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An Annotated History of the Vaudeville Theater

By October 11, 2011July 21st, 2022History, Theater

Theater in the United States has long been one of the most popular and ever-evolving entertainment sectors. Considering it from the earliest beginnings to today’s Broadway spectacles, the theater is an exceedingly important part of people’s lives—from authors and actors to audience members and enthusiasts.

We might be familiar with the earliest origins of theater, including the amphitheaters of the ancient Greeks and the tragedies of Roman lyceums, but what about more niche theater styles? In the interim between classical musicians and minstrel shows and the rise of popular cinema, there was an entire theatrical genre that took the Western world by storm: Vaudeville Theater.

Vaudeville has been called the “heart of the American show business,” and was one of the most consistently popular forms of entertainment across North America for many decades.

crystal hall

Predecessors of vaudeville included concert saloons, dime museums, freak shows, and even literary burlesque, but what exactly was the catalyst for this new form of performance?

Let us take a closer look at the genesis and historical journey of the phenomenon of Vaudeville Theater, from its appearance around the Civil War, until its decline as movie-going became more commonplace. We will also examine the particular aspects of what vaudeville theater actually entails, and the legacy that has persisted long after it waned as a form of popular entertainment.

Early Entertainment

vaudeville theater performance

Humans have been entertaining themselves in some form since time immemorial. No matter the culture or era, theater or stage performances of some kind have existed. As a species, stories and the telling of tales are crucial to cultural advancement and bonding. And this is no different when we take a look at the mid-1800s and the rise of particular theatrical practices therein.

vaudeville painting

Pre-Civil War

The Civil War era was impactful on so many aspects of history and daily life, with consequences reaching far across the world. But in terms of entertainment, the time just before the Civil War was also a turning point for leisure.

With the new advancements in technology and industrialization in early 19th Century America, an economic boom elevated the living situations of many.

This economic success was partly responsible for the middle class gaining more access to venues of entertainment and leisure, previously frequented primarily by the upper classes and the wealthy.

19th century america

The heightened demand for entertainment was met in great part by the theater.

Previously, theatrical performances were relegated to select locations around the United States, and available to patrons with plenty of leisure time and money in their pockets. But now, as the transportation industry expanded their service areas, entertainers and theatrical acts were able to take to the road and travel the country more freely.

Similarly, with technology such as the telegraph system, performers could promote their acts to a wider audience before even arriving in the new location.

telegraph

This worked to draw larger, more anticipatory crowds than previously relying on bulletins and posters put up when the troupe actually arrived in the town. Electric lights replaced candles and stage light riggings were incorporated into acts, and better ventilation drew in crowds.

One of the early forms of traveling variety performance can be traced to the circus.

Though it had been present in America since the 1700s, when Pepin and Breschard’s circus extraordinaire toured the East Coast of the United States in the early 1800s, excitement for this form of roaming entertainment spread like wildfire.

montreal circus

With tricks and stunts that dazzled audiences, hunger for more entertainment in this style was sparked.

vaudeville

Variety Theater

Akin to some of its more stationary predecessors, Variety Theater began as a mixture of concert saloons, minstrel shows, and public beer gardens. As America became more mobile, variety spread across the country.

ringling theater

Original variety shows tended to be designed for a more male audience, but as change spread and both sexes enjoyed more leisure time with the institution of Saturday half-days, Variety Theater became more open.

old picture of theater

The Progressive movement allowed more free time for all workers as corporate and industrial employers accepted vacation time, and the installation of electric street lighting made the frequenting of shows safer for all audiences. While Variety Theater was its own entity, it slowly became incorporated into a new, post-Civil War type of entertainment.

However, the tone of early variety theater was much different than its following forms—audiences were not discouraged from directly interacting with the performers, and instances of vulgar language, uproarious behavior, and projectiles aimed at the stage were not uncommon. This is one aspect of traveling theater that would be changed later on.

vaudeville meeting

Post-Civil War

After the Civil War was concluded, leisure in America experienced a rebirth and exceptional rise in popularity. Traveling urban entertainment, previously put on hold by the conflict, was reinstated with a flourish, and this hunger for mass distractions led to increased demand for tickets and shows.

post civil war

Interestingly, part of this renaissance was due to the new culture of incorporation that Civil War values had imparted on the American people. And this is where the rise of Vaudeville Theater can be traced to.

vaudeville ad

Vaudeville Begins

It can be difficult to pinpoint the exact date that vaudeville entertainment gripped America and its citizens, but it began soon after the Civil War’s end in 1865.

