Vaudeville: The Evolving American Dream

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The American Dream, something nearly 11.4 million people immigrate to America in search of. Except the American Dream today is something that has been evolving since its genesis in order to adapt to the changing ways of society. In the early 1880’s many immigrants took part in Vaudeville, something nowadays akin to a talent show of sorts. People started to seek more diversified amusement, finding it in the touring traveling companies that Vaudeville was known for. Vaudeville stood for more than solely entertainment, it embodied and reflected the rapidly changing tides of the American culture, providing an up close and personal look at the progressing melting pot composed of a myriad of divergent ethnic and racial backgrounds. With the advancement of Vaudeville also came the emergence of continuous acts formed together by music and acting, better known as a musical. …show more content…

This fearlessness was something that Broadway idealized, ultimately opening the doors for playwrights and composers to speak their mind by means of the shows they produced. A few leading shows in this field were the musicals Chicago, Pacific Overtures, and A Chorus Line. Each of the three plays tackled their own social injustices all while also embedding individualized views of the glorified American Dream inside their works. Chicago and A Chorus Line take you behind the scenes in the world of Broadway, one tackling the injustices of the media and glorification of crime, and the other puts a light on the “small people” often forgotten in

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