there were literally hundreds of vaudeville theatres all over the USA and Canada.

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Q. What kinds of acts would be on

A. In the early days 'exotic' dancers would share the bill with comedians, musical acts, freak shows and other standards of popular male entertainment. As the audience changed, however, many of the more risqu� acts were replaced with more family-oriented material, though adults-only shows, known as 'burlesque', continued.

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Many of the popular stars of screen and radio from the mid 20th century got their start in vaudeville, as with British stars who began their careers in music hall.

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Q. Such as

A. W.C. Fields, Will Rogers and Lillian Russell all began their careers on the vaudeville stage.

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Q. Why did vaudeville die out

A. Its end was hastened largely as a result of the success of the cinema. This is somewhat ironic given that from 1896 motion pictures were introduced into vaudeville shows as added attractions and to clear the house between performances. But, in a complete reversal of fortunes, by the late 1920s full-length films would feature the 'added acts' of vaudeville. The Depression of the 1930s and the growth of radio and later of television added to the competition, and by the late 1940s vaudeville was to all intents and purposes extinct.

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For many links to sites about vaudeville go to http://nfo.net/.LNX/lvaud.html

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By Simon Smith