An amalgamation of previous variety shows, circuses, and even burlesque theater, by the end of the 1800s it was a major entertainment business.

The sandow poster

Post-Civil War incorporation culture was important to the popularity of vaudeville, as it crossed ethnic and economic boundaries, with social groups of various origins and classes mixing in the audience. The content of vaudeville shows themselves also were a mixture:

Exploring different cultures albeit in a stereotyped manner, such as Wild West shows that showcased glorified clashes between cowboys and Native Americans.

buffalo bills wild west

However, vaudeville representations of different cultures tended to be inclusive—or at least more respectful.

For instance, Vaudeville Theater played a role in representing and creating space for African American performers and entertainment entrepreneurs, beyond the previous racially demeaning stereotypes of earlier venues.

street performance

Instead of relying on “blackface” representations, vaudeville accepted racially diverse actors.

What’s in a Name: Vaudeville’s Etymology

The term vaudeville can be traced back to two French phrases:

val de vire

Historians and etymologists surmise that area of France is where the 15th Century satirist and songwriter Olivier Basselin lived. This later became synonymous with his catchy songs that lampooned villages and residents.

river vire

Otherwise, “voix de Ville”, or “voices of the town,” could be the root of vaudeville terminology.

voices of the town

Alternatively, when referring to the specific North American variety style of entertainment, the term vaudeville may have little to do with the Comédie en Vaudeville of the Paris theater. Indeed, it originally appeared in common use after the formation of H. J. Sargent’s “Great Vaudeville Company” in Louisville during 1871. This is arguably the first posted vaudeville advert in the United States.

hurly burly
joseph hart

Vaudeville Visionaries

Three men came to the forefront of Vaudeville Theater’s new influence on the entertainment field. They worked particularly to transform vaudeville into a form of entertainment for everyone, with the class and tone to accompany it. These men included Tony Pastor, E. F. Albee, and B. F. Keith.

tony pastor
E.F. albee
bf keith

One of the first to update the original idea of Variety Theater into the newer vaudeville acts, Pastor was the manager of the initial “clean” vaudeville.

He sought to outclass the previous bawdy standards that plagued variety shows, and as a devout Catholic, Pastor capitalized on middle-class sensibilities and hosted a “polite program” of acts in New York City. Liquor sales were barred, and randy material was removed from the scripts.

The Father of Vaudeville: Benjamin Franklin Keith

While Pastor was the first to bring vaudeville out of variety, Benjamin Franklin Keith earns the true title of the father of such entertainment.

Initially making his career in traveling circuses under the likes of P. T. Barnum, Keith was the originator of a chain of theaters across the northeastern United States, such as the Bijou Theater in Boston, becoming the primary homes of vaudeville programs.

P.t. barnum
vaudeville seats

The System

Along with his colleague E. F. Albee, whom he met during their mutual circus days, Keith made vaudeville into a major business. With Keith and Albee’s massive network of theaters, the principal source of economic innovation and industrial strength was established, and allied vaudeville theaters became contracted to regional or national acting engagements.

This new system also involved a 5% charge for each performer to contract, and strict regulations regarding conduct, material, and pay that could be vetoed by the owners. Coincidentally, this also resulted in greater tensions between performers and the theater owners, which would last for the duration of vaudeville.

for each performer to contract

The Era of Vaudeville

joseph poster

Vaudeville Theater truly came into its own during the late 1800s and early 1900s. With the institution of specially contracted theaters, the promise of family-friendly entertainment, and money coming in from all angles, it was a big business for vaudeville moguls. Less so for entertainers struggling to “make it big time”, however, which we will discuss.

insode the vaudeville

What’s in a Scene: What was Vaudeville?

In general, a vaudeville stage would be comprised of a series of acts and artists, often up to a dozen. These entertainers performed all kinds of material—from songs to magic acts, comedy to dramatic readings. These sets were known as “bills” and lasted about ten minutes each, repeating two or three a day for a week before being moved on. In total, daily vaudeville acts could run continuously for up to twelve hours.

bills

Make ‘Em Laugh: Popular Vaudeville Acts

Performers on vaudeville stages tended towards comedy acts that elicited a positive reaction from their audiences.

The most popular vaudeville bills were full of inventive and novel acts, national celebrities, and comedians or trick performers.

Vaudeville comedies ranged from jokesters to dog acts to slapstick.

kolb and dill

This also meant a more intense routine for performers looking for a laugh—comedians were embroiled in particular challenges, as audiences were not guaranteed to chuckle in every city they performed in.

