Baggy pants comedy : burlesque and the oral tradition / Andrew Davis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Davis, Andrew, 1952-

Series:

Palgrave studies in theatre and performance history

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Burlesque (Theater)--United States--History--20th century.

Burlesque (Theater).

Stand-up comedy--United States--History--20th century.

Stand-up comedy.

Comedy sketches--United States--History--20th century.

Comedy sketches.

History.

United States.

Physical Description:

xiii, 288 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.

Summary:

"Baggy Pants Comedy takes readers inside the burlesque houses of Depression-era America to explore the role of comedy in a show remembered mostly for strip-tease. It examines how burlesque comics, straightmen, and talking women approached the craft of comedy, working in a genre that relied not on scripts but on a remembered tradition of comedy bits that circulated orally. The book opens a long-neglected area of American folklore, presenting dozens of fondly-remembered routines like "Who's On First" and "Niagara Falls (Slowly I Turned)," as well as long-forgotten classics in print for the first time"--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

1 "Who's On First" and the Tradition of Burlesque Comedy 1

2 The Oral Tradition and the Popular Stage 17

3 The Pressures of Stock Burlesque 33

4 The Cast and Characters 51

5 Learning the Business 69

6 Bits and Blackouts 87

7 Scenarios, Scripts, and Schemas 107

8 Double Entendre Humor 123

9 Flirtations 137

10 Trickery 155

11 Brutality 171

12 Burlesques 191

13 Body Scenes 209

14 The Appeal of Burlesque Comedy 235.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780230116795

0230116795

OCLC:

703209400