Revue

From ArticleWorld

When talking about a revue we are mentioning a form of theatrical entertainment made of of a combination of sketches, dance and music. Its main direction is satire, addressing up to date news, personalities and literature. The revue started out of uniting three types of past show types: burlesque, variety and minstrelsy. In 1866 the first such performance appeared and it was called The Black Crook.

Background

Revues are a good starting point for actors that want to get known. They were a very popular type of show on Broadway and have been a deciding factor in the launch of many celebrities such as Lorenz Hart or Richard Rodgers. The two were the first to really understand the power of revues and even started a very popular series of such performances in 1920. As time passed several authors stepped up and made a name for themselves as revue writers. The most well known are: Noel Coward, Sandy Wilson, Earl Carroll, Irving Berlin and Swann and Flanders.

Revues today

Nowadays we can notice a very wide spread use of this theatrical entertainment. For examples, many students are using revues to re-write songs and act out short plays in a hilarious form, addressing their colleagues, teachers and day to day topics. At the end of the 20th century we have noticed a very popular type of revue that takes out the skits and focus on the musical part of them. This is how many songs became popular, although composed by somebody else. The instrumental remains the same, sometimes being modified only in a short manner. Examples can be considered “Side by Side by Sondheim” (a song signed by Stephen Sondheim), “TomFoolery” (by Tom Lehrer), “Five Guys Named Me” (Jordan Louis) and “On The Record” (a song made famous by Walt Disney). Eventually there will be a decay in popularity because the news or topic used will also decrease in popularity. This is the sign that another one should be used.