In October 1895, the American Gaiety Girls, a burlesque show that Houdini starred in and co-managed, played the Palace Theater on Court Street. This review from the Boston Post gives an excellent idea of what the show was like and singles out The Houdinis and their "European illusion or box trick" for special attention.
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| Boston Post, Oct. 29, 1895. |
Notice that "dashing burlesquer" Flo Harvey is part of the show. Years later, Flo came to see Houdini when he got his big break in vaudeville at the Omaha Orpheum. Houdini mentions her attendance in his diary, which you can read for yourself in Escaping Obscurity: The Travel Diary of Harry Houdini 1897-1899.
The American Gaiety Girls returned to the Palace in Boston in March 1896 and once again received good reviews.
Want more? You can see a rare handwritten letter from Houdini this time, read more reviews, and see images of the Palace as a "Scholar" member of my Patreon below.
Flo and Lottie are the "full strength" of the show, so they were the closers. So in vaudeville the acts were sequenced weakest to finally the strongest?
ReplyDeletePretty much, yes. In vaudeville, the second-to-last act was the star turn. But this is Burlesque, so it's a little different. In Burlesque, it's more about beginning and ending with pretty girls. Here "full strength" refers to the entire company performing in the big final number, with Flo and Lottie leading as the star burlesquers.
DeleteDid they sing “Ta ra ra boom de ay”? 🤣 Houdini would definitely know that song. It came out in 1892 I think. - Abby Martin
ReplyDeleteHaha. It's possible!
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