A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects."Burlesque"
''Oxford English Dictionary'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, accessed 16 February 2011 The word derives from the Italian ', which, in turn, is derived from the Italian ' – a joke, ridicule or mockery. Burlesque overlaps in meaning with caricature,

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

and travesty, and, in its theatrical sense, with

extravaganza An extravaganza is a literary or musical work (often musical theatre) usually containing elements of burlesque, pantomime, music hall and parody in a spectacular production and characterized by freedom of style and structure. It sometimes also ...

, as presented during the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

. "Burlesque" has been used in English in this literary and theatrical sense since the late 17th century. It has been applied retrospectively to works of

Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

and

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

and to the Graeco-Roman classics.Baldick, Chris
"Burlesque"
''The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms'', Oxford University Press, 2008. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press, accessed 16 February 2011 Contrasting examples of literary burlesque are

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...

's '' The Rape of the Lock'' and Samuel Butler's ''

Hudibras ''Hudibras'' is a vigorous satirical poem, written in a mock-heroic style by Samuel Butler (1613–1680), and published in three parts in 1663, 1664 and 1678. The action is set in the last years of the Interregnum, around 1658–60, immediately ...

''. An example of musical burlesque is Richard Strauss's 1890 Burleske for piano and orchestra. Examples of theatrical burlesques include

W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most fam ...

's '' Robert the Devil'' and the A. C. Torr –

Meyer Lutz Wilhelm Meyer Lutz (19 May 1829 – 31 January 1903) was a German-born British composer and conductor who is best known for light music, musical theatre and Victorian burlesque, burlesques of well-known works. Emigrating to the UK at the age of ...

shows, including ''

Ruy Blas and the Blasé Roué ''Ruy Blas and the Blasé Roué'' is a Victorian burlesque, burlesque written by A. C. Torr and Herbert F. Clark with music by Meyer Lutz. It is based on the Victor Hugo drama ''Ruy Blas''. The piece was produced by George Edwardes. As with man ...

''. A later use of the term, particularly in the United States, refers to performances in a

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp ...

format. These were popular from the 1860s to the 1940s, often in

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining o ...

s and clubs, as well as theatres, and featured bawdy comedy and female striptease. Some Hollywood films attempted to recreate the spirit of these performances from the 1930s to the 1960s, or included burlesque-style scenes within dramatic films, such as 1972's ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining o ...

'' and 1979's '' All That Jazz'', among others. There has been a resurgence of interest in this format since the 1990s.

Literary origins and development

The word first appears in a title in

Francesco Berni Francesco Berni Francesco Berni (1497/98 – 26 May 1535) was an Italian poet. He is credited for beginning what is now known as " Bernesque poetry", a serio-comedic type of poetry with elements of satire. Biography Life Berni was born 1497 o ...

's ''Opere burlesche'' of the early 16th century, works that had circulated widely in manuscript before they were printed. For a time, burlesque verses were known as ''poesie bernesca'' in his honour. 'Burlesque' as a literary term became widespread in 17th century Italy and France, and subsequently England, where it referred to a grotesque imitation of the dignified or pathetic.Fredric Woodbridge Wilson: "Burlesque", ''Grove Music Online'' ed. L. Macy (Accessed December 04, 2008)
(subscription access)

's Pyramus and Thisbe scene in ''

Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

'' and the general mocking of romance in Beaumont and Fletcher's ''

The Knight of the Burning Pestle ''The Knight of the Burning Pestle'' is a play in five acts by Francis Beaumont, first performed at Blackfriars Theatre in 1607 and published in a book size, quarto in 1613. It is the earliest whole parody (or pastiche) play in English. The pl ...

'' were early examples of such imitation.Stanton, p. 50 In 17th century Spain, playwright and poet

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best kno ...

ridiculed medieval romance in his many satirical works. Among Cervantes' works are '' Exemplary Novels'' and the ''Eight Comedies and Eight New Interludes'' published in 1615. The term burlesque has been applied retrospectively to works of

and Shakespeare and to the Graeco-Roman classics. Burlesque was intentionally ridiculous in that it imitated several styles and combined imitations of certain authors and artists with absurd descriptions. In this, the term was often used interchangeably with " pastiche", "

", and the 17th and 18th century genre of the "

mock-heroic Mock-heroic, mock-epic or heroi-comic works are typically satires or parodies that mock common Classical stereotypes of heroes and heroic literature. Typically, mock-heroic works either put a fool in the role of the hero or exaggerate the heroic ...

