A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. Theatre (or theater, see spelling differences) is the branch of the Performing arts defined by Bernard Beckerman as what "occurs when one See also Entertainment (disambiguation and The Entertainer (disambiguation Entertainment is an activity designed to give people Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. Sketch comedy consists of a series of short Comedy scenes or vignettes called "sketches" commonly between one and ten minutes long The revue has its roots in nineteenth-century American popular entertainment and melodrama, but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from ca. 1916-1932. Though most famous for their visual spectacle, revues frequently satirized contemporary figures, news, or literature. In general spectacle refers to an event that is memorable for the appearance it creates News is any new information or information on Current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or Word of mouth Due to high ticket prices, ribald publicity campaigns, and sometime embrace of prurient material, the revue was typically patronized by audience members who earned more and felt less restricted by middle-class social mores than their contemporaries in vaudeville. Vaudeville was a Genre of variety entertainment prevalent on the stage in the United States and Canada, from the early 1880s Like much of its era's popular entertainments, revue often featured material based on sophisticated, irreverent dissections of topical matter, public personae, and fads, though the primary attraction was found in the frank display of the female body.

Etymology

George Lederer's The Passing Show (1894) is usually held to be the first successful American "review. " The English spelling was used until 1907 when Florenz Ziegfeld popularized the French spelling. "Follies" is now sometimes (incorrectly) employed as an analog for "revue," though the term was proprietorial with Ziegfeld until his death in 1932. (Other popular proprietorial revue names included George White's "Scandals" and Earl Carroll's "Vanities. George White's Scandals were a long-running string of Broadway Revues produced by George White that ran from 1919-1939 modelled after the Ziegfeld ")

Origin

Revues are most properly understood as having amalgamated several theatrical traditions within the corpus of a single entertainment. Minstrelsy's olio section provided a structural map of popular variety presentation, while literary travesties highlighted an audience hunger for satire. Theatrical extravaganzas, in particular, moving panoramas, demonstrated a vocabulary of the spectacular. Extravaganza refers to a literary or musical work (often Musical theatre) characterized by freedom of style and structure and usually containing elements of burlesque Burlesque, itself a bawdy hybrid of various theatrical forms, lent to classic revue an open interest in female sexuality and the masculine gaze. Burlesque is theatrical entertainment of broad and parodic humor which usually consists of comic skits (and sometimes a strip tease) In analysing Visual culture, the concept of The Gaze (also gaze and Le regard in French describes how the viewer gazes upon

Golden age

Revues enjoyed great success on Broadway from the World War I years until the Great Depression, when the stock market crash forced many revues from cavernous Broadway houses into smaller venues. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All (The shows did, however, continue to infrequently appear in large theatres well into the 1950s. ) The high ticket prices of many revues helped ensure audiences distinct from other live popular entertainments during their height of popularity (late 1910s-1940s). In 1914, for example, the Follies charged $5. 00 for an opening night ticket; at that time, many cinema houses charged a $0. 10-0. 25, while low-priced vaudeville seats could be had for $0. 15. ^[1] Among the many popular producers of revues, Florenz Ziegfeld played the greatest role in developing the classical revue through his glorification of a new theatrical "type," "the American girl. " Famed for his often bizarre publicity schemes and continual debt, Ziegfeld joined Earl Carroll, George White, and the Shubert Brothers as the leading producing figure of the American revue's golden age. Earl Carroll ( September 16, 1893 – June 17, 1948) was an American theatrical producer director songwriter and composer born George White may refer to George White (artist (c 1684&ndash1732 known for Plumbago drawing George Stuart White (1835&ndash1912 The Shubert family of New York City, New York was responsible for the establishment of the Broadway district in New York City, as the hub of

