American Vaudeville was entertainment created for the middle class masses.  A group of intuitive business men headed by Benjamin Franklin Keith capitalized on the rising American middle class, which was created after the American Civil War during the industrial revolution, at the beginning of the 20th century.   With a middle class who had more spending power, more leisure time, and a need for somewhere to go, Vaudeville entertainment stepped into fill this need. Vaudeville is a term “referring specifically to American variety entertainment, came into common usage after 1871”  (Vaudeville A History) This entertainment was widely varied from comedians, dancers, circus acts, magicians, theater productions, and later on movie clips.  Brochures and posters from the time stated that “there is something for everybody.” (Vaudeville A History)

Benjamin Franklin Keith

Vaudeville was created by businessman to provide entertainment but it also provided education in etiquette for a rising middle class. Vaudeville was family friendly entertainment that was no explicit sexual content and no profanity.  Benjamin Keith ordered performers to eliminate “ “vulgarity and suggestiveness in words, action, and costume” (Vaudeville A History).  Rules were not just created for the performers but Rules were created to guide and to teach the new middle class theater etiquette these rules included no heckling, stomping, or spitting.  This was a form of entertainment fathers felt comfortable letting their daughters go to unaccompanied.  Working women could buy tickets and see the show themselves.

Vaudeville Performers, Something for Everyone!

Continuous Vaudeville

Vaudeville entertainment was revolutionary because there were not timelines or curtain calls.  There would be many different acts looping to form a continuous performance. Numbers would be displayed outside the theater door to show which act was currently being performed.  The acts would build and decline in desirability with act seven being the most highlight of the evening. Audience members could come and go as they pleased so the performances could fit into any working class person’s time schedule.

Vaudeville Theater

New venues were created to capitalize on this new form of entertainment.  When Vaudeville first was becoming popular, performances took place where ever there was open space, amusement parks, town halls, schools, and public spaces.  Although as popularity of the performances rose large ornate theater halls sprung up in every major city across the country.  These halls such as the Paramount Theatre in Seattle were decorated lavishly, with high ceilings, dramatic lighting, rich velvety seating, and exquisite gold molding.  Privilege and luxury were brought to the poor and middle classes, “The age of luxury seems to have reached its ultima thule. The truth of this has never been impressed upon one so forcibly as in a visit to Keith’s dream palace of a theatre . . . .It is almost incredible that all this elegance should be placed at the disposal of the public, the poor as well as the rich.” (Vaudeville A History).  Someone no longer had to be rich in order to enjoy lavish entertainment and privilege.

Vaudeville entertainment and theaters brought about change to America.  Vaudeville theaters became melting pots for Americans, locations where classes, poor and middle class would mix, and have equal opportunity to be entertained.  They were also places where a rising middle class could was taught European influenced etiquette and started to narrow the gap between the lower and upper classes.