American burlesque is a genre of

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...

derived from elements of

Victorian burlesque Victorian burlesque, sometimes known as travesty or extravaganza, is a genre of theatrical entertainment that was popular in Victorian era, Victorian England and in the New York theatre of the mid-19th century. It is a form of parody music, parod ...

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

and

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 spe ...

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.

nudity Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to ...

. By the late 1920s, the striptease element overshadowed the comedy and subjected burlesque to extensive local legislation. Burlesque gradually lost popularity beginning in the 1940s. A number of producers sought to capitalize on nostalgia for the entertainment by recreating burlesque on the stage and in Hollywood films from the 1930s to the 1960s. There has been a resurgence of interest in this format since the 1990s.

Literary and theatrical origins

The term "burlesque" more generally means 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, accessed February 16, 2011 Burlesque in literature and in theatre through the 19th century was intentionally ridiculous in that it imitated several styles and combined imitations of certain authors and artists with absurd descriptions. 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.

, sometimes known as "travesty" or "

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 ha ...

", 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. 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.Fredric Woodbridge Wilson: "Burlesque", ''Grove Music Online'' ed. L. Macy, accessed 4 December 4, 2008
(subscription access)
A typical example from a burlesque of ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'': 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'".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 February 2, 2011 A staple of theatrical 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.

History

19th century

There were three main influences on American burlesque in its early years: Victorian burlesque, "leg shows" and

s. British-style burlesques had been successfully presented in New York as early as the 1840s. Burlesque in the United States is believed to have begun in New York with the arrival from England of

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 ...

's burlesque troupe, "The British Blondes". It was the most popular entertainment in New York during the 1868–1869 theatrical season: "The eccentricities of pantomime and burlesque – with their curious combination of comedy, parody, satire, improvisation, song and dance, variety acts, cross-dressing, extravagant stage effects, risqué jokes and saucy costumes – while familiar enough to British audiences, took New York by storm." Unfortunately, “the female audiences for burlesque did not last for long. In the summer of 1869 a wave of ‘anti-burlesque hysteria’ in the New York press frightened away the middle-class audiences ... and sent the Thompson troupe prematurely packing for a national tour”.Dudden, Faye E. "The Rise of the Leg Show", ''Women in the American Theatre: Actresses and Audeiences'', New Haven, Yale UP (1994) After this untimely closure, backlash against burlesque continued to grow. Thompson's shows were described as a “disgraceful spectacle of padded legs jiggling and wriggling in the insensate follies and indecencies of the hour”.Moses, Marlie. "Lydia Thompson and The ‘British Blondes’.", ''Women in the American theatre'', New York, Crown (1981) The ''New York Times'' consistently expressed its disgust of burlesque, even headlining an article with the plea “Exit British Burlesque”. "Leg" shows, such as the musical extravaganza ''

The Black Crook ''The Black Crook'' is a work of musical theatre first produced in New York City with great success in 1866. Many theatre writers have cautiously identified ''The Black Crook'' as the first popular piece that conforms to the modern notion of a mu ...

'' (1866), became popular around the same time. The influence of the minstrel show soon followed; one of the first American burlesque troupes was the Rentz-Santley Novelty and Burlesque Company, created in 1870 by

Michael B. Leavitt Michael Bennett Leavitt (1843–1935) was an American theater entrepreneur, manager, and producer. He entered show business as a blackface minstrel show singer. By the 1860s, Leavitt had made the leap to management and, following the precedent s ...

, who had earlier feminized the minstrel show with his group Madame Rentz's Female Minstrels. American burlesque rapidly adopted the minstrel show's tripartite structure: part one was composed of songs and dances rendered by a female company, interspersed with low comedy from male comedians. Part two featured various short specialties and

olios ''Olios'' is the largest genus of huntsman spiders, containing 166 species. They are found throughout the world, with most species occurring in hot countries. The genus was first described by Charles Athanase Walckenaer in 1837. Description T ...

