Vaudeville Revue of 2022

Although a largely forgotten theatrical genre, vaudeville has informed American entertainment for well over a century. Vaudeville entertainers who transitioned into film, recording, and radio influenced the comic sensibilities of upcoming performers in the new genres of stand up, and television variety and sit coms.

Indianapolis itself had well known vaudeville houses: the Colonial, the Washington, the Majestic, the Walker Theatre, and the Lyric.  Popular performers, including Houdini, Burns and Allen, and Jack Benny came through the city with the B. F. Keith circuit.

While it broke societal norms by making celebrities of cross dressers of both genders and giving women performers autonomy, vaudeville also reflected the worst of contemporary prejudicial ethnic stereotypes and racial slurs. Both White and Black performers worked in blackface, a holdover from the days of the minstrel show.

Clerical Error Productions is launching a new initiative to bring back the best of vaudeville while discarding the prejudices of the past. The original vaudeville show was a catch all of numerous unrelated acts. Today, most theatre experiences are plays and musicals, with burlesque, storytelling events, improv, and talent shows existing on the fringes.

What’s lacking in Indianapolis is the variety format where local performers with unique skills such as juggling, stilt walking, ventriloquism, unicycling, acrobatics, and comedy teams can exhibit their talents.

Indianapolis has a wealth of these talented performers, square pegs who don’t fit in the round holes of the current Indianapolis theatre scene.  Clerical Error Productions intends to provide a niche and a market for these individuals in an inclusive, non-discriminatory environment: a vaudeville revival for the 21st Century.