Revues took advantage of their high revenue stream to lure away performers from other media, often offering exorbitant weekly salaries without the unrepentant travel demanded by other entertainments. Performers such as Eddie Cantor, Anna Held, W.C. Fields, Bert Williams, and the Fairbanks Twins found great success on the revue stage. Eddie Cantor ( January 31, 1892 - October 10, 1964) was an American Comedian, Singer, Actor, Helene Anna Held ( March 8, 1872 &ndash August 12, 1918) was a Polish -born stage performer most often associated with Impresario W C Fields ( January 29, 1880 &ndash December 25, 1946) was an American Juggler, Comedian, and Actor This is about the Broadway performer Bert Williams For the English footballer see Bert Williams (footballer Early life Williams was Composers or lyricists such as Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, Irving Berlin, and George M. Cohan also enjoyed a tremendous reception on the part of audiences. Richard Charles Rodgers ( June 28, 1902, Arverne Queens, New York City &ndash December 30, 1979, New York Lorenz "Larry" Hart ( May 2, 1895 &ndash November 22, 1943) was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Irving Berlin (11 May 1888 &ndash 22 September 1989 was a Russian-born American Composer and Lyricist, and one of the most prolific American songwriters George Michael Cohan ( July 3, 1878 &ndash November 5, 1942) was a United States Entertainer, Playwright, Sometimes, an appearance in a revue provided a key early entry into entertainment. Largely due to their centralization in New York City and adroit use of publicity, revues proved particularly adept at introducing new talents to the American theatre. The City of New York Rodgers and Hart, one of the great composer/lyricist teams of the American musical theatre, followed up their early Columbia University student revues with the successful Garrick Gaieties (1925). Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership consisting of the composer Richard Rodgers (1902 &ndash 1979 and the lyricist Musical theatre is a form of Theatre combining Music, Songs spoken Dialogue and Dance. Columbia University is a private University in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Comedian Fanny Brice, following a brief period in burlesque and amateur variety, bowed to revue audiences in Ziegfeld's Follies of 1910. Fanny Brice ( October 29 1891 – May 29 1951) was a popular and influential American Comedienne, Singer Burlesque is theatrical entertainment of broad and parodic humor which usually consists of comic skits (and sometimes a strip tease) Specialist writers / composers of revues have included Sandy Wilson, Noel Coward, John Stromberg, George Gershwin, Earl Carroll and Flanders and Swann. Sandy Wilson (born May 19, 1924) is an English Composer and Lyricist, best known for his musical The Boy Friend Sir Noël Peirce Coward ( 16 December 1899 26 March 1973) was an English Actor, Playwright George Gershwin (September 26 1898 &ndash July 11 1937 was an American Composer. The British duo "Flanders and Swann" were the actor and singer Michael Flanders (1922&ndash1975 and the composer pianist and linguist Donald Swann

Film revues

With the introduction of talking pictures, in 1926, studios immediately began filming acts from the stage. Such film shorts gradually replaced the live entertainment that had often accompanied cinema exhibition. By 1928, studios began planning to film feature length versions of popular musicals and revues from the stage. The lavish films, noted by many for a sustained opulence unrivaled in Hollywood until the 1950s epics, reached a breadth of audience never found by the stage revue, all while significantly underpricing the now-faltering theatrical shows. A number of revues were released by the studios, many of which were filmed entirely (or partly) in color. The most notable examples of these are: The Show of Shows (Warner Brothers, 1929), Hollywood Revue of 1929 (MGM, 1929), Movietone Follies of 1929 (Fox, 1929), Paramount on Parade (Paramount, 1930), New Movietone Follies of 1930 (Fox, 1930) and The King of Jazz (Universal, 1930). The Show of Shows was a 1929 lavish Revue film which cost $850000 and featured most of the contemporary Warner Bros Warner Bros Entertainment Inc (or Warner Bros, Warner Bros Pictures) is one of the world's largest producers of Film and The Hollywood Revue of 1929 is an American Musical film / Comedy motion picture released in 1929. Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and Distribution company, based in Hollywood California. King of Jazz ( 1930) is a motion picture starring Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra Universal Studios (sometimes called Universal Pictures or Universal City Studios) a subsidiary of NBC Universal, is a major Global American Even Britain jumped on the bandwagon and produced an expensive revue called Elstree Calling (BIP, 1930). Elstree Calling is a 1930 Film directed by Andre Charlot, Jack Hulbert, Paul Murray and Alfred Hitchcock. Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC originally British International Pictures (BIP was a British film production distribution and exhibition company

