Theatre In The 1920s Research Paper

Throughout the 1920s many things changed in the United States along with other countries. When World War 1 ended, some many countries struggled economically, but the United States was not one of them. At the time America was in a happy state with good economic standing. Since the U.S. was doing so well people were able to work less and enjoy more leisure activities such as sports, music on the radio, movies and Broadway theatre. Before the 1920s theatre was mainly for the rich and was not wildly popular, as people’s money situations changed so did theatre and Broadway Theatre grew in popularity with more people coming to the U.S. through Ellis Island. Centered in New York with its large population, Broadway theatre in the 1920s was filled of

As Larry Stempel writes, the five main forms of dancing up through the 1920s were tap, step, ballet, exhibition, and acrobatic. A form of dancing created in the 1920s was called American specialty dancing which was a combination of tap, step and ballet dancing. Ned Wayburn was one of the most known choreographers of the 1920s for creating elaborate dance routines that involved multiple standing arrangements (230-231). Another part of a Broadway production was the catchy tunes. As Stempel writes, jazz music was favored on Broadway for its upbeat tune, snappy dance rhythms , and catchy but often senseless lyrics. An example of a catchy Broadway showtune is the song I Want to Be Happy written by Irving Caesar, and performed in the musical Jonny Spielt Auf in 1927. One songwriter and composer who was not only well known in the 1920s, with a career lasting from 1920-1932, but is still known today for the song Tea for Two performed in the musical No No Nanette in 1925 (229-234). Many songs that became popular by being performed in Broadway theatres were later being played on both the phonograph and the radio (James Ciment 503). As Oscar Brockett writes, catchy tunes and elaborate dance numbers were combined with a simple plot line to create thousands of different plays with different plots, music and forms of dance. Although every play was

Before the 1920s Americans adapted many theatre ideas and techniques such as the circus and Vaudeville (Gray 303-305). As Gray writes, Vaudeville was the first main style of theatre which was created by Benjamin Franklin Keith in the early 1880s. Vaudeville shows typically had strict rules on plot, music and dance, lasted about twelve hours and consisted of seven to ten acts. During the days of Vaudeville, over twenty-five thousand performances took place from the 1880s until the 1920s . Vaudeville impacted 1920s Broadway Theatre because many actors, dancers, and other performers trained in the Bijou Theater which were Vaudeville theatre started (308). In the early years of theatre most of the audiences were people of the upper class (Galli 861). Starting in 1915 new ideas in theatre began to change and shape Broadway Theatre into what it is today: “The 1850s established a clear American tradition on the stage, with both the high period for theater profits running from the Civil War era until 1915” (Gray 304). As Hamilton writes comedies consisting of provocative scenes, sexual relations and sometimes prostitution grew in popularity in the 1920s. With an absurd and adventurous plot the play SEX became one of the most seen plays in 1926 (83-86). Audiences in the 1920s showed interest in plays that consist of