Broadway Musical Vaudeville Week 3 段馨君 Iris Hsin-chun Tuan Associate Professor Department of Humanities and Social Sciences NCTU

VAUDEVILLE In the early decades of the twentieth century, vaudeville was so deeply established an institution of respectable amusement that Sarah Bernhardt shared bills with dog acts, wire walkers, midgets, and contortionists. Sarah Bernhardt ( ) The famous French actress and comedienne traveled to and toured in America nine times, debuting in the States on November 8, Her performances were critically acclaimed and she was able to earn one thousand dollars per performance based on her reputation alone.

Acts When “musicians” played out of tune, on their heads or with strange, unmusical intruments, America laughed. Class acts provided refinement, particularly the opera singers, ballet dancers, virtuoso musicians and theater legends who share. The Palace Theatre, located at 1564 Broadway in Times Square, was built by Martin Beck in 1913.

The stars on the circuit excepted the most prestigious spot on the bill, the spot just before intermission or just before closing. Imagine the competitive climate in a business where management booked only nine acts out of the estimated twenty thousand available. This 1913 how-to booklet for would-be vaudevillians was recently republished.

George A. Gottlieb booked for the Palace Theater in New York during the golden days of vaudeville. He explained how top management laid out the standard nine-act bill. Stereotypes in variety stage films

We usually select a dumb act for the first act on the bill. For number two position we select an interesting act of the sort recognized as a typical vaudeville act. With number three position we count on waking up the audience. For number four position we must have a “corker” of an act and a “name”. And here for number five position, a big act, and the same time another big name, must be presented.

The first act after intermission, number six on the bill, is difficult position to fill. Very likely there is chosen a strong vaudeville specialty, with comedy well to the fore. Therefore, the second act after intermission-number seven- must be strong than the first. For here in number eight position- next to closing, in a nine-act bill- the comedy hit of the show is usually placed. Lillian Russell “the American beauty”

Therefore a sight act is chosen, an animal act maybe, to please the children, or a Japanese troupe with their gorgeous kimonos and vividly harmonizing stage draperies, or a troupe of white-clad trapeze artists flying against a background of black. Whatever the act is, it must be a showy act. Vaudeville gave woman equal opportunity to rise to stardom. Colleen Hawks plays the Lillian Russell-like character in the Sunday in the Park section of American Variety Bang!

Vaudeville attracted the best for “the best entertainment money could buy. ”

Songs When a vaudeville baritone named Charles Lawlor wrote “Sidewalks of New York,” the response was so overwhelming that the song became the unofficial anthem of the city of the New York. Charles Lowlor The song “Sidewalks of New York” gLo28 gLo28

Poise, skill, and an unrivaled talent for dramatizing a song gave Miss Nora Bayes, “The Famous International Singer of Songs,” one of the great solo female acts of vaudeville. The “Divine” Sarah Bernhardt. Her physical beauty, magnificent speaking voice, highly theatrical acting style, and personal notoriety ensured spectacularly successful vaudeville engagements. I, Sarah Bernhardt - The Divine A promo Trailer for Robert W. Cabell's Nationally acclaimed one woman show about the classical French Actress. The first International Super Star. Directed by Peter McLean, starring Louise Martin

The popular song in America developed in form and content during the fifty years of vaudeville’s ascendency. The early songs resorted invariably to sad stories told in an intolerably long verse that set up a sentimental refrain. Miss Nora Bayes Nora Bayes - Just Like A Gypsy bayes-just-like-a-gypsy_music#rel-page-1 bayes-just-like-a-gypsy_music#rel-page-1

When the vaudeville act was not musical, the bread and butter material became the monologue, the two-act, and the vaudeville sketch. the most successful two-acts depended on a lot of physical business, usually slapstick.

Decline Vaudeville declined along with much in America during the Depression of the late 1920s and 1930s. Unlike the minstrel show, which succumbed to its own expansionist evolution into spectacle and extravaganza, vaudeville died from permanent and irreparable damage caused by outside forces: the Depression, talking motion pictures, radio, and nightclubs. minstrel show video

Vaudeville demonstrated again the artistic validity and business potential of a popular art: one that speaks to and from all the people. It confirms in from and process how inherently attractive was the ingredient of variety in maintaining audience attention. It lives on in television shows and in every well-considered musical comedy score.. Great duo does a Vaudeville act

I’m no prophet, but one thing seems certain, and that is that vaudeville will always be with us if for no other reason than its cheapness. Now, vaudeville theaters fall to make way for office buildings and parking lots.

Prohibition( ) A period of nearly fourteen years of U.S. history in which the manufacture, sale, and transportation of liquor was made illegal. It led to the first and only time an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was repealed. Prohibition was the period in United States history in which the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors was outlawed. It was a time characterized by speakeasies, glamor, and gangsters and a period of time in which even the average citizen broke the law.

Marilyn Miller ( ) The most popular Broadway musical stars of the 1920s and early 1930s. She was an accomplished tap dancer, singer and actress. She's enormous popularity and famed image were in distinct contrast to her personal life, which was marred by disappointment, tragedy, frequent illness, and ultimately her sudden death due to complications of nasal surgery at age 37. Video link ： Look for the Silver Lining

Musical Comedies The origins of musical comedy begin with the French composer Hervé, who is credited with the development of the operetta. The first show of this kind that actually originated in the United States is thought to have been The Black Crook, which opened in New York in A musical comedy is a theatre production that incorporates musical numbers into the story. Hervé Video link ： The Black Crook

Glamorous musical numbers that involve catchy music, beautiful costuming, and, occasionally, even special effects are also an important element. It is this element that arises from the genre's roots in burlesque and operetta productions. Musical comedy has its roots in French productions from the mid-19th century. The style spread and continued to develop in the United States throughout the 20th century. Various recurring features tend to be mainstays of musical comedy. Video link ： Musical comedy-Book of Mormon Musical Opening Number - Hello

Al Jolson( – ) An American singer, film actor, and comedian. At the peak of his career, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer“ He is best remembered today as the star of the first 'talking picture', The Jazz Singer (1927). Numerous well-known singers were influenced by his music, including Bing Crosby, David Bowie, Bob Dylan and others. Al Jolson Video link ： The Jazz Singer

He enjoyed performing in blackface makeup, a theatrical convention since the mid 19th century. With his unique and dynamic style of singing black music, such as jazz and blues, he was later credited with single-handedly introducing African- American music to white audiences. As early as 1911 he became known for fighting against black discrimination on Broadway.

Shuffle Along An African-American musical revue with music and lyrics by Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake, and a connecting plot about a mayoral race, written by Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles. The piece premiered on Broadway in 1921, running for 504 performances – an unusually long run during that decade. Video link ： Shuffle Along

The Charleston The Charleston is a dance named for the harbor city of Charleston, South Carolina. The rhythm was popularized in mainstream dance music in the United States by a 1923 tune called "The Charleston" by composer/pianist James P. Johnson which originated in the Broadway show Runnin' Wild and became one of the most popular hits of the decade. Video link ： Runnin ' Wild James P. Johnson