in which the women did not appear. The show's finish was a grand finale. Sometimes the entertainment was followed by a boxing or wrestling match."Burlesque show"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'', Online Library Edition, accessed February 16, 2011 By the 1880s, the four distinguishing characteristics of American burlesque had evolved: *Minimal costuming, often focusing on the female form. *Sexually suggestive dialogue, dance, plot lines and staging. *Quick-witted humor laced with puns, but lacking complexity. *Short routines or sketches with minimal plot cohesion across a show.Humez, Nick
"Burlesque".
''St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture'', ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast, Gale Virtual Reference Library, accessed February 16, 2011 ‘From 1880 to 1890 burlesque gained considerably in popularity and had developed into a definite form of entertainment, with a first part, olio and afterpiece or burlesque. Most of the shows that were rated as burlesque shows between 1870 and 1880 were partly of the minstrel type, and many contained casts entirely composed of women. Among the shows organized from 1880 to 1890 were the Ida Siddon’s Female Mastodons & Burlesque Co.—Sam T. Jack’s “Lily Clay’s" Adamless Eden Gaiety Co.—Lillie Hall’s Burlesquers—Madame Girard Gyer’s English Novelty Co.—Bob Manchester’s “Night Owls"—May Howard’s Co. (managed by Harry Morris, her husband and Tom Miaco)—the “City Club,” organized by the same managers—Sam T. Jack’s “Creole Burlesquers,” an all-negro show—Fay Foster Co., organized by Joe Oppenheimer—Rose Hill English Folly Co., managed by George W. Rice and Charles Barton—Weber and Fields’ Vaudeville Club—John S. Grieves’ Burlesquers—Boom’s “Model Burlesquers,”—“Parisian Folly”—and John H. Smiths’ “Henry Burlesquers,” in which McIntyre and Heath appeared.’

1900–1920

Burlesque in the first two decades of the 20th century was dominated by the

Columbia Amusement Company The Columbia Amusement Company, also called the Columbia Wheel or the Eastern Burlesque Wheel, was a show business organization that produced burlesque shows in the United States between 1902 and 1927. Each year, about four dozen Columbia burlesque ...

. Also known as the Columbia Wheel, it produced over three dozen touring shows each year that rotated through an equal number of affiliated theaters. Columbia crushed smaller circuits or bought them outright, and organized a subsidiary circuit, the American Wheel, which played less prominent theaters and didn't censor performers as strictly as the main wheel. Before World War I, Columbia burlesque was generally family-friendly. Performers included

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 ...

Fannie Brice Fania Borach (October 29, 1891 – May 29, 1951), known professionally as Fanny Brice or Fannie Brice, was an American comedienne, illustrated song model, singer, and theater and film actress who made many stage, radio, and film appearances. ...

, and Bobby Clark,

Leon Errol Leon Errol (born Leonce Errol Sims, July 3, 1881 – October 12, 1951) was an Australian-American comedian and actor in the United States, popular in the first half of the 20th century for his appearances in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in film ...

, and

Jay C. Flippen Jay C. Flippen (March 6, 1899 – February 3, 1971) was an American character actor who often played crusty sergeants, police officers or weary criminals in many films of the 1940s and 1950s. Before his motion-picture career he was a leading va ...

, all of whom eventually left burlesque for Broadway musical comedies and revues.

1920–1930

Columbia's American Wheel subsidiary went bankrupt in 1922, but executives and producers formed a new, independent circuit, Mutual, that took inspiration from modern Broadway revues like

Earl Carroll's Vanities ''The Earl Carroll Vanities'' was a Broadway revue that Earl Carroll presented in the 1920s and early 1930s. Carroll and his show were sometimes controversial. Distinguishing qualities In 1923, the ''Vanities'' joined the ranks of New York� ...

and the

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air ...

. Many performers and producers abandoned Columbia, which was seen as old-fashioned and in decline. At its peak, Mutual sent up to 50 shows on the road each year to cycle through as many affiliated theaters. Mutual's shows were more risque than Columbia's, but not as racy as shows mounted by local stock burlesque theaters such as the Minskys at the National Winter Garden on the Lower East Side. The popular burlesque show of this period eventually evolved into the

striptease A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper" or an "ex ...

which became the dominant ingredient of burlesque by the mid 1920s. The transition from traditional burlesque to striptease is depicted in the film ''

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).Slonimsky, Nicholas
"Burlesque show"
''Baker's Dictionary of Music'', Schirmer Reference, New York, 1997, accessed February 16, 2010 Several performers claimed or have been given credit for being the first stripteaser. Comedians

Bud Abbott William Alexander "Bud" Abbott (October 2, 1897 – April 24, 1974) was an American comedian, actor and producer. He was best known as the straight man half of the comedy duo Abbott and Costello. Early life Abbott was born in Asbury Park, New ...