In fact, a young Bob Hope had troubles getting through to his Texas audience until he tried different material from his Brooklyn act.

bob hope
old wedding photo

Keeping it Clean

Even as vaudeville gained more notoriety, B. F. Keith continued Pastor’s original idea of polite entertainment—his acts were marketed as equally inoffensive to all members of the audience.

As such, Keith’s success as a showman and theater marketer was in his ability to bridge “high-brow” and “lower-class” entertainments. This commonality was rooted in acts familiar to both previous variety audiences and new affluent persons.

Keeping his acts family-friendly and his performances continuously drew in large crowds, and even more importantly, powerful patrons in Broadway officials and even the Catholic Church.

ballerina
church

The promise of more clean entertainment from Keith-Albee circuit theaters elicited ample funding from the Church, which allowed further theatrical expansion.

Interestingly, though vaudeville was famed for its clean performances, some actors did push back against the requirement for inoffensive entertainment.

Keith-Albee managers would send impolite scripts back to querying actors in blue envelopes, leading to the phrase “blue material” to refer to banned content.

blue material

Yet, despite theater managers threatening cancellation or expulsion, some performers routinely flouted censorship and included off-color themes in their acts. This rebellion was often met with audience amusement, though it went against the sensibilities that vaudeville theaters were espoused to protect.

trailer

Working the Circuits

Speaking of theater circuits, this was an important part of the vaudeville lifestyle and theater system. Performers traveled from theater to theater, touring for upwards of forty weeks a year with their billing sets. At its zenith, vaudeville acts toured across a variety of economic classes and auditorium sizes.

actors toured for 40 weeks a year

Vaudeville’s characteristics promoted a tendency to tailor content to audiences in specific cities or theaters, so some acts would change depending on the circuit location. For instance, African American patrons and those who spoke Yiddish or Italian would commonly have their own smaller circuit content.

Similarly, New England’s “Peanut Circuit” was a good area for beginners to polish new sets on more accepting audiences.

perfomance

Go For Broke: Vaudeville Life

Contrary to some more romanticized depictions of vaudeville stars, the path to performer fame was not an easy one. The repetition of acts led to incredibly long days on stage, and the circuit travels added onto this tiringly. In addition, developing an act in vaudeville was sometimes a career-long struggle.

Vaudeville was a very competitive stage, and the challenge for a performer to come up with a novel act was intense.

The marco twins

In addition, larceny was rampant among performers, as comedy acts, in particular, were often the victims of vaudeville piracy. For a vast amount of time, performers had no real way to protect their work from other actors who might steal their sets.

In fact, some comedians actually incorporated their piracy into their acts—actor Milton Berle was so blatant about stealing ideas he earned the name “the Thief of Bad Gags.”

milton berle
vaude actor

The Stars of Vaudeville

Even though the life of vaudeville could be a tough one, stars on the stage continued to appear and rise. Though some actors were only famous in the vaudeville circuits, others were able to transition into a career in film as cinema progressed over the course of the 1900s.

Some of the most well-known vaudeville stars include the following:

money

Small Time to Big Time in Vaudeville Pay

Throughout vaudeville’s 50-year existence in the theater sector, more than 25,000 people performed regularly and sought to perform their way to the top.

variety

In a contemporary article from Variety magazine, actors worked their way through three levels of the trade:

Small Time

Performers in minor towns or cheap theater locations in larger cities only made as little as $15 per week when first starting out. However, in later years, even small-time actors could earn up to $75, a considerably larger sum for that time.

min pay 15
Medium Time

Salaries for performers in theaters with good reputations and audiences generally offered salaries of up to a couple of hundred dollars a week. Performers here were typically on their way up the acting ladder or caught on their way down, dependent on the ever-fluctuating economics of the theater.

100 max pay
Big Time

The finest theaters in big cities would use a twice-daily or three times daily performance, leading actors to major fame and long working hours. Big time acts brought in hundreds of dollars every week and headliners could command up to $1,000 weekly. The most popular acts could even earn far more and be “discovered” for films as the industry crossed paths with Hollywood.

1,000 max pay

The demanding schedules of influential performers were typically put up with because of the decent pay that accompanied them. Even those who were not headliners in major cities could earn a good amount.

At the end of vaudeville’s reign in theater sectors in 1919, performers playing a forty-two-week circuit could earn around $3,150 per year. In comparison, factory workers in the same year earned less than $1,300 annually.

3150 in circuit
old painting of the city life

Vaudeville Theaters

Theaters created for the vaudeville circuit were grand and elaborate, becoming known as pleasure palaces for audiences seeking a hiatus from their civilian life and immersion into a day of performances.

