Theatre from the 20 th century to the 21 st century

1. Theatre from the 20th century to the 21st century By Danielle Issa

2. 20th Century • Theatre is an art form and was preformed in various places during the early 20th century. • Burlesque • Vaudeville • Musical Theatre was also advancing; a subdivision of theatre still used today.

3. George Cohan • George Michael Cohan was one of the best talents in American musical comedy in the early 20th century. • His productions, were usually patriotic-themed shows that exemplified New York City and Broadway • Brought vaudeville to the legit- imate stage and transformed American musical theater

4. Vaudeville Show • Variety Acts • “Clean advertized for women and children…not just men. • Advertized to the Middle Class • Orpheum Circuit • Chain of Vaudeville Houses

5. Vaudeville Cont… • Big Artists & Popular Songs: • Lillian Russell • Four Cohan’s • Houdini • Abbot and Costello • In the Good Old Summertime • When You Were Sixteen • Sweet Adeline

6. Vaudeville Cont… • Decline: • Started fading in the 1920’s – 1930’s  sound was put in movies in the 1930’s • Stars left the stage for Hollywood • Died from irreparable damaged cause by • The Depression • Talking Motion Pictures • Radio • Night Clubs

7. Vaudeville Legacy • Was the first cheap and popular musical theatre in American for an entire family. • No class discrimination, in artists and audience. • Taught that variety was the main ingredient to keep an audience’s attention • People learned from experience how to: • Capture audience • Pace a performance • Respond to a crisis

8. Burlesque Show • “A theatrical entertainment of broad and earthly humor; consists of comic skits and short turns (and sometimes striptease)” –Webb Dictionary • American Burlesque evolved from the one-act parody English burlesque • English burlesque focused on the dialogue, American burlesque moved away from that. • American burlesque was not in rhymed couplets, but it did have satire.

9. Burlesque Cont… • Burlesque; spectacle, extravaganza  different names • Michael Bennett Leavitt “father of burlesque” • Women • The female stars were hefty by today’s standards • Salome dancers • The hula-hula dancers • Venus dancers • And audience participation exhibition

10. Burlesque Decline • From the 1870’s to the 1920’s. bold raucous, and gaudy burlesques toured the country playing to manly crowds eager for naughty grown-up amusement • The decline of burlesques started when the western wheel started to have dirty shows and then died out. The same thing for the eastern wheel • After the two wheels died out the striptease became the replacement • Striptease could be very artful

11. Gypsy Rose Lee • When she was doing striptease, it really did tease • Her was so good that it moved from burlesques right to revue, film and television • She was one of the lucky striptease performers

12. Interview • Who: Ms. Hood • Theatre Arts teacher at Moreau Catholic High School • President of the CETA organization • Directs Moreau’s fall play and spring musical

13. What impacts did theatre in the early 20th century have on the U.S. ? How does it reflect the time? • “Theatre during the first part of the 20th century because of the large amount of European immigrants. Yiddish Theatre, well established in many parts of Europe, came to America in the late 1800s.” • “By the early part of the 20th century, it was one of the most important theatrical entities in New York (on and off Broadway).”

14. Answer Cont… • “The Moscow Art Theatre developed an ensemble-based approach to a production and also developed what we call "realism" in acting. This important shift of the way theatre was approached made it's way to the U.S. when the Moscow Art Theatre toured there. Their style became popular in the U.S. and contributed to the development of "The Method" process of acting.” • “Russian theatre artists developed what is known as "Psychological Realism." This style of acting became a very popular process and is taught in many schools and conservatories, most famously in The Actors Studio in NYC. Because it is more realistic, it has also had a great effect on the film world when motion pictures were invented, because this more "low-key" style of acting is perfect for the camera.“

15. What was theatre like in the 1920’s? How prevalent was it? • “Theatre came to America with the settlers in the 1600s and with the constant immigration over the next 3 centuries. By the 1920s it's a very popular form of entertainment especially in cities that built theatres.” • “It was a cheap form of entertainment that the masses could enjoy. It reflected 20th century idealism and patriotism because immigrants were eager to fit in and because of WWI. And also, there was no film yet, nor TV and radio was just being developed. Vaudeville and burlesque were very popular and they reached even bigger masses because they toured the country.” • “Many cities built vaudeville and burlesque houses as well as legitimate theatres. Because radio was not yet developed enough for commercial use, popular songs of the times came from opera, operetta, vaudeville, burlesque, music halls, and legit theatre.”