Lou Costello Louis Francis Cristillo (March 6, 1906 – March 3, 1959), professionally known as Lou Costello, was an American comedian, actor and producer. He was best known for his double act with straight man Bud Abbott and their routine "Who's on First?" ...

(not yet a team),

Harry Steppe Harry Steppe (born Abraham Stepner), March 16, 1888 – November 22, 1934Abe Stepner's obituary, "Feature News," Billboard magazine, Dec. 1, 1934, pg 5. was a Russian Jewish-American actor, musical comedy performer, headliner comedian, writer, li ...

Joe Penner Joe Penner (born József Pintér; November 11, 1904 – January 10, 1941) was an American vaudeville, radio, and film comedian. Early life Penner was an ethnic Hungarian born József Pintér in Nagybecskerek, Austria-Hungary, (present-day Zren ...

Billy Gilbert William Gilbert Barron (September 12, 1894 – September 23, 1971), known professionally as Billy Gilbert, was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects ...

, and

Rags Ragland Rags Ragland (born John Lee Morgan Beauregard Ragland, August 23, 1905 – August 20, 1946) was an American comedian and character actor. Personal life Ragland was born on August 23, 1905, in Louisville, Kentucky, to parents Adam Joseph Ragland ...

, as well as stripteasers

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 ...

Hinda Wausau Hinda Wausau (1906–1980) aka Hinda Wassau, Hinda Wasau, or Hindu Wausau, was a star stripteaser in burlesque. She claimed, and has been credited with, inadvertently inventing the striptease around 1928 at either the Haymarket or State-Congress The ...

, and

Gypsy Rose Lee Gypsy Rose Lee (born Rose Louise Hovick, January 8, 1911 – April 26, 1970) was an American burlesque entertainer, stripper and vedette famous for her striptease act. Also an actress, author, and playwright, her 1957 memoir was adapted into ...

performed in Mutual shows.

1930s and decline

Mutual collapsed in 1931 during the Great Depression. As legitimate Broadway shows closed, stock burlesque impresarios like the Minskys expanded out of working class neighborhoods and into theaters in and around Times Square. Stock burlesque companies multiplied in other cities and snatched up former Mutual talent. By the late 1930s, clergy, anti-vice factions and local businesses cracked down on burlesque and began its downfall. Shows had changed from ribald ensemble performances of skits and musical numbers to a succession of solo stripteasers. In New York, Mayor

Fiorello LaGuardia 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 from ...

clamped down on burlesque beginning in 1937 and effectively put it out of business by the early 1940s.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 ...

'', 18 May 2008, accessed September 19, 2009 Burlesque lingered on elsewhere in the U.S., increasingly neglected, and by the 1970s, with nudity commonplace in theatres, American burlesque reached "its final shabby demise".

Burlesque performances

Burlesque performances originally included comic sketches lampooning authority, the

upper class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...

es and high art, such as opera,

Shakespearean 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 nation ...

drama, and classical

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

. The genre developed alongside

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 ...

and ran on competing circuits. Possibly due to historical social tensions between the upper classes and lower classes of society, much of the humor and entertainment of later American burlesque focused on lowbrow and

ribald Ribaldry or blue comedy is humorous entertainment that ranges from bordering on indelicacy to indecency. Blue comedy is also referred to as "bawdiness" or being "bawdy". Sex is presented in ribald material more for the purpose of poking fun at ...

subjects. In 1937, Epes W. Sargent wrote in

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

that, "Burlesque is elastic; more so, perhaps, than any other form in theatrical entertainment", meaning that burlesque performers didn't need to perform in a certain way. The performers could structure their show how they wanted. The_High_Rollers_Extravaganza_Co

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

(who starred in the 1915 film ''

Burlesque on Carmen ''A Burlesque on Carmen'' is Charlie Chaplin's thirteenth film for Essanay Studios, originally released as ''Carmen'' on December 18, 1915. Chaplin played the leading man and Edna Purviance played Carmen. The film is a parody of Cecil B. DeMille ...

'') noted in 1910: "Chicago ... had a fierce pioneer gaiety that enlivened the senses, yet underlying it throbbed masculine loneliness. Counteracting this somatic ailment was a national distraction known as the burlesque show, consisting of a coterie of rough-and-tumble comedians supported by twenty or more chorus girls. Some were pretty, others shopworn. Some of the comedians were funny, most of the shows were smutty harem comedies – coarse and cynical affairs".