These buildings were highly decorative and featured a wealth of details—for instance, the New Theater in Boston, built during 1894, was one of the most opulent.

buildings back then

With wrought iron detailing, bright and incandescent lighting, stained glass, and overt touches of European glamour. From gargoyles to marble arches, Keith-Ablee’s main theaters tended to proclaim an unconcealed air of elegance and gentility to all passersby and audience members alike. Not all vaudeville theaters were of such luxurious design, but most tried for an air of sophistication.

really nice theater

Img Source: keithalbee theatre/keithalbee/photos

In fact, at vaudeville’s height in the early 1900s, these specialty theaters were rivaled only by public schools and churches for America’s most common public gathering areas. This should be incredibly revealing of their popularity, and the prominence of vaudeville in general.

Etiquette in the Theater

Keith-Ablee’s theater chains were particularly emphatic on the basis of high moral characterization, not only from the actors but from the viewers. For instance, among the plush seating and staggered balcony viewing, a veritable militia of theater attendants and ushers enforced Keith’s “fixed policy of cleanliness and behavior”.

Placards were offered to patrons, detailing some of the theater’s most diligent rules, including:

hands clapping

All patrons to avoid stamping their feet or pounding canes on the floor. Applause to be best shown by clapping instead of clamoring.

text bubble

All patrons must refrain from talking during the entertainment, as it annoys fellow audience members and negatively impacts the hearing of the performance.

smoking icon

Gentlemen to refrain from carrying cigars or cigarettes while in the building.

hat icon

Ladies to remove their hats when seated inside the venue.

It was said that each card was signed by “the Management”, and that theaters performed on a strict three-strike rule. If a group or individual did not oblige the rules, at their third offense a member of management would approach to request their departure.

Polite Content, Polite Audiences

Compared to variety or minstrel shows of the pre-Civil War era, vaudeville theater audiences were held to a higher level of etiquette.

Audiences commonly voiced loud opinions during variety performances, including yelling, throwing vegetables and other objects, rushing the stage, or demanding encores, vaudeville was different.

As the 19th Century drew to a close, public audiences were expected to be more civil.

Some Vaudeville Acts:

portrait of leonard and drake
kammerer and howland

This was a combination of the post-war culture of inclusion, along with the formation of more prominent cultural hierarchies in leisure circumstances. The air of refinement was important to audiences, theater owners, and the general people alike as the 1900s dawned and the Edwardian era with all its social morays became imminent.

The Decline of Vaudeville

vaudeville actors

Vaudeville Theater didn’t have an entirely sudden ending. Instead, the arrival of other entertainment sectors such as the budding film industry caused a tapering-off effect. Let’s examine some of the causes of vaudeville’s decline and how it transitioned into a new era.

old projector

Enter Stage Left: The Film Industry

By the 1930s, movies and the cinema had become a primary source of entertainment for people across America. But vaudeville had started its decline previous to that—as movie stars became in demand and Broadway revues and radio programming began to siphon off actors in the mid-1920s, vaudeville found itself in trouble.

Additionally, the larger salaries and more comfortable working conditions that movie studios seemed to offer were just too tempting for some longtime vaudeville actors.

buster keaton
Jack Benny

The acting prominence that kept them employed in vaudeville billings worked to catapult them onto the big screen for speaking roles and radio work, including comedians like Buster Keaton, Jack Benny, and the Marx Brothers.

the marx brothers
huge theater

Vaudeville + Cinema = Vaude Film

To accommodate cinema’s new appearance on the entertainment horizon, and as a last effort to keep actors loyal, vaudeville switched up its set schedules. New programming included acts interspersed with short film showings, trying to make the best of both worlds.

This new hybrid of entertainment was known colloquially as “vaudefilm”, but regrettably, it did not last for too long.

act and film

By the late 1920s, virtually every vaudeville show was mixed with more and more short films. Performers did attempt to balance these prerecorded viewings with live acts, but over time, theater managers cut costs by removing them.

Theater owners quickly realized that the cost of renting reels of film was far cheaper than live performers. Lighting, stagehands, booking fees, music, and other considerations of live acts were mounting fees that managers had to make a decision about.

