burlesque - Development, New Burlesque, Notable burlesque performers

In Europe, a play satirizing contemporary theatre or theatrical fashion; originally the critical aspect was strong but, by the 19th-c, fantasy and travesty often predominated. It was the training ground for many famous stage, screen, and radio comedians, and was popular up to World War 2. In the USA, the term is used for a sex and comedy show created around 1865 for mainly male audiences.

For the literary burlesque see Burlesque (genre).

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 "imitation" - to satirize or parody. Burlesque is a style of live entertainment that encompasses pastiche, parody and wit.

Development

Originally, burlesque featured shows that included comic sketches, often lampooning the social attitudes of the upper classes, alternating with dance routines.

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.

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.

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.

In the 1930s, a social crackdown on burlesque shows led to their gradual downfall. 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 Neo-Burlesque.

Notable burlesque performers

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