Burlesque on film

Burlesque shows have been depicted in numerous Hollywood films starting with ''Applause'', a 1929 black-and-white backstage musical talkie directed by Rouben Mamoulian. Others include ''King of Burlesque'' (1936), starring Warner Baxter; ''

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) starring Barbara Stanwyck; ''Delightfully Dangerous'' (1945) starring Constance Moore; ''Two Sisters from Boston'' (1946), starring Kathryn Grayson; ''

Queen of Burlesque ''Queen of Burlesque'' is a 1946 American mystery thriller film directed by Sam Newfield and starring Evelyn Ankers, Carleton G. Young and Marion Martin. The film was distributed by the low-budget Producers Releasing Corporation. Rose La Rose, w ...

'' (1946), starring Evelyn Ankers; ''Linda, Be Good'' (1947), starring Elyse Knox; and ''

She's Working Her Way Through College ''She's Working Her Way Through College'' is a 1952 American comedy film produced by Warner Bros. A musical comedy in Technicolor, it is directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and stars Virginia Mayo and Ronald Reagan. The screenplay is based on the 1 ...

'' (1952), starring Virginia Mayo. ''

Gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

'' (1962), starring Natalie Wood, and ''

'' (1968), starring Jason Robards, depicted burlesque of the 1920s and 1930s. Other films that include burlesque characters include ''

Ball of Fire ''Ball of Fire'' is a 1941 American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks and starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. This Samuel Goldwyn Productions film (originally distributed by RKO) concerns a group of professors laboring to ...

'', a 1941 screwball comedy starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. Additionally, many of the comedies of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello feature classic burlesque routines, such as "The Lemon Table," "Crazy House," and "Slowly I Turned/Niagra Falls." Low-budget documentations of extant burlesque shows began with ''Hollywood Revels'' (1946), where a regular production was staged in a theater and photographed from a distance. In 1947, film producer W. Merle Connell re-staged the action in a studio, where he could control the camerawork, lighting and sound, providing close-ups and other studio photographic and editorial techniques. His 1951 production ''French Follies'' recreates a classic American burlesque presentation. Some figures from the 1950s indicate that burlesque films could cost upwards of $50,000 to produce, but Dan Sonney states that most only cost about $15,000 because they were shot quickly and often done in less than a day. Others filmed at the Follies Theatre in Los Angeles include ''Too Hot to Handle'' (1950), and ''Kiss Me Baby'' (1957). MarionMartinandGloriaDicksonLadyofBurlesque

MarionMartinandGloriaDicksonLadyofBurlesque

Later, other producers entered the field, using color photography and even location work. ''Naughty New Orleans'' (1954) is an example of burlesque entertainment on film, equally showcasing girls and gags, although it shifts the venue from a burlesque-house stage to a popular nightclub. Photographer

Irving Klaw Irving Klaw (November 9, 1910 – September 3, 1966), self-named the "Pin-up King",Pérez Seves, ''Eric Stanton & the History of the Bizarre Underground'', p. 28. was an influential Jewish-American merchant of sexploitation, fetish, and Hollywoo ...

filmed a very profitable series of burlesque features, usually featuring star

pin-up girl A pin-up model (known as a pin-up girl for a female and less commonly male pin-up for a male) is a model whose mass-produced pictures see widespread appeal as part of popular culture. Pin-up models were variously glamour models, fashion models ...

Bettie Page Bettie Mae Page (April 22, 1923 – December 11, 2008) was an American model who gained notoriety in the 1950s for her pin-up photos.

and various lowbrow comedians (including future TV star

Joe E. Ross Joe E. Ross (born Joseph Roszawikz; March 15, 1914 – August 13, 1982) was an American actor known for his trademark "Ooo! Ooo!" exclamation, which he used in many of his roles. He starred in such TV sitcoms as ''The Phil Silvers Show'' and '' C ...

). Page's most famous features are '' Striporama'' (1953), ''Varietease'' (1954) and ''Teaserama'' (1955). These films, as their titles imply, were only teasing the viewer: the girls wore revealing costumes, but there was never any nudity. In the late 1950s, however, provocative films emerged, sometimes using a " nudist colony" format, and the relatively tame burlesque-show film died out.

