No Applause--Just Throw Money: Or the Book That Made Vaudeville Famous
by Trav S. D.
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 35)
Read in March, 2006
Fairly interesting & detailed - S.D. starts with a brief look at the history of theater/performing arts, then segues into the disreputable "saloons" of the mid 1800's in America. The influx of immigrants & the development of the middle class helped push the creation of "good, clean fun" = dime museums & then vaudeville, which celebrated its heyday from about 1881 to around 1932.
Vaudeville in particular and show business in general = melting pot microcosm. Bla...more
Vaudeville in particular and show business in general = melting pot microcosm. Bla...more
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Read in July, 2007
It's sometimes hard to get your head around just how big Vaudeville was for a period of 30 years or so around the turn of the century and after. Where today we might gather to tut-tut about the last episode of Lost or the new Simpsons Movie, the ordinary folk of that age were mesmerized (literally, I guess, in the cases of the hypnotists) by the singers, dancers, jugglers, acrobats and dog acts (not to mention sports stars, like Babe Ruth, wandering on stage and making a quick buck) appearing t...more
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Read in February, 2007
recommends it for:
Carnies, Magicians, Singers of Songs and Tellers of Jokes
In comparison to most of the entertainment histories I've read, this one is a very casual, entertaining and occasionally hilarious read. At times it does get a bit repetitive and can often resort to just listing names of performers associated with different trends or styles. But it's a great introduction to a time and subject I'm interested to learn more about. It's given me a number of new names (or ones I've heard of but not been familiar with) to now research in more depth. I can't wait to bu...more
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Chock full of humorous and fascinating tidbits, Trav S. D. takes the reader on a tour of the fantastic, happily mimicking many of the dime museum purveyors he describes. Unfortunately, the constant litany of names and meandering structure did tend to drag down this usually pleasant and enlightening read.
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Read in March, 2006
recommends it for:
entertainment buffs
Please see my review at Amazon.com: Grace's No Applause Book Review
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Please click that my review was helpful at Amazon so that my rating continues to climb. Thanks!
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This was fun. A little too heavy into the details of people and place I have never heard of, but he clearly loves his subjuct and no subject is filled with so many odd characters as vaudeville.
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It took me a few chapters to get past S.D.'s hipster style, but I can't deny that there's a lot of excellent information packed into this book.
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Read in December, 2007
Fantastic. Witty and interesting, shows vaudeville for what it was rather than what it became. A+.
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