Burlesque
What is Burlesque?
By Merriam-Webster dictionary definition:
1. a literary or dramatic work that seeks to ridicule by means of grotesque exaggeration or comic imitation.
2. mockery usually by caricature.
​
3. theatrical entertainment of a broadly humorous often earthy character consisting of short turns, comic skits, and sometimes striptease acts.
History of Burlesque
The origins of burlesque can technically be traced back to Ancient Grecian theatre. Although many think of Victorian burlesque as the start of the art form (which we will get to soon enough), some historians claim that burlesque began with Aristophanes' Lysistrata.
Lysistrata is a Greek comedy centered around a young woman determined to end the Peloponnesian War - by denying the men of the land the sex they truly desired from their women. It soon becomes a massive battle of the sexes that the women win by ending the war. Yes, the women have sex with the men by the end, but it is the act of deliberately teasing the men and toying with their expectations that makes some historians cite this as one of the first examples of burlesque.
Lysistrata fits the dictionary definition of burlesque: it seeks ridicule through exaggeration and comic imitation, it mocks men and women alike through caricature, and creates a comedic piece of theatrical entertainment that is still enjoyed by audiences today. Perhaps Aristophanes did not intend for his work to fit into the unheard of genre of burlesque when he wrote it, but he unknowingly paved the way for an entire art form centuries down the line.
The burlesque that most individuals are familiar with today began as Victorian burlesque. Victorian burlesque was most popular in England and New York City in the mid-19th century. Whereas more modern forms of burlesque focus on the physical aspects of the art form, Victorian burlesque focused on the parodying of well-known operas, ballets, and plays instead.
However, Victorian burlesque did differ from pantomime in one major way: pantomime catered to audiences of all ages, of all levels of education. Victorian burlesque was geared more towards an educated elite - those who were highbrow enough to understand the original texts that their parodies were based on, and in turn, understand the burlesque acts as well.
Victorian burlesque eventually made a large change that led to the more Americanized burlesque we know today: the introduction of flesh-colored tights. Before these tights, most burlesque performers wore layers of clothes, or tights brightly colored so as not to show any bare skin. Flesh-colored tights gave burlesque a more risqué feel, while still promoting the modesty of the women performing.
American Burlesque
Victorian burlesque crossed the Atlantic Ocean and found its way to America through one woman named Lydia Thompson. Previously a prominent English burlesque performer, Thompson brought famous English burlesque shows (many of which she had already starred in) to New York City in 1868, adapting them with the help of her husband to their new audience by adding cultural references and reworking songs to make them more relevant to American citizens. Her works impressed American audiences, and she soon went on to have a tour across the country with her troupe, The British Blondes. The British Blondes are perhaps the inspiration for Gypsy's Hollywood Blondes, if only in name. This group of women was well-known for not only their impeccable burlesque performance skills but for their use of political satire as well. Many of their acts had abolitionist, feminist, and suffragist values at their core, and audiences seemed to love them.
The golden age of burlesque fell between the years 1870-1940. Once Thompson and her Blondes brought their act to America, burlesque boomed across the nation. Burlesque rivaled both vaudeville and movies in terms of popularity, but even when the Great Depression hit, burlesque managed to not only survive but to thrive and grow more popular than before. Part of the reason for their success? The Prohibition in the 1920s. When alcohol was banned, it became more popular. In the early 1920s, hemlines began creeping up so much in women's fashion that some states banned various hems, styles, and shapes from being worn. The ban only made risqué fashion choices more popular, and oftentimes the burlesque was the hotspot to find women in these illegal garments.
After the introduction to burlesque through Lydia Thompson, American burlesque could be divided into three overarching categories: Victorian burlesque, leg shows, and minstrel shows. Victorian burlesque was taken directly from the English - these shows focused more on plot, parody, and satire. Leg shows, as you might imagine, had something more to do with the amount of leg shown, the number of dances danced, and the kinds of tricks performed. The first American musical (which is a title up for debate in itself) The Black Crook, falls under the category of a leg show due to the large dance numbers primarily featuring the wonders of the female legs. Minstrel shows have also been seen throughout history, and they found a home on the burlesque stage. Minstrel shows were comedic in nature, and their humor fit into the burlesque scene nicely. Many burlesque shows even copied the structure of minstrel shows: songs and dances in Act One, male specialty acts (such as legomaniacs, comics, and hoofers) in Act Two, and a grand finale in Act Three, typically followed by a boxing match post-show.
There are many things that define American burlesque, but the four most common principles of American burlesque are:
1. Minimal costuming, often focusing on the female form,
2. Sexually suggestive dialogue, dance, plotlines, and staging,
3. Quick-witted humor laced with puns, but lacking complexity, and
4. Short routines or sketches with minimal plot cohesion across a show.
All four of these aspects grew and changed over the years, but they solidly remained the four core parts of American burlesque as history knows it.
​
​
Gypsy Rose Lee
For more information on the life of Rose Louise Hovick, please click here.