Stage shows and revivals

A Broadway musical called ''Burlesque'' opened September 1, 1927 and ran until July 14, 1928. '' Top Banana'', a musical with music and lyrics by Johnny Mercer and book by Hy Kraft and starring Phil Silvers premiered on Broadway in 1951. The original Broadway production of "

" opened on May 21, 1959 and closed on March 25, 1961 after 702 performances. In 1962, famed strip teaser

put together a nostalgic off-Broadway show, ''This Was Burlesque'', which she directed and in which also performed. (In 1968, she wrote a book with the same title.) Corio's show toured for almost two decades. In 1979, the Broadway musical ''Sugar Babies'', recreated a Mutual-era show. A loose stage adaptation of

, called ''Minsky's'', opened on February 6, 2009, at the Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, and ran three weeks. A 2013 play, ''

The Nance ''The Nance'' is a play written by Douglas Carter Beane. It involves the lives of burlesque performers during the 1930s. A "nance" was a camp stock character in vaudeville and burlesque. The play is a production of Lincoln Center Theater that p ...

,'' written by Douglas Carter Beane, focuses on a camp stock character in a 1930s burlesque troupe.

Neo-Burlesque

Miss Dirty Martini 2009 Howl Festival 8 by Shankbone

A new generation nostalgic for the spectacle and perceived glamour of the old times determined to bring burlesque back. This revival was pioneered independently in the early 1990s by Billie Madley's "Cinema" and later with Ami Goodheart in "Dutch Weismann's Follies" revues in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, Michelle Carr's "The Velvet Hammer" troupe in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and The Shim-Shamettes in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. Ivan Kane's Royal Jelly Burlesque Nightclub at

Revel Atlantic City Ocean Casino Resort (formerly Revel Casino Hotel Atlantic City) is a resort, hotel and casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It is the northernmost casino on the Atlantic City Boardwalk, located on of land, adjacent to the Showboat Hotel. It is ...

opened in 2012. Inspired by old time stars like

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 ...

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 ...

, and Lili St. Cyr, more recent 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 "Queen ...

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 Anne McDonald.

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 to ...

groups such as

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 ...

have included political satire and performance art in their acts. Today, Neo-Burlesque has taken many forms, but all have the common trait of honoring one or more of burlesque's previous incarnations, with acts including striptease, expensive costumes, bawdy humor,

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 or d ...

, and comedy/variety acts. Although neo-burlesque acts honor previous acts, they often lack elements of parody, and political commentary that was commonplace in traditional burlesque. There are modern burlesque performers and shows all over the world, and annual conventions such as the

Vancouver International Burlesque Festival The Vancouver International Burlesque Festival is an annual four-day festival that takes place every spring in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The festival features burlesque performers, comedians and musicians. The 2017 festival showcases w ...

, the

New York Burlesque Festival The New York Burlesque Festival is an annual four-day event that takes place in New York City each fall, where performers from all over the world appear on stages for musical acts, burlesque shows, and other performances. History The festival p ...

created by burlesque star

Angie Pontani Angela Pontani is a contemporary burlesque dancer, choreographer, producer, and blogger based in Brooklyn, New York. She was crowned Miss Exotic World Pageant, Miss Exotic World in 2008. Biography Andrea Louisa Pontani is originally from Trento ...

and Jen Gapay, 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. In 2008, ''

'' noted that burlesque had made a comeback in the city's art performance scene. A 2010 musical film ''

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.

'', starring

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

and

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

, attempted to capitalize on the current revival of burlesque. However, it received mixed reviews and a score of 37% on movie website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

. Critics found it "perversely tame" and "closer to your grandmother’s fan dance than to the neo-burlesque revues that began popping up in the early 1990s". Additionally, it "wags its derrière, in the direction of new burlesque, but it’s strictly old school ... with a story line that had already gathered dust by ... 1933."Dargis, Manohla
"Small-Town Girl Trades Her Naïveté for Lingerie"
''The New York Times'', November 23, 2010

Notable stars, writers, and agents

Abbott and Costello Abbott may refer to: People *Abbott (surname) *Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), American painter and naturalist * Abbott and Costello, famous American vaudeville act Places Argentina * Abbott, Buenos Aires United States * Abbott, Arkansas ...