16. What factors influenced theatre existence in the 1920’s  and it’s development • “3+ million Jews had emigrated to the  U.S. many of who settled in New York. Yiddish Theatre was not only entertainment for them, but it was also a cultural center point for the Jewish community and helped the immigrants keep their Jewish identity as they assimilated into American life.” • “Also theatre and music artists from many different European countries who emigrated to America continued their trade in the New York theatre world and in traveling companies. Many composers, librettists, and lyricists of the early and mid-century musical theatre were European immigrants”.

17. What were the factors that influenced its existence and development? In other words, what was/were the causes?
 • People, needed a source of entertainment and as the needs and views of the people of the people began to change, so did theatre otherwise it would fall and crumble, that how we had transitions from burlesque, to vaudeville etc. • For most of 20th-century theatre, realism has been the mainstream. Realism became the dominant form of theatre in the 20th-century. • U.S. theatre accelerated, There were 200 to 275 new productions a year average. “One of the important groups that enhanced the theatrical presence in the U.S. was the Theatre Guild, founded in 1919 with the intention of bringing important foreign works to improve theatre in the U.S. By the mid 1920s, playwrights the United States were also competing to have their works produced by the Theatre Guild.” • During the 1920s, American musical theatre began to develop more fully, with the Ziegfeld Follies offering variety acts and introducing songwriters and performers to theatre audiences.”

18. Cont… • The massive social change that went on during the Great Depression also had an effect on theatre in the United States. Plays took on social roles, identifying with immigrants and the unemployed. • “The Federal Theatre Project, a New Deal program set up by Franklin D. Roosevelt, helped to promote theatre and provide jobs for actors. The program staged many elaborate and controversial plays such as It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis and The Cradle Will Rock by Marc Blitzstein. By contrast, the legendary producer Brock Pemberton (founder of the Tony Awards) was among those who felt that it was more than ever a time for comic entertainment, in order to provide an escape from the prevailing harsh social conditions.”

19. In your opinion what has changed from theatre in the early 20th century to the 21st century? • The advance of motion pictures led to changes in theatre. The Jazz Singer of 1927, combined both talking and music in a moving picture. By 1915, actors were being lured away from theatre and to the silver screen, and vaudeville was beginning to face stiff competition. • “Definitely the out-of-control development of media - computers, video games, texting, facebook, blogs, twitters, etc. Rap, hip-hop, etc. As our culture has changed it has had a huge impact on theatre - some good things some bad. Definitely theatre has taken a back seat to all these other quick stimuli as our fast-paced lifestyle gains more and more momentum. A lot of people think of theatre as "old-fashioned." Sad but true. And very wrong.”

20. 21st Century

21. 21st Century • Broadway = LOTS OF MUSICAL THEATRE • Converting movies to musicals • Little Mermaid • Lion King • Theatre at a decline • “Old Fashion” • Not as entertaining.

22. 21st Century • Controversial Topics • Racism • Homosexuality • More abstract • Miming • Pantomime • Things aren’t crystal clear • Technological advances • Added production elements • Lighting and different sounds

23. 21st Century • Diversity • Shows casted more color blind (Most of the time) • Say no no… • Black face! • Controversial Shows • i.e. Reasons to be Pretty

24. Citation • Citation: "George M. Cohan." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 3 Mar. 2011. • Trumball, Eric W. "Introduction to Theatre." Novaonline.nvcc.edu. Northern Virginia Community Coll. , 17 May 2002. Web. 11 Mar. 2011. • "Theater of the United States." Wikipedia.com. wikipedia, n.d. Web. 11 Mar.      2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/      Theater_of_the_United_States#Theatre>. • "20th Century Theatre." Theatre Database. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2011.      <http://www.theatredatabase.com/>. • "Harry Houdini: The First Celebrity ." Yellow Magpie . Yellow Magpie, 1 Nov.      2010. Web. 11 Mar. 2011. <http://yellowmagpie.com/      harry-houdini-about>.