Burlesque refers to theatrical entertainment of broad and parodic humor, which usually consists of comic skits (and
sometimes a striptease). While some authors assert that burlesque is a direct descendant of the Commedia dell'arte, the term 'burlesque' for a parody or comedy of manners appears about the same
time as the first appearance of commedia dell'arte.
With its origins in nineteenth century music hall entertainments and vaudeville, in the early twentieth century burlesque emerged as a populist blend of satire, performance art, and adult
entertainment, that featured strip tease and broad comedy acts that derived their name
from the low comedy aspects of the literary genre known as burlesque.
In burlesque, performers, usually female, often create elaborate sets with lush, colorful costumes, mood-appropriate music,
and dramatic lighting, and may even include novelty acts, such as fire-breathing or demonstrations
of unusual flexibility, to enhance the impact of their performance.
Put simply, burlesque means "in an upside down style". Like its cousin, commedia dell'arte, burlesque turns social norms head
over heels. Burlesque is a style of live entertainment that encompasses pastiche, parody, and
wit. The genre traditionally encompasses a variety of acts such as dancing girls, chanson singers, comedians, mime artists, and
strip tease artistes, all satirical and with a saucy edge. The strip tease element of burlesque became subject to extensive local
legislation, leading to a theatrical form that titillated without falling foul of censors.
Development
Photo of burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee
Originally, burlesque featured shows that included comic sketches, often lampooning the social attitudes of the
upper classes, alternating with dance routines. It developed alongside vaudeville and ran on
competing circuits. In its heyday, burlesque bore little resemblance to earlier literary burlesques which parodied widely known
works of literature, theater, or music.
Possibly due to historical social tensions between the upper classes and lower classes of society, much of the humor and
entertainment of burlesque focused on lowbrow and ribald subjects—e.g., in the early years,
ducks were revered amongst these folk as gags [citation needed].
The genre originated in the 1840s, early in the Victorian Era, a time of culture
clashes between the social rules of established aristocracy and a working-class society.
The popular burlesque show of the 1870s though the 1920s referred to a raucous, somewhat bawdy style of variety theater. It
was inspired by Lydia Thompson and her troupe, the British Blondes, who first appeared in the United States in the 1860s, and
also by early "leg" shows such as The Black Crook (1866). Its form, humor, and
aesthetic traditions were largely derived from the minstrel show. One of the first
burlesque troupes was the Rentz-Santley Novelty and Burlesque Company, created in 1870 by M.B. Leavitt, who had earlier feminized
the minstrel show with her group Madame Rentz's Female Minstrels.
Burlesque rapidly adapted 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 was an "olio" of short specialties in which the women
did not appear. The show's finish was a grand finale.
The genre often mocked such established entertainment forms as opera, Shakespearean drama, musicals, and ballet. The costuming
(or lack thereof) increasingly focused on forms of dress considered inappropriate for polite society. By the 1880s, the genre had
created some rules for defining itself:
- Minimal costuming, often focusing on the female form.
- Sexually suggestive dialogue, dance, plotlines and staging.
- Quick-witted humor laced with puns, but lacking complexity.
- Short routines or sketches with minimal plot cohesion across a show.
Charlie Chaplin in his autobiography gives an interesting account of burlesque in
Chicago 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 (Charles Chaplin, My Autobiography:
125–6).
The popular burlesque show of this period eventually evolved into the strip tease which became the dominant ingredient of
burlesque by the 1930s. In the 1930s, a social crackdown on burlesque shows led to their gradual downfall. The shows had slowly
changed from ensemble ribald variety performances, to simple performances focusing mostly on the strip tease. The end of burlesque and the birth of striptease was later dramatised in the entertaining film
The Night They Raided Minsky's.
New Burlesque
- See also: Neo-Burlesque
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 mid 1990s by Ami Goodheart’s “Dutch Weismanns’ Follies” revue in New York and Michelle
Carr’s “The Velvet Hammer Burlesque” troupe in Los Angeles. In addition, and throughout the country, many individual performers
were incorporating aspects of burlesque in their acts. These productions, inspired by the likes of Sally Rand, Tempest Storm, Gypsy Rose
Lee, Dixie Evans and Lily St. Cyr have themselves
gone on to inspire a new generation of performers.
Today New 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 and more.
There are modern burlesque performers and shows all over the world, and annual conventions such as Tease-O-Rama, New York Burlesque Festival, Vancouver International Burlesque Festival, The
Great Boston Burlesque Exposition, and the Miss Exotic World
Pageant.
In Media
A 1996 episode of The Simpsons, Bart After
Dark, centered on a burlesque house and Springfield's ambivalent attitude towards it.
In 2006, Panic! at the Disco created a music video to their song But It's Better If You Do featuring a Burlesque house as the setting.
Burlesque performers
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
See also
References
- Baldwin, Michelle. Burlesque and the New Bump-n-Grind
- Malach, James. What Is Burlesque
- Allen, Robert C. Horrible Prettiness: Burlesque and American Culture
- Weldon, Jo. Archive of articles about and original photos of neo-burlesque.
- DiNardo, Kelly. "Gilded Lili: Lili St. Cyr and the Striptease Mystique"; Archive of articles, video, pictures and interviews
about neo-burlesque.
- Warrack, John and West, Ewan (1992), The Oxford Dictionary of Opera, Oxford ISBN 0-19-869164-5
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