Jack Albertson Harold Albertson (June 16, 1907 – November 25, 1981), known professionally as Jack Albertson, was an American actor, comedian, dancer and singer who also performed in variety. Albertson was a Tony, Oscar, and Emmy winning actor. For his perfor ...

Robert Alda Robert Alda (born Alfonso Giuseppe Giovanni Roberto D'Abruzzo; February 26, 1914 – May 3, 1986) was an Italian-American theatrical and film actor, a singer, and a dancer. He was the father of actors Alan and Antony Alda. Alda was featured in a ...

Morey Amsterdam Moritz "Morey" Amsterdam (December 14, 1908 – October 28, 1996) was an American actor, comedian, writer and producer. He played Buddy Sorrell on CBS's ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' from 1961 to 1966. Early life Amsterdam was born in Chicago ...

Michael "Atters" Attree Michael "Atters" Attree (born 22 April 1965 in Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the ...

Candy Barr Juanita Dale Slusher (July 6, 1935 – December 30, 2006), better known by her stage name Candy Barr, was an American stripper, burlesque dancer, actress, and adult model in men's magazines of the mid-20th century. During the 1950s, she receive ...

Irving Benson Irving Benson (January 31, 1914 – May 19, 2016) was an American actor and comedian. He was one of the last survivors of the vaudeville era. Having enjoyed a long and successful run on the east coast American Burlesque circuit, Benson travelled w ...

Milton Berle Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over 80 years, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and tel ...

Immodesty Blaize Immodesty Blaize (born Kelly Fletcher in Hitchin, Hertfordshire) is an English burlesque dancer who performs internationally. She was crowned Reigning Queen of Burlesque in June 2007 at the Las Vegas Burlesque Hall of Fame formerly known as Exo ...

* Bella Blue *

Ben Blue Ben Blue (born Benjamin Bernstein; September 12, 1901 – March 7, 1975) was a Canadian-American actor and comedian who had a career that spanned nearly 50 years. Early life He was born Benjamin Bernstein in Montreal, Quebec on Septem ...

* Jac Bowie *

Fanny Brice Fania Borach (October 29, 1891 – May 29, 1951), known professionally as Fanny Brice or Fannie Brice, was an American comedienne, illustrated song model, singer, and theater and film actress who made many stage, radio, and film appearances. S ...

* Sherry Britton *

Red Buttons Red Buttons (born Aaron Chwatt; February 5, 1919 – July 13, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his supporting role in the 1957 film ''Sayonara''. He was nominated for awards for his acting work i ...

* Jack Cameron * Jack Carter *

Catherine D'lish Catherine D’lish is an American performance artist specializing in classical strip tease and burlesque. Career D'Lish uses elaborate costumes, and decorative props are part of her show. She has been the headlining performer at multiple events ...

Danny Dayton Danny Dayton (born Daniel David Segall, November 20, 1923 – February 6, 1999) was an American actor and television director. Beginning in the 1950s, he played many roles in film and on TV. He had a recurring role as Hank Pivnik on ''All i ...

Jami Deadly Jami Deadly (born May 18, 1979 as Jami Edwards) is an American actress, glamour model, singer, burlesque dancer and horror host. Jami grew up in Texas. She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. Biography Jami Edwards was a nightclub dancer. Along with st ...

Millie DeLeon Millie DeLeon (circa 1873 – August 6, 1922) was the stage name of American burlesque dancer Millie Lawrence. She is listed in some records as "Elizabeth," "Maud" and "Maude". Biography DeLeon was known as "The Girl in Blue" and was notoriou ...

Joe DeRita Joseph Wardell (July 12, 1909 – July 3, 1993), known professionally as Joe DeRita, was an American actor and comedian, who is best known for his stint as a member of The Three Stooges in the persona of Curly Joe DeRita. Early life DeRita wa ...

Phyllis Dixey Phyllis Dixey (10 February 1914 – 2 June 1964) was an English singer, actress, dancer and impresario. Her earlier career was as a singer in variety shows in Britain. During World War II, she joined ENSA and entertained the British forces. She ...

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced song ...

Jade Esteban Estrada Jade Esteban Estrada (born September 17, 1975) is an American singer, actor, stand-up comedian, journalist and human rights activist. ''Out Magazine'' called him "the first gay Latin star." Biography Born to David Gonzales Estrada and Aurora ( ...

