The bare economy: burlesque during the depression era

The feathers, the glitter and the G-string. These were the tools of the semi-clad girls who performed Vaudeville inspired dances and short comedy skits that sometimes ended with a striptease. Burlesque became one of the most popular forms of entertainment during the Depression era. Men were unemployed and idle and burlesque was cheap. It was even affordable for blue-collar workers who had been laid off from factories throughout the U.S.

But, by 1937, it had been banned in New York by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia who linked burlesque to prostitution. The Catholic Church agreed, and burlesque mostly died out --until now.

Burlesque -the stars and the stage

The Minsky Brothers' Theater, Times Square

Burlesque performers:

THE ROOTS OF THE TEASE

The word burlesque comes from the Italian (and Spanish) burla for 'joke' or 'comic.' The genre is inspired by everything from performance art to opera and vaudeville.

Burlesque had been around since the 1840s, but it was Lydia Thompson's British burlesque troupe in1860 that turned it into a hit. Thompson and her troupe shocked New York audiences with their gender-bending performance. Women, wearing tights, played men. The show, called, Ixion, became an instant success. And burlesque emerged as a tool to question gender roles.

The genre reached its peak with shows like Anatomy and Cleopatra during the Depression. Between the 1900-1930's, more than 200 theaters opened throughout the U.S. Burlesque performers would usually tour on a 40-week season with a troupe.

But it wasn't just about the girls, the pasties, or the skin. Like it's name, burlesque is often a comedic performance --and that includes men. Performers like Abbott and Costello, Andy Rooney and Bob Hope were consummate burlesque artists. A classic performance by Abbot and Costello:

Abbot and Costello's Who's on first?

Neo-Burlesque

The old theater hangouts and glamorous stars of Depression era burlesque have given way to the hipster bars and risque performances of the neo-burlesque movement. A working class entertainment has arrived for the middle classes.

The sex, the humor and the genderbending are all still there. But, modern burlesque --while paying homage to its roots-- is often explicitly feminist and political. The revival has sparked controversy among feminists. For some, neo-burlesque is simply an extension of raunch culture that teaches women to mistake sexist practises for liberation. For others, neo-burlesque subverts the mass-marketed, glossy female form in favor of all shapes and sizes.

Hear what the perfomers at The Public Assembly in Williamsburg have to say for themselves:

BillyBurg Neo-Burlesque
By: Madiha Tahir and Ethan Phillips