Thus, on November 16th of 1932, vaudeville’s central Palace Theater in New York City shifted to exclusive cinema presentation, tolling the end of Vaudeville Theater.

palace theater
juggling act

A Transition into Screen Comedy

The end of traditional vaudeville stage acts did not mark the death of certain aspects, however. Many of the actors who joined the theater during the decline of vaudeville were successful in transitioning into comedy and drama acts on the big screen. These actors included Abbot and Costello, Judy Garland, and Fred Astaire.

abbot and costello
judy garland
fred astaire

The impact of vaudeville acts was apparent in certain screwball comedies of the 1930s that incorporated madcap antics straight from the stage. Additionally, the advent of TV variety shows was essentially televised vaudeville, using the same multi-act format for successful titles like The Ed Sullivan Show and Your Show of Shows with Sid Caesar.

The Ed Sullivan Show
your show of shows

And while screen comedies have continued as a popular genre throughout the history of cinema, a new subgenre of films emerged around the 1960s: the musical comedy.

This borrowed heavily from the scripted and scored vaudeville acts that combined comedic scenarios with dramatic stereotypes, leading to some classic libretto titles.

Musical Comedy Librettos: Last Laughs

Ironically, in the same manner that sound in movies offered vaudeville stars a career reinvigoration, the popularity of television resurrected themes of Broadway and vaudeville comedy.

Writers from the hit TV variety Your Show of Shows switched to penning several musical comedy librettos in the 1960s.

Larry Gelbart’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Joseph Stein’s Fiddler on the Roof, and Michael Stewart’s Bye Bye Birdie were all incredible hits, bringing in a new era of wonderfully silly musical romps through vaudeville-style physical and ridiculous comedy.

fiddler on the roof
a funny thing happened on the way to the forum
by bye birdie

Former stage actors such as Jackie Gleason, Lucille Ball, Mickey Rooney, and Phil Silvers forged ahead in this new space.

Jackie Gleason
lucille ball
mickey rooney
phil silvers

Musical comedies did experience a lull in popularity between the 1970s and early 2000s, but with Mel Gibson’s quirkily successful The Producers in 2001, a new mania for the genre was unearthed. Following titles with vaudeville-inspired song and dance included Avenue Q, Hairspray, Spamalot, and Young Frankenstein.

Additionally, the rise of comedy miniseries for internet distribution was greatly inspired by vaudeville. Joss Whedon’s 2008 Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is a prime example of this, mingling physical comedy with ridiculous characters and grand illusions. It goes to show how influential early vaudeville theater truly is even into the 21st Century.

dr horribles sing a long blog
joss whedon

The Legacy of Vaudeville Theater

vaudeville theater sketch

Though vaudeville did not manage to outlive the combination of motion pictures and sound and color technology, many aspects and tones continue to live on in modern entertainment. Sketch comedy, musical acts, celebrity skits, and stand-up gigs all find their roots in original vaudeville performances. In this manner, echoes of the original variety shows of the mid-1800s are still alive and well today!

el capitan

Lasting Impact on Entertainment

Vaudeville also offered an unparalleled practice ground for acts that would shape future performance styles that exist today—

vaudeville host

This includes hosts with witty banter (vaudeville stars like Milton Berle).

smith and dale

Double acts (such as Smith and Dale).

the three stooges

Triple acts (the Three Stooges).

the marx brothers

Quadruple (the Marx Brothers).

Some of these types of performances might sound familiar to modern media viewers, so let’s take a closer look at the legacy left behind by vaudeville.

Talk Show Comedy

The idea of a host with witty commentary and comical monologues was an incredibly popular vaudeville act. Fast forward to modern talk shows and their various hosts, and the similarity is obvious. Nightly multi-act shows hosted by comedians such as David Letterman, Seth Meyers, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, and Jimmy Fallon all follow in the footsteps of vaudeville monologists like Frank Fay.

Cameo Appearances

Similarly, cameo appearances were first implemented by vaudeville performances that included local or minor national celebrities coming onstage, much to the delight of unexpecting audiences.

It’s easy to see this trend following into modern stage works and screen productions, with the likes of Saturday Night Live celebrity skits and even the iconic series of Stan Lee cameos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

saturday night live

An Annotated History of the Vaudeville Theater

automatic vaudeville

Vaudeville was one genre of theatrical performance that dominated the American entertainment sector after the Civil War in the mid-1800s, up to the addition of sound in film at the end of the 1920s. But throughout its history, vaudeville has retained a collection of material that illustrates a broad audience appeal.

Vaudeville’s acts drew upon relevant everyday themes, such as gender roles, industrialization, and urban life, not to be cultural historians but to entertain the audience. Indeed, a fascinating aspect of Vaudeville Theater is not only its social prevalence and battle against the popularity of the big screen, but also the lasting impact that vaudeville has on modern media and entertainment, both in form and style.