Joey Faye Joey Faye (born Joseph Antony Palladino, July 12, 1909 or 1910 or 1902– April 26, 1997) was an American comedian and actor. Born in New York City, he gained fame as a comic in vaudeville and claimed that he created two of vaudeville's more renow ...

W. C. Fields William Claude Dukenfield (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946), better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler, and writer. Fields's comic persona was a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist who remained a sympathe ...

* Dwight Fiske * Fanne Foxe *

Gentry de Paris Gentry de Paris is a Paris-based burlesque dancer, art director, and playwright. Early life and career She grew up near Disneyland in Anaheim, CA. She first started first dancing with a troupe of chorus girls who did enactments of Busby Ber ...

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 ...

* John Grant *

Gilda Gray Gilda Gray (born Marianna Michalska; October 24, 1901 – December 22, 1959) was a Polish-American dancer and actress who popularized a dance called the "shimmy" which became fashionable in 1920s films and theater productions. Early life and 'th ...

* Jennie Lee *

Dixie Evans Mary Lee "Dixie" Evans (August 28, 1926 – August 3, 2013) was an American burlesque dancer and stripper. Career Evans was best known for a burlesque parody she performed as Marilyn Monroe. Evans entered show-business as a model and later chor ...

* Billy Hagan * Margie Hart *

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jews, 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-bi ...

Bambi Jones Bambi Jones (born 1931), also known as Doris Kotzan was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts. She is known for being the Original Burlesque dancer, Vedette and author of her new book ''My Journey BURLESQUE The Way It Was''. She appeared in the documen ...

Danny Kaye Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminsky; yi, דוד־דניאל קאַמינסקי; January 18, 1911 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, singer and dancer. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and ...

Michelle L'amour Michelle L'amour (born April 15, 1980) is an American neo-burlesque performer who grew up in Orland Park, Illinois. In 2006, she performed stripteases on NBC's '' America's Got Talent'', Showtime's ''Sexual Healing'', and in small touring perfo ...

Pinky Lee Pincus Leff (May 2, 1907 – April 3, 1993), better known as Pinky Lee, was an American burlesque comic and host of the children's television program ''The Pinky Lee Show'' in the early 1950s. Biography Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Lee got hi ...

* Al Lewis * Lola the Vamp *

Jayne Mansfield Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress, singer, nightclub entertainer, and ''Playboy'' Playmate. A sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s while under contract at 20th Century Fox, Man ...

Angelique Pettyjohn Angelique Pettyjohn (born Dorothy Lee Perrins; March 11, 1943 – February 14, 1992) was an American actress and burlesque queen. She appeared as the drill thrall Shahna in the ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' episode "The Gamesters of Triskeli ...

Minsky Malone Minsky Malone, also known as Charlie Robinson, is an Australian creative director for stage, an international burlesque performer, and the creative director of House of Burlesque. Since 1997 she has performed around the world, first starting with ...

* Missy Malone *

April March April March (born Elinor Blake; April 20, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter who sings in English and French. She is known for the song " Chick Habit", which was featured in the films '' But I'm a Cheerleader'' and ''Death Proof''. She is a ...

Pauline Markham Pauline Markham (born Margaret Hall or Hale, May 1847 – March 20, 1919) was an Anglo-American dancer and contralto singer active on burlesque and vaudeville stages during the latter decades of the 19th century. She began by performing juveni ...

* Dirty Martini * Tim Moore * Chesty Morgan *

Kitten Natividad Francesca Isabel Natividad (February 13, 1948 – September 24, 2022), known professionally as Kitten Natividad, was a Mexican-American film actress and exotic dancer. She was noted for her 44-inch (112 cm) bust, and appearances in cult films ma ...

* Olsen and Johnson *

Bettie Page Bettie Mae Page (April 22, 1923 – December 11, 2008) was an American model who gained notoriety in the 1950s for her pin-up photos.

Gloria Pall Gloria Pall (born Gloria Pallatz; July 15, 1927 – December 30, 2012) was an American model, showgirl, actress, author and businesswoman. Biography Gloria Pallatz was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1927. During World War II, she worked as an a ...

Molly Picon Molly Picon ( yi, מאָלי פּיקאָן; born Malka Opiekun; February 28, 1898 – April 5, 1992) was an American actress of stage, screen, radio and television, as well as a lyricist and dramatic storyteller. She began her career in Yidd ...