Contemporary Revues

Revues are often common today as student entertainment (such as the Otago University Capping Show, St George's Medics Revue, Cambridge Footlights, Durham Revue, Oxford Revue, Medleys, University of Sydney Revues, University of New South Wales Revues, the University of Queensland Med Revue and the University of Queensland Law Revue) and use pastiche, in which contemporary songs are re-written in order to comment on the college or courses in a humorous nature. The word student is etymologically derived through Middle English from the Latin second-type conjugation Verb "studēre" The Capping Show is the name given to the University of Otago student Revue. Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge England, run by the students The Oxford Revue is a comedy group featuring students from Oxford University, England. Medleys is an annual comedy Revue, performed at the Union House Theatre and written by a group of medical students from the University of Melbourne. The University of Sydney plays host to numerous comedy revues each year Students produce a number of comedy revues at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia each year While most comic songs will only be heard within the revue they were written for, sometimes they become more widely known, such as A Transport of Delight about the big red London bus by Flanders and Swann, who first made their name in a revue titled At the Drop of a Hat. Comedy (from the Greek κωμωδίαkomodia has a popular meaning (any discourse generally intended to amuse especially in Television, Film, and The British duo "Flanders and Swann" were the actor and singer Michael Flanders (1922&ndash1975 and the composer pianist and linguist Donald Swann

Image of poster from the original Broadway production of the Stephen Sondheim revue, "Side by Side by Sondheim. "

Towards the end of the 20th century, a sub-genre of revue largely dispensed with the sketches, founding narrative structure within a song cycle in which the material is culled from varied works. . This type of revue may or may not have identifiable characters and a rudimentary story line but, even when it does, the songs remain the focus of the show (for example, Closer Than Ever by Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire). Closer Than Ever is a musical Revue with words by Richard Maltby Jr Richard Maltby Jr (born October 6, 1937, Ripon Wisconsin) is an American Theatre director and producer, Lyricist David Lee Shire (born July 3, 1937) is an American Songwriter and the Composer of stage musicals and film and television This type of revue usually showcases songs written by a particular composer or songs made famous by a particular performer. Examples of the former are Side By Side By Sondheim (music/lyrics Stephen Sondheim), Eubie! (Eubie Blake) Tom Foolery (Tom Lehrer), and Five Guys Named Moe (songs made popular by Louis Jordan). Side by Side by Sondheim is a musical Revue featuring the songs of prolific Broadway and Film Composer Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (born March 22 1930 is an American musical and film composer and lyricist winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards (seven James Hubert Blake ( February 7, 1887 &ndash February 12 1983) was a Composer, Lyricist, and pianist of Ragtime Tom Foolery is a musical Revue based on the words and music of Tom Lehrer. Thomas Andrew "Tom" Lehrer (born April 9 1928)is an American Singer-songwriter, satirist, Pianist, and mathematician Five Guys Named Moe is a musical with a book by Clarke Peters and lyrics and music by Louis Jordan and others Louis Jordan ( July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was a pioneering American Jazz, Blues and Rhythm & blues The eponymous nature of these later revues suggest a continued embrace of a unifying authorial presence in this seemingly scattershot genre, much as was earlier the case with Ziegfeld, Carrol, et al.

It is a current and fairly longstanding tradition of Medical Schools within the UK to put on Revues each year, combining comedy sketches, songs, parodies, films and soundbites. Each year, the Revue casts of each of the 5 Medical Schools of the University of London compete in the competition known as the United Hosptials Revue in an attempt to win the Moira Stewart trophy. The University of London is a university based primarily in London, England, UK. Moira Clare Ruby Stuart Career Early Career Stuart began working with the BBC in the 1970s In 2007-8, the winners were GKT, and the runners-up were the St George's Medics Revue. The GKT (Guy's King's and St Thomas' School of Medicine, London, was the name given to the medical school faculty of King's College London. St George's University of London ( SGUL) previously known as George's Hospital Medical School ( SGHMS) is a specialist medical college

References

Davis, Lee (2000). Scandals and Follies: The Rise and Fall of the Great Broadway Revue. Proscenium Publishers Inc. , New York. ISBN 0-87910-274-8.