". Burlesque depended on the reader's (or listener's) knowledge of the subject to make its intended effect, and a high degree of literacy was taken for granted. 17th and 18th century burlesque was divided into two types: High burlesque refers to a burlesque imitation where a literary, elevated manner was applied to a commonplace or comically inappropriate subject matter as, for example, in the literary

and the

. One of the most commonly cited examples of high burlesque is

's "sly, knowing and courtly" '' The Rape of the Lock''. Low burlesque applied an irreverent, mocking style to a serious subject; an example is Samuel Butler's poem ''

'', which described the misadventures of a Puritan knight in satiric

doggerel Doggerel, or doggrel, is poetry that is irregular in rhythm and in rhyme, often deliberately for burlesque or comic effect. Alternatively, it can mean verse which has a monotonous rhythm, easy rhyme, and cheap or trivial meaning. The word is deri ...

verse, using a colloquial idiom. Butler's addition to his comic poem of an ethical subtext made his caricatures into

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

. In more recent times, burlesque true to its literary origins is still performed in

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...

s and sketches.

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

's 1974 play ''

Travesties ''Travesties'' is a 1974 play by Tom Stoppard. The play centres on the figure of Henry Carr, an elderly man who reminisces about Zürich in 1917 during the First World War, and his interactions with James Joyce when he was writing '' Ulysses'' ...

'' is an example of a full-length play drawing on the burlesque tradition.

In music

Classical music

Beginning in the early 18th century, the term burlesque was used throughout Europe to describe musical works in which serious and comic elements were juxtaposed or combined to achieve a grotesque effect. Kennedy, Michael (2006), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Music'', p. 134 As derived from literature and theatre, "burlesque" was used, and is still used, in music to indicate a bright or high-spirited mood, sometimes in contrast to seriousness. In this sense of farce and exaggeration rather than parody, it appears frequently on the German-language stage between the middle of the 19th century and the 1920s. Burlesque operettas were written by Johann Strauss II (''Die lustigen Weiber von Wien'', 1868), Ziehrer (''Mahomed's Paradies'', 1866; ''Das Orakel zu Delfi'', 1872; ''Cleopatra, oder Durch drei Jahrtausende'', 1875; ''In fünfzig Jahren'', 1911) and

Bruno Granichstaedten Bruno Bernhard Granichstaedten (September 1, 1879, Vienna – May 30, 1944, New York City) was an Austrian composer and librettist. He composed sixteen operettas and music for various films. He contributed the song "Zuschau'n kann i net" to the m ...

(''Casimirs Himmelfahrt'', 1911). French references to burlesque are less common than German, though Grétry composed for a "drame burlesque" (''Matroco'', 1777). Stravinsky called his 1916 one-act chamber opera-ballet '' Renard'' (''The Fox'') a ''"Histoire burlesque chantée et jouée"'' (''burlesque tale sung and played'') and his 1911 ballet ''

Petrushka Petrushka ( rus, Петру́шка, p=pʲɪtˈruʂkə, a=Ru-петрушка.ogg) is a stock character of Russian folk puppetry. Italian puppeteers introduced it in the first third of the 19th century. While most core characters came from Italy ...

'' a "burlesque in four scenes". A later example is the 1927 burlesque operetta by

Ernst Krenek Ernst Heinrich Krenek (, 23 August 1900 – 22 December 1991) was an Austrian, later American, composer of Czech origin. He explored atonality and other modern styles and wrote a number of books, including ''Music Here and Now'' (1939), a study ...

entitled '' Schwergewicht'' (''Heavyweight'') (1927). Some orchestral and chamber works have also been designated as burlesques, of which two early examples are the Ouverture-Suite ''Burlesque de Quixotte'', TWV 55, by

Telemann Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hilde ...

and the Sinfonia Burlesca by Leopold Mozart (1760). Another often-performed piece is Richard Strauss's 1890 Burleske for piano and orchestra. Other examples include the following: *1901: Six Burlesques, Op. 58 for piano four hands by Max Reger *1904: Scherzo Burlesque, Op. 2 for piano and orchestra by Béla Bartók *1911: Three Burlesques, Op. 8c for piano by Bartók *1920: Burlesque for Piano, by

Arnold Bax Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, (8 November 1883 – 3 October 1953) was an English composer, poet, and author. His prolific output includes songs, choral music, chamber pieces, and solo piano works, but he is best known for his orchestral musi ...