Gypsy Rose Lee was Rose Louise Hovick's stage name when she first entered the burlesque business in 1926. Unlike the story the musical tells, her mother was not initially supportive of her burlesque career at all. Louise took a large step towards independence, starting her career in burlesque. She made the name change herself, as they were changing the marquee at one of the theatres before her show. Her career launched at the age of fifteen, and (as I am sure you all know) Gypsy Rose Lee soon became the most famous burlesque performer in American history.
​
What made Gypsy Rose Lee stand out from her fellow burlesque performers was her unique performance "gimmick" - she was a very modest stripper. She began her burlesque career at the age of fifteen: instead of emphasizing the stripping part of the striptease, she emphasized the tease part. She was well known for doing subtler stripping acts - taking off a glove, letting a strap fall off her shoulder, etc. She found a gimmick of her own, and it propelled her career forward because she had audiences on the edge of their seats. While this gimmick was widely accepted by many, but some audiences complained that Gypsy Rose Lee didn't strip enough, and others complained that she stripped more than she claimed to.
Gypsy Rose Lee performed with Minsky's Burlesque for four years. Minsky's Burlesque was an American burlesque group run by the four Minsky brothers: Abe, Billy, Herbert, and Morton Minsky. Their shows ran from 1912 through 1937, when the burlesque genre ran into trouble with the government (more on that to come). Minsky's was arguably the best burlesque group in all of New York (they were said to have ushers dressed in sexy French maid costumes that sprayed the audience with perfume), and although the competition was fierce for burlesque performers, Gypsy Rose Lee would always have a home at Minsky's.
Let's not forget about Mama Rose, however. After her initial dislike for burlesque (because starting a career in burlesque almost always signified the end of a vaudeville career), she eventually grew to be a huge part of Gypsy Rose Lee's success in the business.
It was said in newspaper articles whenever Gypsy performed that she would receive flowers from an anonymous admirer, and the other girls in the show would often receive threatening or hateful letters. This boosted Gypsy Rose Lee's popularity - clearly, she was well loved by audiences everywhere! Audiences clapped harder for her, and the admirers only ever left gifts for her. One evening Gypsy returned to her dressing room to see her own mother placing the flowers and the note at her table.
Rose Thompson Hovick left admirer letters for her daughter, sent threatening letters to the other girls, and hired people to clap in the audience for Gypsy Rose Lee's performances, all in the name of publicity.
​
Gypsy Rose Lee's career as a burlesque performer (or as an ecdysiast, the term journalist H. L. Mencken coined based on her performances) led to her film career, and her overall fame in American culture.
Decline of Burlesque
As mentioned above, Minsky's was arguably the most successful burlesque group in all of New York, if not, America. During their golden age, they ran six theaters in New York, as well as theaters in several other major cities. However, Minsky's always ran the risk of producing shows that were too risqué, and one day in 1935, it came to bite them in the butt.
A group of New York citizens called the burlesque immoral and took it up with the government. Famous politician Fiorello H. LaGuardia agreed with these protesters and helped NYC's city license commissioner start the process to take the Minsky license away. Unfortunately for them, the State Court of Appeals said they did not have the grounds to remove the Minsky license. Two years later when one of the performers was found without even her G-String on, that Minsky's theatre was raided, and the government revoked all of the Minskys' licenses across the country.
With the downfall of Minsky's, the demise of burlesque country-wide was inevitable. The art form slowly began to die out after that, and for a long time, the art form was not picked up again enough to make a revival.
Neo-Burlesque
Burlesque found its way back into the semi-mainstream world in the early 1990s. With the rise of drag performance, the art and style of burlesque were rejuvenated and revamped for more modern audiences. While many neo-burlesque performers today draw from the original style of burlesque (minimal costuming, often focusing on the female form; sexually suggestive dialogue, dance, plotlines, and staging; quick-witted humor laced with puns, but lacking complexity, and short routines or sketches with minimal plot cohesion across a show), many new ideas and tropes have been added since then. Drag is more common in the burlesque world than it was in the 1930s (see Violet Chachki's picture to the right), circus-like acts featuring aerial silks, aerial hoops, and great feats of flexibility, as well as acts that depend far more on technology and spectacle.
The 2010 film Burlesque starring Cher and Christina Aguilera notably presents a dramatized version of the Hollywood neo-burlesque scene. Many of the same elements of old and neo-burlesque are present in the movie, even if it isn't the most accurate depiction of the art form in history. You can watch a trailer for the movie here.
Arguably the best representation of neo-burlesque is in performance artist Dita von Teese (pictured above, and video below). Dita was fascinated with old Hollywood films from a very young age, and the inspiration for her career started there. She took dance lessons as a child, and eventually began performing in strip clubs until she worked her way up the food chain to where she is today: she is one of the biggest proponents of neo-burlesque, and as such, she tries to keep the art form honoring what burlesque really was, while keeping things new and fresh for her large audiences.
​
The interview with her below covers her love of burlesque and several clips from her shows. If she doesn't make you love burlesque as an art form, I don't know what will!
