This thesis studies the nostalgic years of Burlesque through the career of Kitty Madison. Burlesque theatres, which were once numerous and plentiful during the early part of the twentieth century, began to decline and close during the 1930's. Various reasons are given for the death of Burlesque; advancing technology in other media, the birth of radio and talking films for example; the Great Depression and the resulting lack of money necessary for mounting productions which would be competitive with vaudeville and legitimate theatre in terms of scenic spectacle; and most significantly, the changing moral views of the American society. / Burlesque mirrored the hedonism of the 1920's with comic skits featuring scantily clad ladies who, with a wink or suggestive gesture, implied that their sexual favors could be obtained. As the decade progressed, the sexual suggestions became broader and broader, the tease evolved into the strip and audiences of the twenties flocked to the Burlesque theatres. This calibre of entertainment, while socially acceptable to a large segment of the general public of the morally relaxed Jazz Age, proved to be inappropriate and unacceptable the following decade. Burlesque was unable to adapt and incorporate the more sober social and moral attitudes of the thirties emphasizing the work ethic and a return to the more traditional American values. Faced with failing attendance and loss of profits, most Burlesque theatres ceased operations or converted to cinemas. Burlesque did not die completely; it had created, or at least identified, a market for live pornography, and continued to cater to that need and became the dregs of the entertainment industry. / It was important that a study of Burlesque be completed because Burlesque mirrors and illumines a period of American history and the social and cultural values of a segment of the public in that time. This study cannot pretend to meet completely such an objective, but it makes a beginning by examining the experiences of one of Burlesque's important stars, Kitty Madison. / The reminiscences and scrap books of Kitty Madison suggest insights about an important transition of recent American social history. The 1920's represents to social historians Loren Baritz, William Leuchtenberg, Henry May, Henry Steele Commager, Lewis Allan and others, a period in which the disintegration of American values was recorded and "shook American society to its depths." Kitty Madison's career in Burlesque and decisions she made in her personal life are representative of the confusion of moral values and standards which occurred in American society and provide important insights into the social history of the period. / In addition to what can be learned about American social history from the papers of Kitty Madison, important things can be learned about practices in the American theatre during the first third of the twentieth century. I have edited the transcription of a taped interview with Kitty Madison. The entire unedited transcription of the interview is set forth in the Appendix. In addition, Miss Madison's own words in her own style provide a feeling of the person she is and the times she lived in. She is a colorful person and the oral history approach allows her personality to surface whereas paraphrasing or reporting her comments diminishes her personality. / The 1920's, the decade in which Kitty Madison was most active in show business, in vaudeville as well as Burlesque, represents that time in American social history during which a transition occurred in moral values. This transition is reflected in the history of Burlesque and in the career of Kitty Madison. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-07, Section: A, page: 2833. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_74227 |
| Contributors | HARVEY, JOEL., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 171 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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