- Key People:
- Charlie Chaplin
- Sonny Bono
- Edith Piaf
- Andy Williams
- Lupino Lane
- Related Topics:
- minstrel show
- vaudeville
- taproom concert
- saloon
- gang show
music hall and variety
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What is a music hall?
Music halls originated from 18th and 19th-century English tavern concerts, evolving into popular entertainment venues with singers, comedians, dancers, and more. To avoid licensing acts, smaller taverns created music clubs, while larger ones hired musicians and installed scenery.
The shows usually consisted of six to eight acts, such as comedy skits, juggling, magic, mime, acrobatics, dancing, singing, and one-act plays.
The music hall's low comedy was designed to appeal to the working and middle classes, caricaturing weddings, funerals, and other familiar events. Charles Morton is credited with establishing the English music hall with his Canterbury Hall in 1852. The American equivalent of the British music hall is vaudeville.
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What types of performances were common in music halls and variety shows?
Music halls and variety shows offered diverse performances, such as comedy skits, juggling, magic, mime, acrobatics, dancing, singing, and one-act plays. These shows typically consisted of six to eight acts. In the early 20th century, variety palaces presented large-scale acts, such as aquatic dramas and reenactments of chariot races.
Variety shows in the United States, inspired by vaudeville, featured an emcee and diverse acts, including musicians, comics, dancers, and jugglers. Early television variety shows included The Texaco Star Theatre, Ed Sullivan’s Toast of the Town, and Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts.
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When and where did music halls first become popular?
Music halls, a form of popular entertainment featuring singers, comedians, dancers, and other performers, first gained popularity in England during the 19th century. These halls evolved from taproom concerts in city taverns, where liquor sales covered expenses. Charles Morton is credited as the originator of the English music hall, with the establishment of Morton's Canterbury Hall in London in 1852. The Theatre Regulations Act of 1843 played a role, as it permitted drinking and smoking in music halls but not in legitimate theaters.
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How did variety theater differ from traditional theater?
Variety theater, also known as music hall, is a form of popular entertainment that differs significantly from traditional theater. Traditional theater typically involves a planned dramatic piece, often based on a written script, with a narrative sequence. In contrast, variety shows consist of successive, separate performances featuring singers, comedians, dancers, actors, jugglers, acrobats, and magicians.
Variety shows do not have a narrative line; instead, they focus on the technical skill of the performers. These shows originated in 18th and 19th-century English taverns and evolved into elaborate stage productions. By the 20th century, large-scale variety palaces dwarfed smaller music halls, offering diverse acts, from aquatic dramas to reenactments of historical events.
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Who were some famous performers in music hall and variety shows?
Music halls and variety shows, which originated in England in the 18th and 19th centuries, showcased diverse acts such as singers, comedians, dancers, actors, jugglers, acrobats, and magicians.
Some famous performers include:
* Marie Lloyd A London-born artiste known for her Cockney humor.
* Dan Leno A comic who was the first music-hall performer to give a command performance for King Edward VII.
* Vesta Tilley A singing comedienne and male impersonator.
* Harry Lauder A Scottish comedian.
* Little Tich Known for his short stature and elongated boots.
* Albert Chevalier An English performer.
* Gracie Fields An English performer.6 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How did music hall and variety entertainment influence modern theater and television?
Music hall and variety entertainment, originating from 18th and 19th-century English taverns, significantly shaped modern theater and television. These halls featured diverse acts like singers, comedians, dancers, and acrobats, appealing to a broad audience.
The structure of music hall influenced early radio and television programming, leading to variety shows and sitcoms. Shows like The Texaco Star Theatre and Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town adopted the variety format, showcasing a range of talents from musicians to comedians. The emphasis on live performance and audience engagement, inherited from music halls, also became a staple in comedy programs.
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music hall and variety, popular entertainment that features successive acts starring singers, comedians, dancers, and actors and sometimes jugglers, acrobats, and magicians. Derived from the taproom concerts given in city taverns in England during the 18th and 19th centuries, music hall entertainment was eventually confined to a stage, with the audience seated at tables; liquor sales paid the expenses. To discourage these entertainments, a licensing act was passed in 1751. The measure, however, had the contrary effect; the smaller taverns avoided obtaining licenses by forming music clubs, and the larger taverns, reacting to the added dignity of being licensed, expanded by employing musicians and installing scenery. These eventually moved from their tavern premises into large plush and gilt palaces where elaborate scenic effects were possible. “Saloon” became the name for any place of popular entertainment; “variety” was an evening of mixed plays; and “music hall” meant a concert hall that featured a mixture of musical and comic entertainment.
During the 19th century the demand for entertainment was intensified by the rapid growth of urban population. By the Theatre Regulations Act of 1843, drinking and smoking, although prohibited in legitimate theatres, were permitted in the music halls. Tavern owners, therefore, often annexed buildings adjoining their premises as music halls. The low comedy of the halls, designed to appeal to the working class and to men of the middle class, caricatured events familiar to the patrons—e.g., weddings, funerals, seaside holidays, large families, and wash day.
The originator of the English music hall as such was Charles Morton, who built Morton’s Canterbury Hall (1852) in London. He developed a strong musical program, presenting classics as well as popular music. Some outstanding performers were Albert Chevalier, Gracie Fields, Lillie Langtry, Harry Lauder, Dan Leno and Vesta Tilley.
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The usual show consisted of six to eight acts, possibly including a comedy skit, a juggling act, a magic act, a mime, acrobats, a dancing act, a singing act, and perhaps a one-act play.
In the early 20th century music halls were dwarfed by large-scale variety palaces. London theatres, such as the Hippodrome, displayed aquatic dramas, and the Coliseum presented reenactments of the Derby and chariot races of ancient Rome. These were short-lived, but other ambitious plans kept variety prosperous after the real music hall had been killed by the competition of the cinema.
Celebrities such as Sarah Bernhardt, Sir George Alexander, and Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree put on one-act plays or the last acts of plays; musicians such as Pietro Mascagni and Sir Henry Wood gave performances with their orchestras; popular singers of the 1920s, such as Nora Bayes and Sophie Tucker, elicited great enthusiasm; Diaghilev’s ballet, at the height of its fame, appeared in 1918 at the Coliseum on a program that included comedians and jugglers.
The advent of the talking motion picture in the late 1920s caused variety theatres throughout Great Britain to be converted into cinemas. To keep comedians employed, a mixture of films and songs called cine-variety was introduced, and there were attempts to keep theatres open from noon to midnight with nonstop variety. The Windmill Theatre near Piccadilly Circus, London, was notable among the few survivors that remained after World War II from what had been hundreds of music halls. The American equivalent of the British music hall is vaudeville. See also vaudeville.
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