Striparama Striptease Burlesque

Cavalcade of Burlesque, Volume 1, Number 4
Burlesque Historical Company
New York, New York
1952

digital replica

If Striparama focused on the glamor facet of burlesque, Cavalcade of Burlesque shows us the complete theatrical presentation, paying lots of attention to comedians, managers and circuits. The founder and Executive Director of Cavalcade, Jess Mack, had a successful career as straight man to many top bananas in the business.

The publication blends aspects of trade journal and fan magazine, often expressing the respect of performers for each other. More than 50 publicity photos of strippers and dancers appear on the magazine's 52 pages. These leggy lovelies include Pat Robbins, Barbara Williams, Helen Corey, Marie Bradley, Virginia Kinn, Torchy Bair, o-Anne Duprez, Bonnie Blue, Anita Marie, Ruth Allen and Ann Palmer in black ballet shoes. Most photos show the stripper's name.

More than a dozen prose pieces offer profiles of theater professionals who earned their chops as comedians, dancers or backstage. Stories describe their migration from vaudeville to burlesque wheels, partnerships, and surprising experiences. Articles about strippers often tell how they were introduced to the ecdysiast business.

Each Cavalcade, issue begins with an Introduction from a burlesque veteran who went on to become successful in motion pictures, television or other media. Burt Lahr — who played the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz of 1939 — had this to say:

. . . I still credit everything to my training in burlesque. A native New Yorker, I got my stage start in a "School Days" vaudeville act, subsequently graduating to burlesque. Those years are a fond memory . . . .

One feature explores the world of Eva Collins, a Philadelphia costumer who specializes in dressing burlesque performers.

NO matter how scanty—you have to be dressed for burlesque! And the ultimate is the designing and making of special costumes and wardrobe of all types that "show a little here; a little there" while keeping either the chorus or the strip teasers dressed or "covered" at the same time.

Naturally, this specialized type of dress making is a far cry from any other branch of the garment industry.
To be well groomed or to be attired in sartorial elegance is an asset for anyone. Just so it is with the personnel of a burlesque show. A well "dressed" production can be depended upon to enhance proceedings and give "flash" and verve to what goes on before the curtains, and scenery.

One of the most adroit among theatrical costumers in the country today is Eva Collins, Collins Creative Costuming Company, Philadelphia, who designs and oversees the production of much of the burlesque "dressing" today. Much of her work is not only a revelation; but revealing as well. The tricks she does with hooks, eyes, zippers, bits of material of all sorts and even with rhinestones is truly dressmaker's "magic". From a strip gown that comes apart in sections to outfits for choruses of 20 or more, all identical, Eva can come up with a new idea with practically every order. Her talented fingers can do magic with patterns, as well as with needle and thread, and in her time she has created thousands of individual costumes and thousands more identical sets for burlesque and night club choruses the country over.

The racks in Collins' warehouse are stacked high with sets of all manner of chorus costumes from Spanish numbers to bits of this and a very little of that for scanty "coverings" for jazz numbers. These are available at nominal rentals for burlesque and other theatrical producers, who in staging their various numbers have but to get the proper music, sometimes, the proper stage set; and then pick out from Eva their choice of the hundreds and hundreds of sets of chorus costumes on hand, available and "in stock" at her Philadelphia headquarters.

For a strip gown creation the procedure is a trifle different. The strip star comes to Miss Collins, ofttimes with some definite ideas of her own about the wardrobe. The two women put their heads together; and nine times out of ten, come up with a startlingly new, different, and definitely original and unique creation.

Curtain Time provides the dialog and stage direction for three authentic burlesque comedy sketches. Another article reveals the history of burlesque in England.

Business-to-business advertisers sell costume fabrics, costumes, music arrangements, stage equipment, tickets, posters, talent placement, photography, feathers, footwear, and the onstage services of entertainers. Restaurants, bars and hotels offer their wares to traveling performers.

The ebook is a full-sized, page-by-page digital replica that retains the page sequence of the original. Some page layouts were revised to present photographs and text at original sizes.

Brightness, contrast and levels were adjusted and shadows reduced. Images transposed to ebook format with clarity.

All new scans.

A nostalgic artifact of mid-century bawdiness, Cavalcade of Burlesque pays sincere respect to the performance artists who made audiences dream and laugh. With its view from the wings and dressing rooms, we're privy to the nuts and bolts of an old stagecraft that pleased generations.

One ebook, delivered by download from your 30th Street Graphics account.