ARTS

Variety show serves purpose

by Dan Fortune

Some conquest-minded students eagerly await the annual first-year talent variety show to catch that first glimpse of the fresh meat. Others are simply seeking a bassist for their fledgling indie-rock band. We want to see our peers do what they do best. We know we are in Oberlin as we watch the interpretive-dancing girl and the guitarist boy for the girls (and boys) to swoon over.

The night is reflective of who we are as a community. But in a larger context, the type of entertainment is reflective of who we are as a society. Very few of us actually understand what we are watching, nor do we understand its proper context.

I believe that the virtual death of variety entertainment is among the tragedies of the post-modern era. Once upon a time, our popular culture was inundated with mediums that showcased a diversity of talents, featuring songs, skits, novelty acts, animals, dancers, puppets, you name it. Musicians still have concerts, comedians do stand-up, actors act. But the apotheosis of the individuals joining together, all on one bill, has disappeared. A ten-minute segment on David Letterman with a stand-up, followed by the newest pop sensation just isn't cutting it.

From the traveling minstrel shows of the mid-18th century to the peak of vaudeville at the turn of the century, such assortments of live acts were a cornerstone of family entertainment. Up through the 1930s, even most movie houses had singing and dancing before and between showings.

When movies finally ended live variety entertainment as it was known, the void was filled by the series or specials that features soloists, girl groups, tap dancers, jugglers, comedians, lion tamers or anything that the network execs thought might get a jump in the ratings.

Soon enough, the more traditional pop acts were superseded by rock 'n' roll outfits, the precedent first set by Elvis Presley on the Ed Sullivan Show (arguably the most successful and most renown of the shows, it ran the longest, from 1948 to 1971). From that moment, TV variety shows struggled, often in vain, to capture a youthful audience. Perhaps the perfect example was Frank Sinatra's 1968 special, "Francis Albert Sinatra does his thing." Ol' blue eyes, draped in period hippie garb, took on a repertoire more contemporary than he was used to.

The age of TV variety shows ended in the first years of the 1980s, when MTV premiered. Popular music now has a grander, more powerful outlet on television; it no longer needed the networks. Variety entertainment is still around in some forms: concert halls still exist, vaudeville traditions are maintained in theater and cabaret. Every now and then, an odd-ball variety TV program will surface; tributes and telethons retain some of the structures of variety shows.

When I look to the Finney stage and see the roommates comedy sketch, I see Jerry Lewis and Ian Martin at their peak. The voice major singing showtunes up there reminds me of a drawn out TV solo spot. Whether they know the historical details or not, these participants represent the legacy of all that came before them.

But we, as the audience, are doing our part as well. So before jaded upperclassmen dismiss the show as typical or tired, first consider its importance in entertainment history. And to those who simply go for an evening of music, comedy and who knows what else, think of yourselves as keeping the tradition alive.

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Copyright © 1997, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 126, Number 1, September 5, 1997

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