MUSI 2040 Lecture 9: Theater/Pop - Vaudeville, Tin Pan Alley, and the Beginnings of Broadway
29 Sep 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Theater/pop: vaudeville, tin pan alley, and the beginnings of broadway. Vaudeville: railroads theater performers could reach further places, touring, variety acts individual acts each about 10-15 minutes long, in vaudeville theater, breeding grounds for famous performers, 1880s-1940s. Tin pan alley: after the ball : most popular song of 1890s, vaudeville, sheet music. Ethnic novelty songs: for ethnic vaudeville acts. Written and performed by black and white entertainers. Stereotypes drawn from minstrelsy unless they performed the stereotypes it wasn"t considered authentic. Bert williams adopted a violent personal of jim crow (black characters were given more sympathy and were seen as more human) Tin pan alley/coon song: all coons look alike to me : african american minstrelsy, stereotypes. From vaudeville to broadway: 1900s: theater business centralizes in ny, operetta and revue two kinds. Revue: high class vaudeville shows, variety/talent show, no coherent plot. Operetta: old ballad operas; european imports (austria lush, romantic aristocracy; british biting, satirical); comical.
