burlesque
To what extent did burlesque impact the development of the 20th American musicals?
Burlesque shows had a big influence on the development of 20th century musicals in many ways. One of the ways it did this was changing the role that woman had within musicals. This is a result of the woman’s rights movement in America. It is backed up in a Robert G Allen quote where he says “burlesque’s principal legacy as a cultural form was its establishment of patterns of gender representation that forever changed the role of the woman on the American stage”. Previous of burlesque shows, it was less acceptable for woman to show much of their skin/bodies, they were often seen as innocent and delicate so wore long dresses to cover themselves. However burlesque brought light on to the sexiness of woman without it being too distasteful; they did this by putting the woman in less clothing or more see through clothing such as tights, as a way of teasing the audience.
Burlesque also helped women to gain more control in other ways as most of the burlesque troupes were managed by females therefore they would be making the decisions, however in the 1880’s males began to take control and wanted burlesque dancers to show as much skin as possible without actually stripping. Woman taking control is demonstrated in the late 1860’s when Lydia Thompsons burlesque troupe became one of New York’s biggest theatrical sensations. Their first hit was named Ixion in 1868 where they included travesty; woman playing men’s roles in tights. Due to such high demands for tickets to this show it then moved to Broadway. Thompson didn’t hire any composers for the show she simply used songs that were relevant and popular at the time, which was a big influence to American musicals as it happened frequently in 20th century musicals.
It is also arguable that burlesque impacted the development of the 20th century American musicals as it wasn’t just a dance routine showing off women’s bodies, it also involved
Burlesque shows had a big influence on the development of 20th century musicals in many ways. One of the ways it did this was changing the role that woman had within musicals. This is a result of the woman’s rights movement in America. It is backed up in a Robert G Allen quote where he says “burlesque’s principal legacy as a cultural form was its establishment of patterns of gender representation that forever changed the role of the woman on the American stage”. Previous of burlesque shows, it was less acceptable for woman to show much of their skin/bodies, they were often seen as innocent and delicate so wore long dresses to cover themselves. However burlesque brought light on to the sexiness of woman without it being too distasteful; they did this by putting the woman in less clothing or more see through clothing such as tights, as a way of teasing the audience.
Burlesque also helped women to gain more control in other ways as most of the burlesque troupes were managed by females therefore they would be making the decisions, however in the 1880’s males began to take control and wanted burlesque dancers to show as much skin as possible without actually stripping. Woman taking control is demonstrated in the late 1860’s when Lydia Thompsons burlesque troupe became one of New York’s biggest theatrical sensations. Their first hit was named Ixion in 1868 where they included travesty; woman playing men’s roles in tights. Due to such high demands for tickets to this show it then moved to Broadway. Thompson didn’t hire any composers for the show she simply used songs that were relevant and popular at the time, which was a big influence to American musicals as it happened frequently in 20th century musicals.
It is also arguable that burlesque impacted the development of the 20th century American musicals as it wasn’t just a dance routine showing off women’s bodies, it also involved