The New York
Public Library for the Performing Arts > Vaudeville
Fanny Brice as a "typical
New York girl," ca. 1910.
Billy Rose Theatre Collection
Comics were featured on every bill. They could work solo
or in teams. All varieties of gender and ethnic performance
were presented – the multi-cultural audiences loved to
laugh at their own lives, struggles and successes. Comics
from immigrant communities developed characters that were
exaggerations of their own recent pasts. Some comics used
language, basing their jokes on words and puns; others
relied on physical or visual humor, such as exaggerated
costumes or walks.