Throughout my research, I have looked at past and present variety performers such as Penn and Teller, The Marx Brothers, Paul Daniels and Paul Zerdin. There are many different types of variety shows such as live shows, televised shows, game shows, talent competitions, talk shows, cruise ships, holiday camps and many more. I shall also focus on the key features of a variety performance
Some examples of live variety shows are, Saturday Night Live, The Andy Williams Show, The Dean Martin Show, The Lawrence Welk Show, The Muppet Show and The Colgate Comedy Hour.
Also some examples of talent competitions are The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent, The Voice, and many more.
A variety performance is a show that consists of many different acts such as Magicians, Ventriloquists, Sketch Comedies, Acrobatics, Juggling, Impressionists and many more more. All of this normally introduced by the host of the evening. The key features of a Variety performance is how some skills are used within the act, for example movement, how they move around the stage and interaction, how they get the audience involved to keep them engaged. Some of the venues used for a variety performance are galas, theatres. The purpose of a variety performance is a chance for everyone in the entertainment business to come together, who maybe haven’t done something like that before and show everyone what they can do and make themselves stand out to every other act. There are many venues were variety performances are held but just to name a few, it has been held at galas and theatres.
As well as this, in my research I found that in the history of variety performance that in the early 20th century, new purpose-built theatres, many designed by Frank Matcham, sprang up across Britain. The buildings varieEmpires, Palaces and Hippodromes, beautiful Edwardian theatres with chandeliers, gold leaf decorations and red plush velvet seats. Unlike music halls where the audience sat at tables, the Edwardian theatres had proscenium arches, with fixed seats and separate bar and auditorium.
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I would like to focus on some of the acts that is performed in the variety show, such as an impressionists. What is an impressionist?, you say, well an impressionist is a performer whose act consists of imitating sounds, the voice and mannerisms of people or animals. The word usually refers to a professional comedian/entertainer who specializes in such performances and has developed a wide repertoire of impressions, including adding to them, often to keep pace with current events. Impressionist performances are a classic casino entertainment genre.
Another act is an illusionist, which is a touring magic production which features a rotating cast of 5 to 8 magicians who all specialise in specific branches of magic from stage illusions to mind reading to escapology and comedic magic.
An artist I have researched is Penn & Teller, who are American magicians and entertainers and have performed together since the late 1970s, noted for their ongoing act that combines elements of comedy with magic. They have done many shows such as Penn & Teller: Bullshit! (2003), Penn & Teller Get Killed (1989) and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998).
When performing they are known for Magic, comedy, skepticism. Also, they have won awards such as the Richard Dawkins Award and the Obie Award for Special Citations.
For over 40 years they have redefined the genre of magic and inventing their own very distinct niche in comedy. Also they had eight wins, including 2015, as “Las Vegas Magicians of the Year,” their 15-year run at The Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino makes them the longest running and one of the most-beloved headline acts in Las Vegas history, outselling every other resident magician on The Strip.
Paul Zerdin is another artist I researched, he is a ventriloquist and a comedian. He is 46 years old and he made made his TV debut in 1993 as the host of GMTV’s ‘Rise and Shine’. He then went on to win ITV’s The Big Big Talent Show, hosted by Jonathan Ross. Since then he has appeared on countless TV shows including The World Stands Up (Comedy Central), The Stand Up Show BBC!, Just for Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival, Comedy Rocks with Jason Manford (ITV1), Tonight at The London Palladium (ITV1), Michael McIntyre’s Big Christmas Show (BBC1) and three appearances at The Royal Variety Performance. Winning Series 10 of America’s Got Talent in September 2015, Zerdin and his sidekicks soon went viral on YouTube, receiving millions of views from around the world. He has four puppets Sam, Baby, Alasdair Rimmer and Albert.
In 2016 he performed in the London Palladium’s first pantomime in over 30 years as Buttons in Cinderella. He also went to the Las Vegas Strip for a headline residency at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. As well as this Paul Zerdin is returning to the UK in September with a 45-date tour of ‘All Mouth’. This new UK tour will end with a 3 night residency at London’s Leicester Square Theatre 24-26 November.
