The Heyday of Vaudeville.

The first two decades of the twentieth century were the heyday of vaudeville, a theatrical form that included performances such as music, dance, light drama, comedy, juggling, magic acts, animal acts. Vaudeville theaters featured several performances a day: in big-time vaudeville performers were expected to present their acts only twice a day, but small-time theaters offered as many as six shows a day. Some performers were lucky enough to get long-term employment in the same theater, but most spent considerable time touring, visiting the thousands of vaudeville theaters in towns all across the country.

The Theaters.

In addition to Keith-Albee and the Shuberts, new powers in vaudeville during the 1910s included Marcus Loew and William Fox, whose theaters, like many vaudeville houses of the day, showcased the new feature-length movies as well as live acts. Though some major American vaudeville...