vaudeville

/'voudəvil/

Thân thiện

A performer sings and dances on a vaudeville stage.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A type of theatrical entertainment: Vaudeville refers to a live variety show popular in the United States and Canada from the late 19th to early 20th century. It featured a succession of unrelated acts, including songs, dances, comedy sketches, acrobatics, magic, and animal acts.

Usage

• Vaudeville was a dominant form of popular entertainment before the rise of radio and cinema.
• It is used to describe a specific historical genre of performance or, by extension, any fast-paced variety show with diverse acts.

Examples

• Noun:
  • Charlie Chaplin and the Marx Brothers began their careers in vaudeville.
  • The theater was built in 1910 and originally hosted vaudeville shows.
  • The festival's opening night was a modern tribute to vaudeville, featuring jugglers, stand-up comics, and a tap dancer.

Advanced Usage

• "to play the vaudeville circuit": To tour and perform in a series of vaudeville theaters.
  • As a young singer, she played the vaudeville circuit for three years before landing a radio contract.

Variants and Related Words

• Vaudevillian (noun): A performer in vaudeville.
  • The old vaudevillian shared fascinating stories from the heyday of variety theater.

Synonyms

• Variety show: A general term for entertainment consisting of a series of short, unrelated performances.
• Music hall: The British equivalent of vaudeville.

Related Idioms

• "That's pure vaudeville!": An expression used to describe a situation, behavior, or performance that is overly theatrical, broad, or comically exaggerated in a manner reminiscent of old variety acts.
  • His over-the-top reaction to the spilled milk was pure vaudeville!

Học thuật

Noun

1. a variety show with songs and comic acts etc.

Từ đồng nghĩa

• music hall