Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2007 - 63

book

reviews
Pretty Things

The Last Generation of American Burlesque Queens

By Liz Goldwyn; New York, Regan Books, 2006;
304pp., ill. (some col.) ISBN 0060889446,
Cloth, $44.95.
Reviewed by Mary Carol Friedrich
This book is about strippers. More speciﬁcally, it is somewhat of a history of the heyday
of American burlesque in the ﬁrst half of the
twentieth century. I say somewhat because it is
more archaeology than history, with the author's
carefully collected fragments pieced together
to perceive the whole. It is also an anthology
of biographies of the queens, their costume designers, and choreographers. It is a unique and
informative compilation of memories, snapshots, sketches, and notes of a select group of
women who were known as burlesque queens.
The author, Liz Goldwyn, granddaughter
of Samuel Goldwyn, is extremely empathetic in
her research and telling of this era. She even
learned a strip routine from one of the retired
burlesque queens and includes photographs
of herself wearing some of the burlesque costumes. Goldwyn states in her prologue her desire "to showcase [the burlesque queens'] glory
years . . . so that their role in entertainment history can be reexamined and 'legitimized.'" The
title of the book comes from the reminiscences
of one such queen and her description of the
typical opening of a burlesque show, a stage
tableau of nearly naked women, "pretty things."
The famous Gypsy Rose Lee and Sally Rand are
mentioned but are not the focus of the book.
The burlesque queens featured are names I've
never heard before. They are women Goldwyn
met and interviewed personally. The ﬁrst-person reminiscences of these women, the heart
of the book, are quite compelling. The costume
sketches and photographs are also fascinating.
This book is well worth your time if you are researching burlesque.
I read a pre-publication copy of the book,
so I hope the problems of grainy or faded photographs and repeated or unﬁnished phrases
will be resolved once in publication. The organization can be a little confusing at times, with
repetitions of stories, photographs without cap-

THEATRE

DESIGN

tions, explanations of photographs that only appear ten pages later, or not at all, and a chapter
about a chorus girl that seems out of place.
The prehistory of burlesque is conﬁned to
the introduction but quite literally sets the stage,
starting with Aristophanes and Shakespeare. It
clariﬁes the role of the Ziegfeld Follies in glamorizing burlesque. The body of the book is divided into two main parts, "Creating the Act,"
a detailed how-to section, and "The Queens,"
which is what these women were both on and
off the stage.
The chapter on "Costumes" in "Creating
the Act" is a treasure. It is very thorough, including a layer by layer description of a "standard elegant burlesque costume." There are
fascinating comparisons here and later in the
book of Hollywood's modest interpretations
of risqué costumes and the actual burlesque
costumes that inspired them. As a researcher,
I would have found more cross-referencing of
pictures to text helpful. "Onstage" is a chapter
detailing the acts and structure of a burlesque
show, including a couple of set and lighting
notes. The next chapter, on Anita Arden, is an
interesting look at the life of a burlesque chorus
girl but seems out of place. It doesn't really ﬁt
into either of the two parts of this book. It does
little to further the understanding of how an act
is created, the focus of this section of the book.
Anita Arden was not a star or queen of the burlesque, so her story does not quite belong in the
last section of the book devoted to the biographies of the queens.
One of the best parts of the next chapter,

"Dance," is the handwritten choreography notation by one of the featured burlesque queens,
Zorita. It's detailed, graphic, and inadvertently
amusing. "Gimmicks" describes how burlesque
dancers would individualize their acts by emphasizing personal assets, to put it delicately,
or through the use of props. Sally Rand's giant bubble and feather fans are mentioned as
examples. The chapter "Backstage" presents
the codes of conduct of the burlesque circuit.
Watching another stripper's act from the wings,
for example, was considered improper. This
is the ﬁrst time some seedier elements of burlesque are described, including the ﬁlthy dressing rooms and the leering comedians.
Part II, "The Queens," consists of the
touching, respectful and eminently readable
biographies and memoirs of ﬁve women who
were stars of burlesque: Betty Rowland, "The
Ball of Fire," her sister, Dian Rowland, "Society's
Sweetheart," June St. Clair, "The Platinum Princess," Lois De Fee, "The Amazon of Burlesque,"
and Zorita, "The Lady and Her Snakes." In Betty
Rowland's chapter are a few more interesting
photo comparisons of burlesque costumes to
the censor-friendly movie versions. The other
chapters describe the often tragic lives of these
women and how they did or did not come to
terms with their careers.
The book's ending chapter on Zorita is a
eulogy not only for this burlesque queen, who
died during the author's research, but for burlesque itself. My favorite quote from the book,
one that makes me smile and summarizes the
demise of burlesque very well, is by costume
designer Gussie Gross: "When burlesque went
topless, I lost half of my business, and when it
went bottomless it put me out of business."
Mary Carol (M.C.) Friedrich is an
associate professor at Michigan Technological
University (Michigan Tech), where she teaches
lighting, costume, scene design, and technical
theatre, and, manages the costume shop. She
was the author, with Valerie Lane, of "Vintage
Costumes of the Chicago Vaudeville" in the
summer 2004 issue of TD&T.
Copyright 2007 United States Institute for Theatre Technology, Inc.

TECHNOLOGY
WINTER

2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2007