Vaudeville acts comprise of a specific entertainment genre which was extremely popular in the US, Canada and even the UK (as Turns) to some extent. Prior to and even during for a short time; the Golden Age of film!

The Vaudeville era ran for approximately 50 years, from the 1880's to the 1930's, and many Famous Vaudeville acts went on to make a name for themselves in film. Buster Keaton was a Vaudeville genius, as was Charlie Chaplin.

These acts were what formed a variety show, they were short and generally unrelated acts which kept the entertainment coming. Vaudeville included short film, singing, dancing, magic, comedy; even bits and pieces from circus shows featuring animals and freak shows.

The birth of this genre in the 1870's saw it solidify as a separate form of entertainment, and it appealed hugely to the middle classes. It was inspired by variety halls and saloon acts, and by the 1890's had become such a popular form of entertainment that specific Vaudeville theatres were created to house these shows. Most major towns and cities had these, but with the introduction of cinema in the 1900's, this genre started to die out.

Cinema appealed even more to the middle and lower classes, as it was cheaper, and the killing blow for Vaudeville was seen to be the 1932 conversion of the Palace Theatre, in New York, into a cinema. However Vaudeville still made a significant impact.

Prior to Vaudeville, theatre was the wealthy mans domain and the poor and middle class had to make do with circuses and freak shows. These type of acts where brought to the stage, and very much like the plays of William Shakespeare appealed to the lower middle class, Vaudeville created a widely popular entertainment form.

In terms of its evolutionary importance in theatre history, Vaudeville may not have had as much of an impact as William Shakespeare, but it certainly has an important place particularly in the US. America was very much an immigrant country at the time and these acts helped to Americanize the population. It was inoffensive, clean entertainment, but it did perpetuate racist practices.

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