As well as this, I researched Paul Daniels, who is sadly not with us anymore. He died 17th March 2016 at the age of 77. However, when he was alive, from the moment he burst onto the ITV network, and later switched to the BBC, his magic shows topped the ratings. His creative genius enabled him to produce consistently stunning shows, never rivalled in spectacle, covering the full range of the world of entertainment magic, from small, ‘close-up’ effects, to enormous outside broadcast illusions. With a reputation as one of the most popular society and show-business entertainers, Paul has entertained The Royal Family including Princes William and Harry, The Sultan of Brunei, The Sultan of Oman, Prince Rainier of Monaco, Barry White, John Major (Prime Minister), James Callaghan (Prime Minister), Princess Michael of Kent, The Duke and Duchess of Wessex, and countless others.
His fame and achievements are not confined to the UK where he is a household name. The USA, Canada, New Zealand, Germany, Spain, and Japan have all recognised him as a world-class entertainer. Amongst his numerous achievements, he has starred in his own hugely successful West End Theatre Show, headlined in Las Vegas and Broadway, as well as performing more unique magic on TV than any other magician in history. His TV career has not been limited to performing magic. As a presenter, he has hosted some of the most enjoyable game shows on TV. ‘Odd One Out’, ‘Every Second Counts’ and the highly rated ‘Wipe Out’ have all had great success in the battle for viewers. There was also the wonderful ‘Wizbit’ children’s series, which featured a world of magic and wonder for the younger viewer. Always in demand as a guest on talk-shows, Paul’s vibrant personality and love for magic make for a fascinating viewing, and his endless supply of stories and anecdotes from a lifetime in show-business make for riveting viewing.
Despite all the success of TV, it is in the area of live shows that Paul’s talent really shines. Be it in cabaret, after dinner, outdoor stadium or the grandest of theatres, or the private homes of the rich and the famous, Paul Daniels’ ability with magic and humour is always a winner.
For fourteen months Paul starred at the Prince of Wales theatre in the heart of London’s West End, something no other variety entertainer had been able to do for decades. Other short seasons in London’s West end have even included appearing in the Moliere play ‘School for Wives’ at the Comedy Theatre.
Not only that, he has won many awards such as Male Entertainer of The Year, Variety Club of Great Britain Show Business Personality of the Year, Hollywood Academy of Magical Arts & Sciences Magician of the Year, Lewis Ganson Award, Golden Rose of Montreaux and The Magic Circle ‘Maskelyne’
Finally, the last artist I researched is The Marx Brothers, who was a group of actors, Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Zeppo, known for Duck Soup (1933), Animal Crackers (1930) Horse Feathers (1932) A Night in Casablanca (1946) A Day at the Races (1937) and A Night at the Opera (1935). They began their careers in Vaudeville, before becoming stars in the movies.
Their uncle Abraham Elieser Adolf, later became known as Al Sheen the comedian. As well as this, their grandfather Levy, an umbrella maker who had worked as a ventriloquist and grandmother Fanny who played the harp, so the brothers were not the first family members on a stage. Also, Minnie helped her brother Al Sheen getting into show business and decided early that her children should follow him. Chico played the piano in pubs, Groucho sang as a boy soprano. The first performance in the Marx Brothers style as we know it was Fun in Hi Skule in 1912. Other shows were Mr Green’s Reception, Home Again, On the Mezzanine Floor and I’ll Say She Is which became their first big success in 1924. After Home Again Gummo left show business and became an agent. He was replaced by Zeppo.
What followed was The Cocoanuts a Broadway show which became their first film. This show as well as Animal Crackers was originally written for the stage and what we see today are more or less filmed versions of the stage productions. These stage performances gave them the possibilities to test the script before an audience and so they perfected the puns and timing. The went back on stage for test performances when filming A Night at the Opera.
From 1929 on they were mainly active in filming. In their first films they appeared as The Four Marx Brothers (Chico, Harpo, Groucho, Zeppo), but Zeppo left the movie business after Duck Soup. From 1929 to 1949 they made 13 films. After that Chico and Harpo more or less retired, but Groucho started a second career as a show master in the quiz show You Bet Your Life.