*1931: Ronde burlesque, Op. 78 for orchestra by Florent Schmitt *1932: Fantaisie burlesque, for piano by Olivier Messiaen *1956: Burlesque for Piano and Chamber Orchestra, Op. 13g by

Bertold Hummel Bertold Hummel (27 November 1925 – 9 August 2002) was a German composer of modern classical music. Life Bertold Hummel was born in Hüfingen, Baden. He studied at the Academy of Music in Freiburg from 1947 to 1954, taking composition with Ha ...

*1982: Burlesque for Wind Quintet, Op. 76b by Hummel Burlesque can be used to describe particular movements of instrumental musical compositions, often involving dance rhythms. Examples are the Burlesca, in Partita No. 3 for keyboard (BWV 827) by

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...

, the "Rondo-Burleske" third movement of Symphony No. 9 by

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

, and the "Burlesque" fourth movement of Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1.

Jazz

The use of burlesque has not been confined to classical music. Well-known

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott J ...

travesties include '' Russian Rag'', by George L. Cobb, which is based on

Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

's Prelude in C-sharp minor, and Harry Alford's ''Lucy's Sextette'' based on the

sextet A sextet (or hexad) is a formation containing exactly six members. The former term is commonly associated with vocal ensembles (e.g. The King's Singers, Affabre Concinui) or musical instrument groups, but can be applied to any situation where six ...

, 'Chi mi frena in tal momento?', from ''

Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of Lammermoo ...

'' by

Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''bel canto'' opera style duri ...

Victorian theatrical burlesque

Victorian burlesque, sometimes known as "travesty" or "

", was popular in London theatres between the 1830s and the 1890s. It took the form of musical theatre parody in which a well-known opera, play or ballet was adapted into a broad comic play, usually a musical play, often risqué in style, mocking the theatrical and musical conventions and styles of the original work, and quoting or pastiching text or music from the original work. The comedy often stemmed from the incongruity and absurdity of the classical subjects, with realistic historical dress and settings, being juxtaposed with the modern activities portrayed by the actors. Madame Vestris produced burlesques at the

Olympic Theatre The Olympic Theatre, sometimes known as the Royal Olympic Theatre, was a 19th-century London theatre, opened in 1806 and located at the junction of Drury Lane, Wych Street and Newcastle Street. The theatre specialised in comedies throughout ...

beginning in 1831 with ''Olympic Revels'' by J. R. Planché. Other authors of burlesques included H. J. Byron, G. R. Sims, F. C. Burnand,

and

Fred Leslie Frederick George Hobson, known as Fred Leslie (1 April 1855 – 7 December 1892), was an English actor, singer, comedian and dramatist. Beginning his career in operetta, Leslie became best known for starring in, and writing (under the pseudony ...

. Victorian burlesque related to and in part derived from traditional English

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

"with the addition of gags and 'turns'." Schwandt, Erich et al
"Burlesque"
''Grove Music Online''. Oxford Music Online, accessed 3 February 2011 In the early burlesques, following the example of

ballad opera The ballad opera is a genre of English stage entertainment that originated in the early 18th century, and continued to develop over the following century and later. Like the earlier '' comédie en vaudeville'' and the later ''Singspiel'', its dist ...

, the words of the songs were written to popular music; later burlesques mixed the music of

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

, operetta, music hall and

, and some of the more ambitious shows had original music composed for them. This English style of burlesque was successfully introduced to New York in the 1840s. Faustupto

Some of the most frequent subjects for burlesque were the plays of Shakespeare and grand opera.Marvin, Roberta Montemorra
"Verdian Opera Burlesqued: A Glimpse into Mid-Victorian Theatrical Culture"
''Cambridge Opera Journal'', Vol. 15, No. 1 (March 2003), pp. 33–66, Cambridge University Press, accessed 2 February 2011 Wells, Stanley
"Shakespearian Burlesques"
''Shakespeare Quarterly'', Vol. 16, No. 1 (Winter, 1965), pp. 49–61, Folger Shakespeare Library in association with George Washington University, accessed 2 February 2011 The dialogue was generally written in rhyming couplets, liberally peppered with bad

pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...

