Revue
A plotless stage show stitched from songs, sketches and topical satire
Related
Revue is a stage form that grew out of nineteenth-century Paris: no continuous plot, only songs, dances, sketches and solo turns strung together, all aimed at current news, politics and celebrities.
The Folies Bergère, London's West End and Broadway all used it; the Ziegfeld Follies pushed lavish scenery and chorus lines to their limit. Its unit is the number, not the act.
It is not a musical, which has a book and character arcs, nor cabaret, which is small, intimate and performed among tables. What separates it from vaudeville is a unified production and a satirical theme, not a mixed bill.
Sources
- 巴黎时事歌舞剧的段子结构、齐格飞富丽秀与百老汇，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Revue"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.