Miss Polly Rae Miss Polly Rae (born 8 July 1981) is a British singer, dancer, and Neo-burlesque performer. Burlesque career Polly Jane Rae was born in Preston, Lancashire, England. Polly's burlesque career began in 2006, after seeing a poster for a burlesque co ...

Alan Reed Alan Reed (born Herbert Theodore Bergman; August 20, 1907 – June 14, 1977) was an American actor, best known as the original voice of Fred Flintstone on ''The Flintstones'' and various spinoff series. He also appeared in many films, includin ...

Liz Renay Pearl Elizabeth Dobbins (April 14, 1926 – January 22, 2007), known professionally as Liz Renay, was an American author and actress who appeared in John Waters' film ''Desperate Living'' (1977). Early life She was born Pearl Elizabeth Dobbins o ...

Benny Rubin Benny Rubin (February 2, 1899 – July 15, 1986) was an American comedian and film actor. Born in Boston, Rubin made more than 200 radio, film and television appearances over a span of 50 years. Career In 1929, Rubin went to Hollywood, where he ...

* Lili St. Cyr *

Satan's Angel Angel Cecelia Helene Walker (September 18, 1944 – April 11, 2019) was an American exotic dancer specializing in stripping and burlesque under her stage name Satan's Angel. Career Satan's Angel started dancing in San Francisco in 1961, after ...

Tura Satana Tura Satana (July 10, 1938Some sources give her birth year as 1935, i.e. Dave Itzkoff"Tura Satana, Cult Actress, Is Dead" ''New York Times'', February 5, 2011; accessed January 8, 2014. – February 4, 2011) was a Japanese American actress, v ...

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 ...

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 ...

Arnold Stang Arnold Sidney Stang (September 28, 1918 – December 20, 2009)
''The New York Times'', 22 December 2 ...

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 ...

Evelyn West Evelyn West (January 30, 1921 – November 14, 2004Social Security Death Index), Evelyn "$50,000 Treasure Chest" West, and "The Hubba-Hubba Girl", was a vedette and burlesque legend of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Early years Evelyn West was ...

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 ...

* Mollie Williams *

Henny Youngman Henry "Henny" Youngman (16 March 1906 – 24 February 1998) was a British-born American comedian and musician famous for his mastery of the " one-liner", his best known being "Take my wife... please". In a time when many comedians told ela ...

Joe Yule Ninnian Joseph Yule (30 April 1892 – 30 March 1950) was a Scottish-American burlesque and vaudeville actor who later appeared in many films as a character actor. He starred alongside Renie Riano in the '' Jiggs and Maggie'' film series. Yule ...

Notable burlesque festivals

Helsinki Burlesque Festival The Helsinki Burlesque Festival was an annual burlesque festival held in Helsinki, Finland, in late winter every year. The festival was started in 2008 by the Hulapirates Team (Bettie Blackheart, Frank Doggenstein and Kiki Hawaiji). Since 2010, ...

, Helsinki, Finland *

Miss Exotic World 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 ...

, Las Vegas, U.S *

Moisture Festival Moisture Festival is an annual, four week long, spring festival held in Seattle, Washington. Established in 2004, it is claimed to be the world's largest comedy/variety festival. Performances include musical acts like Jason Webley, comedy acts like ...

, Seattle, U.S. *

New Orleans Burlesque Festival The New Orleans Burlesque Festival is an annual, three-day, burlesque festival held in New Orleans. The venues are the Civic Theatre, the Harrah's Casino, and House of Blues House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and re ...

, Louisiana, U.S. *

, New York City, U.S.

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'' * * 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. * Kenrick, John
A History of The Musical Burlesque
* * * Zeidman, Irving: ''The American Burlesque Show''. Hawthorn Books, Inc 1967, , .

External links

From the collection of th
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University

Classic Burlesque: We Aim to Tease
nbsp;– slideshow by ''

Life magazine ''Life'' was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, ''Life'' was a wide-ranging weekly general-interest ma ...

'' *
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 Golden Days of Burlesque Historical Society
{{Authority control *American Dance in the United States Performing arts in the United States

Literary and theatrical origins

History

19th century

1900–1920

1920–1930

1930s and decline

Burlesque performances

Burlesque on film

Stage shows and revivals

Neo-Burlesque

Notable stars, writers, and agents

Notable burlesque festivals

See also

Notes

References

External links