s. A typical example from a burlesque of '' Macbeth'': Macbeth and Banquo enter under an umbrella, and the witches greet them with "Hail! hail! hail!" Macbeth asks Banquo, "What mean these salutations, noble thane?" and is told, "These showers of 'Hail' anticipate your 'reign. A staple of burlesque was the display of attractive women in travesty roles, dressed in tights to show off their legs, but the plays themselves were seldom more than modestly risqué. Burlesque became the speciality of certain London theatres, including the Gaiety and

Royal Strand Theatre The Royal Strand Theatre was located in the Strand in the City of Westminster. The theatre was built on the site of a panorama in 1832, and in 1882 was rebuilt by the prolific theatre architect Charles J. Phipps. It was demolished in 1905 to ...

from the 1860s to the early 1890s. Until the 1870s, burlesques were often one-act pieces running less than an hour and using pastiches and parodies of popular songs, opera

aria In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

s and other music that the audience would readily recognize. The house stars included Nellie Farren,

John D'Auban Frederick John D'Auban (1842 – 15 April 1922) was an English dancer, choreographer and actor of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Famous during his lifetime as the ballet-master at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, he is best remembered as the c ...

, Edward Terry and

."Theatrical Humour in the Seventies", ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', 20 February 1914, p. 9"Mr. D'Auban's 'Startrap' Jumps". ''The Times'', 17 April 1922, p. 17 From about 1880, Victorian burlesques grew longer, until they were a whole evening's entertainment rather than part of a double- or triple-bill. In the early 1890s, these burlesques went out of fashion in London, and the focus of the Gaiety and other burlesque theatres changed to the new more wholesome but less literary genre of

Edwardian musical comedy Edwardian musical comedy was a form of British musical theatre that extended beyond the reign of King Edward VII in both directions, beginning in the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the A ...

American burlesque

American burlesque shows were originally an offshoot of Victorian burlesque. The English genre had been successfully staged in New York from the 1840s, and it was popularised by a visiting British burlesque troupe,

Lydia Thompson Lydia Thompson (born Eliza Thompson; 19 February 1838 – 17 November 1908), was an English dancer, comedian, actor and theatrical producer. From 1852, as a teenager, she danced and performed in pantomimes, in the UK and then in Europe and soo ...

and the "British Blondes", beginning in 1868.Hoffos, Signe and Moulder, Bob.
"Desperately Seeking Lydia" and "Appreciating Lydia"
''The Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery Magazine'', Vol. 43, Autumn 2006, pp. 1–7 New York burlesque shows soon incorporated elements and the structure of the popular

minstrel show The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of racist theatrical entertainment developed in the early 19th century. Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people spec ...

s. They consisted of three parts: first, songs and ribald comic sketches by low comedians; second, assorted olios and male acts, such as acrobats, magicians and solo singers; and third, chorus numbers and sometimes a burlesque in the English style on politics or a current play. The entertainment was usually concluded by an exotic dancer or a wrestling or boxing match."Burlesque show"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'', Online Library Edition, accessed 16 February 2011 Gypsy Rose Lee NYWTS 1

The entertainments were given in clubs and cabarets, as well as music halls and theatres. By the early 20th century, there were two national circuits of burlesque shows competing with the

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

circuit, as well as resident companies in New York, such as Minsky's at the Winter Garden. The transition from burlesque on the old lines to striptease was gradual. At first,

soubrette A soubrette is a type of operatic soprano voice ''fach'', often cast as a female stock character in opera and theatre. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means "conceited" or "coy". Theatre In theatre, a soubrette is a ...

s showed off their figures while singing and dancing; some were less active but compensated by appearing in elaborate stage costumes.Humez, Nick
"Burlesque".
''St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture'', ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast, Gale Virtual Reference Library, accessed 16 February 2011 The strippers gradually supplanted the singing and dancing soubrettes; by 1932 there were at least 150 strip principals in the US. Star strippers included

Sally Rand Sally Rand (born Helen Gould Beck; April 3, 1904 – August 31, 1979) was an American burlesque dancer, vedette, and actress, famous for her ostrich feather fan dance and balloon bubble dance. She also performed under the name Billie Beck. ...

