Summary Of The Play 'Strength In The Striptease'
THE3312
Theatre History II
Roxanne LeBlanc
4/6/16
Strength in the Striptease
An analysis of how Ixion gave woman power in the theatre through the art American Burlesque. When society thinks of the term "burlesque," immediately our minds are programed to think of female strippers shaking and shimmying to sexy big brass music. Some might even find it appalling yet only a few know of its true origin. The idea of teasing audience members with stripping down to lacey lingerie actually comes into burlesque in its later years and in our current culture today. At its best however, burlesque was a rich source of music and comedy that kept American audiences laughing from 1840 through the 1960s in the form of gender bending humor and immodestly dressed …show more content…
It was all about the spoof or “burlesquing” everything from social habits of the upper class to a new spin of a popular opera of the time. They typically consisted of three parts. First, songs and vulgar comic bits by low lining male comedians. Second, assorted vaudeville numbers and male acts, such as acrobats, magicians and clowns; and third, chorus numbers and or a burlesque on politics or a current play. The entertainment was usually concluded by an exotic dancer or a wrestling or boxing match and always consisted of women dressing in drag. Up until now, men, especially in European drama, played women’s roles and the woman of burlesque jumped at the opportunity to turn the tables in a farcical way. When America hit the 1860s things began to change. In this time Victorian fashion was still the norm on and off the stage. Women went through great lengths to cover their physical bodies and hide their natural silhouettes. Woman hid underneath uncomfortable corsets, petticoats, frills of fabric and hoop skirts in order to fit in with society’s standards of propriety. While actresses spent majority of their earnings trying to keep up their costumes up to date with the expensive lavish taste of society. WEMON OBJECTIFIED IN SOCIETY. That is until Lydia Thompson arrived to New York from Great Britain in
Theatre History II
Roxanne LeBlanc
4/6/16
Strength in the Striptease
An analysis of how Ixion gave woman power in the theatre through the art American Burlesque. When society thinks of the term "burlesque," immediately our minds are programed to think of female strippers shaking and shimmying to sexy big brass music. Some might even find it appalling yet only a few know of its true origin. The idea of teasing audience members with stripping down to lacey lingerie actually comes into burlesque in its later years and in our current culture today. At its best however, burlesque was a rich source of music and comedy that kept American audiences laughing from 1840 through the 1960s in the form of gender bending humor and immodestly dressed …show more content…
It was all about the spoof or “burlesquing” everything from social habits of the upper class to a new spin of a popular opera of the time. They typically consisted of three parts. First, songs and vulgar comic bits by low lining male comedians. Second, assorted vaudeville numbers and male acts, such as acrobats, magicians and clowns; and third, chorus numbers and or a burlesque on politics or a current play. The entertainment was usually concluded by an exotic dancer or a wrestling or boxing match and always consisted of women dressing in drag. Up until now, men, especially in European drama, played women’s roles and the woman of burlesque jumped at the opportunity to turn the tables in a farcical way. When America hit the 1860s things began to change. In this time Victorian fashion was still the norm on and off the stage. Women went through great lengths to cover their physical bodies and hide their natural silhouettes. Woman hid underneath uncomfortable corsets, petticoats, frills of fabric and hoop skirts in order to fit in with society’s standards of propriety. While actresses spent majority of their earnings trying to keep up their costumes up to date with the expensive lavish taste of society. WEMON OBJECTIFIED IN SOCIETY. That is until Lydia Thompson arrived to New York from Great Britain in