A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts (hence the name), especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère (master of ceremonies) or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling and ventriloquism. The variety format made its way from Victorian era stage to radio to television. Variety shows were a staple of anglophone television from its early days into the 1970s, and lasted into the 1980s. In several parts of the world, variety TV remains popular and widespread.
Read more about Variety Show: History, Contemporary U.S. Variety Shows, Other Countries
Famous quotes containing the words variety and/or show:
“In different hours, a man represents each of several of his ancestors, as if there were seven or eight of us rolled up in each man’s skin,—seven or eight ancestors at least, and they constitute the variety of notes for that new piece of music which his life is.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The English Bible—a book which, if everything else in our language should perish, would alone suffice to show the whole extent of its beauty and power.”
—Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800–1859)