Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Research: Costume Design of Vaudeville

I don't know if this'll have any impact on the eventual show, but here we go:

The matching getups worn by Joe and Buster [Keaton] were extremely weird, particularly the skull caps they sported, which had an odd, yarnlike fringe of hair that made the two of them look like Dr. Seuss characters.  Vaudeville comedy (like most comedy since ancient times) derived much of its novelty from its grotesquness. It was frequently close to what we consider "clowning" not only because of all the broad physical action (necessary to fill the big stage), but also thanks to the cartoonish appearance of the performers.  Pants, coats, and vests mismatched-- striped, polka-dotted or plaid, take your pick.  Battered top hats and derbies.  Bodies frequently distorted with padding. And, especially strange by today's standards, the monstrous makeup. Some, to modern eyes, look more disturbing than amusing. Yet it served a purpose. The seasoned vaudeville comedian could get a laugh without uttering a word just by wiggling or flexing an artificially enhanced part of the face; think of Groucho's eyebrows, Chaplin's mustache, and the lips of the mistrels for some well-known examples.

W.C. Fields' makeup as a tramp juggler renders him unrecognizeable. He may as well have become a bank robber. Weber and Fields were virtually spheroid with all their padding. And the added features of the glued-on pointy beards and derby hats, plus the fact that Joe Weber was five-foot-four, made them resemble the town fathers of Munchkinland.

  -- Trav S.D. No Applause, Just Throw Money!


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