Staging Vaudeville for a Twenty-First-Century Audience
applause .” Bayes ’ smiles , Caffin wrote , were offered “ with an archness which flatters you that she is confident you can see the humor as well as she can ” and her songs were rendered “ so simply and naturally that it is hard to catch the artifice .” The popular singer ’ s personality , a comedian remarked , was the yeast that raised her dough , proof of the skill with which she concealed her preparation . 29
Vaudeville stars like Nora Bayes appear frequently in the manager ’ s reports . Using her name as a keyword search brings up over 50 entries . From here , you can break down her performances by year , which allows one to see how her routine or its reception changed over time . In one of her earliest performances in 1903 , she arrived late to Philadelphia causing a delay but lived up to the praise she had previously received in Providence . The manager reported , “ She has a way of talking and acting her songs after the style of Edna Wallace Hopper , and although some of the more conservative in the audience might raise objections to her ‘ drunk ’ song , she possesses the cleverness to carry it artistically .” 30 By 1905 , she was considered a “ singing comedienne ,” so important was her style ; in Boston , the manager reported “ her dialect is excellent and she appears to have lost considerable of the freshness that characterized her initial appearance here . She receives two and three curtain calls .” 31 A Palace Theatre review emphasized that “ Lyric and melody are of secondary consideration to the usual Nora Bayes routine , the principal ' s personality , delivery , and stage tact constituting the value proper and she seems to have those three essentials in abundance right now , more so than ever . She walked off with all honors .” 32
Because of the strong presentation of personality in song , the direct appeal made vaudevillians easy subjects of impersonation . Well-known acts and performers like Bayes were sub-
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