, Gypsy Rose Lee,

Tempest Storm Tempest Storm (born Annie Blanche Banks; February 29, 1928 – April 20, 2021), also dubbed "The Queen Of Exotic Dancers," was an American burlesque star and motion picture actress. Along with Lili St. Cyr, Sally Rand, and Blaze Starr, she was ...

, Lili St. Cyr,

Blaze Starr Blaze Starr (born Fannie Belle Fleming; April 10, 1932 – June 15, 2015) was an American stripper and burlesque star. Her vivacious presence and inventive use of stage props earned her the nickname "The Hottest Blaze in Burlesque". She ...

Ann Corio Ann Corio (born Ann Coiro; November 29, 1909 – March 1, 1999) was a prominent American burlesque stripper and actress. Her original surname was Coiro, changing it to Corio for stage purposes and because some family members did not approve ...

and Margie Hart, who was celebrated enough to be mentioned in song lyrics by Lorenz Hart and Cole Porter. By the late 1930s, burlesque shows would have up to six strippers supported by one or two comics and a master of ceremonies. Comics who appeared in burlesque early in their careers included Fanny Brice,

Mae West Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...

, Eddie Cantor, Abbott and Costello, W. C. Fields,

Jackie Gleason John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...

Danny Thomas Danny Thomas (born Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz; January 6, 1912 – February 6, 1991) was an American actor, singer, nightclub comedian, producer, and philanthropist. He created and starred in one of the most successful and long-running sitc ...

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-billed ...

Bert Lahr Irving Lahrheim (August 13, 1895 – December 4, 1967), known professionally as Bert Lahr, was an American actor. He was best known for his role as the Cowardly Lion, as well as his counterpart Kansas farmworker "Zeke", in the MGM adaptation of ...

Phil Silvers Phil Silvers (born Phillip Silver; May 11, 1911 – November 1, 1985) was an American entertainer and comedic actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah". His career as a professional entertainer spanned nearly sixty years. Silvers achieved major popu ...

Sid Caesar Isaac Sidney Caesar (September 8, 1922 – February 12, 2014) was an American comic actor, comedian and writer. With a career spanning 60 years, he was best known for two pioneering 1950s live television series: ''Your Show of Shows'' (1950� ...

, Danny Kaye,

Red Skelton Richard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program '' The Red Skelton Show''. He has stars ...

and Sophie Tucker. MichelleLAmourFanDance2641

The uninhibited atmosphere of burlesque establishments owed much to the free flow of alcoholic liquor, and the enforcement of

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

was a serious blow. In New York, Mayor

Fiorello H. La Guardia Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (; born Fiorello Enrico LaGuardia, ; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the House of Representatives and served as the 99th Mayor of New York City fro ...

clamped down on burlesque, effectively putting it out of business by the early 1940s. It lingered on elsewhere in the US, increasingly neglected, and by the 1970s, with nudity commonplace in theatres, reached "its final shabby demise." Both during its declining years and afterwards there have been films that sought to capture American burlesque, including ''

Lady of Burlesque ''Lady of Burlesque'' (also known as ''The G-String Murders'' and in the UK, ''Striptease Lady'') is a 1943 American musical comedy-mystery film, produced by RKO Pictures and directed by William A. Wellman and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Mich ...

'' (1943), '' Striporama'' (1953), and ''

The Night They Raided Minsky's ''The Night They Raided Minsky's'' is a 1968 American musical comedy film directed by William Friedkin and produced by Norman Lear. Based on the 1960 novel by Rowland Barber, it is a fictional account of the invention of the striptease at Mins ...

'' (1968). Stage Door Johnnies

In recent decades, there has been a revival of burlesque, sometimes called

Neo-Burlesque Neo-Burlesque, or New Burlesque, is the revival and updating of the traditional American burlesque performance. Though based on the traditional burlesque art, the new form encompasses a wider range of performance styles; neo-burlesque acts can ra ...

