The Impact of Burlesque on 20th Century American Musicals

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/boodles, 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 males therefore they would be making the decisions, however In the sass males began to take control and wanted burlesque dancers to show as much skin as possible without actually striping. Woman taking control is demonstrated in the late sass's when Lydia Thompson burlesque troupe became one of New Work's biggest theatrical sensations. Their first hit was named Zion in 1868 where they included travesty; woman playing men's roles in tights.

Order custom essay The Impact of Burlesque on 20th Century American Musicals with free plagiarism report

450+ experts on 30 subjects Starting from 3 hours delivery

Get Essay Help

Due to such high demands for tickets to this show it then moved to Broadway. Thompson didn't hire any composers for the how 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 elements of comedy and music which is a big element of book musicals in 20th century America.

Burlesque infuses these elements by using things such as travesty and they also use their shows to mock the upper class as their main audiences were lower and middle class. The comedy within the shows also helped society to become more acceptable with the fact that the woman had less clothes on as usual which was frequent in many American musicals in the 20th century. It Is also said that burlesque had a big influence on creating book musicals as they also combined the 3 elements of dance, music and drama. One of the first book musicals being the black crook, involved burlesque style dances. Burlesque by Chloe had within musicals.

This is a result of the woman's rights movement in America. It is t 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 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 sass's males as usual which was frequent in many American musicals in the 20th century.

Don't let plagiarism ruin your grade

Run a free check or have your essay done for you

Check my essay Hire Writer