Le Lido is a cabaret and

burlesque 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.

show located on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, France. It opened in 1946 at 78 Avenue des Champs-Élysées and moved to its current location in 1977. It is known for its exotic shows including dancers, singers, and other performers. Famous names have performed there including: Edith Piaf, Siegfried and Roy, Hervé Vilard, Sylvie Vartan, Ray Vasquez, Renee Victor, Johnny Hallyday,

Maurice Chevalier Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", "Louise", " Mimi", and "Thank Hea ...

, Marlene Dietrich,

Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt (born Eartha Mae Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Ba ...

, Josephine Baker, Kessler Twins,

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

, Laurel & Hardy, Dalida,

Shirley MacLaine Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty, April 24, 1934) is an American actress, author, and former dancer. Known for her portrayals of quirky, strong-willed and eccentric women, MacLaine has received numerous accolades over her seven-dec ...

, Mitzi Gaynor, Juliet Prowse, and

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

History

Founded by Joseph and Louis Clérico, Le Lido opened on June 20, 1946. Le Lido was preceded by an artificial beach in a townhouse basement in the 1920s, running as a nightclub/casino in the late night hours. In 1955, after a visit by the entertainment director of the

Stardust Resort and Casino The Stardust Resort and Casino was a casino resort located on along the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. The Stardust was conceived by Tony Cornero, and construction began in 1954. Cornero died in 1955, and the project was taken over by his ...

, Las Vegas, the Clérico brothers along with Donn Arden brought the Lido to the

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Las Vegas. This started a series of imports of Parisian cabaret shows to Las Vegas: Folies Bergère to the Tropicana, Nouvelle Eve to Hotel El Rancho Vegas and Casino de Paris to the Dunes. The Stardust edition of Le Lido closed in 1992. Le Lido moved in 1977 to the Normandie on the Champs-Élysées. In 2006,

Sodexo Sodexo (formerly Sodexho Alliance) is a French food services and facilities management company headquartered in the Paris suburb of Issy-les-Moulineaux. It has 412,088 employees as of 2021, operates in 55 countries and serves 100 million custome ...

, the international food service company, purchased Le Lido and has invested 24 million euro into developing its current show.

Show

The Lido was closed from December 2, 2014, to April 2, 2015, while a new version of the show was prepared. The new version was developed by Franco Dragone. Each version of Le Lido is made up of 10–20 scenes and runs for about an hour and a half. Two shows are run every day of the week. A pre-show dinner, featuring a robotic orchestra, is offered with the first evening show of each day at an additional cost. In spring 2015, Franco Dragone created a new show for Le Lido titled ''Paris Merveilles''. Each Le Lido show features singers and dancers, which always include the famous Bluebell Girls. A few featured dancers, showgirls and lead singers may be added. The Lido is known for its spectacular costumes featuring thousands of dollars in feathers and rhinestones, rich fabrics, and top quality furs. The opening or "theme" scene welcomes the audience and sets the tone for the evening. It may also set the colour scheme for the show and will feature special effects and lighting. Music may be original or a medley of current popular songs mixed with music from Broadway or Hollywood films; often the opening number is a potpourri of styles and performers may change costumes several times. Between the production numbers, specialty "vaudeville/cabaret" acts are featured, such as jugglers, acrobats or magicians. At least one scene will feature water effects – another thing the Lido is known for. The stage itself can be raised and lowered, may change back and forth into an ice rink or swimming pool, and can feature elaborate set pieces which come up from below. The closing number often features a number called "Merci Beaucoup" (featured in the television show ''Shirley Maclaine at The Lido de Paris'') and usually has some particularly spectacular costumes. Among the last of its kind, the Lido has a special place in the history of nightclubs and floorshows and continues a tradition of the "naughty but nice" opulent production shows originally started by the Folies Bergère.

Bluebell Girls

Founded by Margaret Kelly, also known as Miss Bluebell, the dancers of the Lido are known as the Bluebell Girls. Until her retirement in 1986, each dancer was selected by Kelly. The dancers were afterwards under the direction of Pierre Rambert until his retirement in December 2014. According to '' Forbes'', they are "some of the world’s most beautiful and talented burlesque dancers". The cast comes from all over the world, and are noted for their statuesque height, averaging 5' 11".

Production history

Every few years, Le Lido develops a new version of its show. The show used to change more frequently, now each iteration may run for several years until the management feels it has run its course and a new production is called for. Each show can take millions of dollars to develop. The following are the titles of each show produced by the Le Lido: *1946 – Sans Rimes Ni Raisons *1946 – Mississippi *1947 – Made in Paris *1948 – Confetti *1949 – Bravo *1950 – Enchantment *1951 – Rendez-vous *1953 – Voilà *1954 – Desirs *1955 – Voulez-vous *1956 – C'est Magnifique *1957 – Prestige *1959 – Avec Plaisir *1961 – Pour Vous *1962 – Suivez-Moi *1964 – Quelle Nuit *1966 – Pourquoi Pas? *1969 – Grand Prix *1971 – Bonjour La Nuit *1972 – Grand Jeu *1977 – Allez Lido *1981 – Cocorico *1985 – Panache *1990 – Bravissimo *1994 – C'est Magique *2003 – Bonheur (closed December 2, 2014) *2015 – Paris Merveilles (Paris Wonders)

Media featuring Le Lido

''Shirley Maclaine at the Lido'' (1979) produced by Gary Smith and Dwight Hemion – Nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Program. Few scenes from the music video named Samajavaragamana of the

feature film soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of ...

of 2020 Indian Tollywood (Telugu) film '' Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo'' featuring Allu Arjun, Pooja Hegde was made a shot in Lido De Paris The Bluebell Girls were featured in a 1960 episode of ''Close-Up'', a Canadian TV show broadcast on the CBC Numerous clips of several of the shows of the last 20 years and even full videos of all the production numbers from some editions are available on YouTube.

Notes

External links

Lido Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lido Cabarets in Paris Buildings and structures in the 8th arrondissement of Paris 1946 establishments in France Burlesque theatres