,Caldwell, Mark
"The Almost Naked City"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', 18 May 2008, accessed 19 September 2009 on both sides of the Atlantic.Newman, Martin
"Burlesque ventures out of the West End and into... Camden Town"
''The Mirror'', 18 February 2012 A new generation, nostalgic for the spectacle and perceived glamour of the classic American burlesque, developed a cult following for the art in the early 1990s at Billie Madley's "Cinema" and later at the "Dutch Weismann's Follies" revues in New York City, "The Velvet Hammer" troupe in Los Angeles and The Shim-Shamettes in New Orleans. Ivan Kane's Royal Jelly Burlesque Nightclub at Revel Atlantic City opened in 2012. Notable Neo-burlesque performers include

Dita Von Teese Heather Renée Sweet (born September 28, 1972), known professionally as Dita Von Teese, is an American vedette, burlesque dancer, model, and businesswoman. She is credited with re-popularizing burlesque performance, earning the moniker "Que ...

, and

Julie Atlas Muz Julie Atlas Muz (born Julie Ann Muz on May 30, 1973) is a New York City-based performance artist, dancer, burlesque artist, stage director, and actress. In 2012, she married English actor Mat Fraser. Muz is best known as a performer in the New Y ...

and

Agitprop Agitprop (; from rus, агитпроп, r=agitpróp, portmanteau of ''agitatsiya'', "agitation" and ''propaganda'', " propaganda") refers to an intentional, vigorous promulgation of ideas. The term originated in Soviet Russia where it referred ...

groups like

Cabaret Red Light Cabaret Red Light was a theater group based in Philadelphia that performed vaudeville, burlesque, spoken word and puppet theater, set to original music by The Blazing Cherries. In their first season, between November 2008 and July 2009, Cabaret Re ...

incorporated political satire and performance art into their burlesque shows. Annual conventions such as the Vancouver International Burlesque Festival and the

Miss Exotic World Pageant The Miss Exotic World Pageant (officially, the Miss Exotic World Pageant and Striptease Reunion) is an annual neo-burlesque pageant and convention, and is the annual showcase event (and fundraiser for) the Burlesque Hall of Fame (formerly the E ...

are held.Clodfelter, Tim
"This ain't your granddad's burlesque – but he sure wouldn't mind watching"
. ''Winston-Salem Journal'', 31 January 2008, accessed 24 February 2011

Notes

References

* Abrams, M. H. (1999) ''A Glossary of Literary Terms''. Seventh edition. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace College Publishers *Adams, William Davenport (1904
''A dictionary of the drama''
London: Chatto & Windus *Allan, Kirsty L. 'A Guide to Classical Burlesque – Funny Ha Ha or Funny Peculiar?' *Allan, Kirsty L. and Charms, G. 'Diamonds From the Rough – The Darker Side of American Burlesque striptease' *Allen, Robert Clyde (1991). ''Horrible Prettiness: Burlesque and American Culture''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. *Baldwin, Michelle. ''Burlesque and the New Bump-n-Grind'' *Briggeman, Jane (2009) ''Burlesque: A Living History''. BearManor Media, 2009. *DiNardo, Kelly. "Gilded Lili: Lili St. Cyr and the Striptease Mystique"; Archive of articles, video, pictures and interviews about neo-burlesque. * Frye, Northrop. (1957) ''Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays.'' Princeton: Princeton University Press *Hedin, Thomas F. (2001) ''The Petite Commande of 1664: Burlesque in the gardens of Versailles'', ''The Art Bulletin'' * Hollingshead, John. (1903) ''Good Old Gaiety: An Historiette & Remembrance'' London: Gaity Theatre Co * Kennedy, Michael (2006), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Music'', Oxford: Oxford University Press. *Kenrick, John
A History of The Musical Burlesque
*Sanders, Andrew (1994). ''The Short Oxford History of English Literature''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. *Stanton, Sarah and Banham, Martin (1996). ''Cambridge Paperback Guide to Theatre'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. *Warrack, John and West, Ewan (1992), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Opera'', Oxford: Oxford University Press. *Wilson, Frederic Woodbridge (1992), 'Burlesque' in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', ed. Stanley Sadie (London) *Zeidman, Irving: ''The American Burlesque Show''. Hawthorn Books, Inc 1967, ,

External links

Ruckus! American Entertainments at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
From the collection of th
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale UniversityClassic Burlesque: We Aim to Tease
– slideshow by '' Life magazine''
History of Burlesque
at Musicals101.com, The Cyber Encyclopedia of Musical Theatre, TV and Film
"A Guide to Classical Burlesque – Funny Ha Ha or Funny Peculiar?"
Allan, K., ''The Curious Adventures of Kittie''
The History of Burlesque
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