<P> In the early 1880s , impresario Tony Pastor , a circus ringmaster turned theatre manager , capitalized on middle class sensibilities and spending power when he began to feature `` polite '' variety programs in several of his New York City theatres . The usual date given for the `` birth '' of vaudeville is October 24 , 1881 at New York 's Fourteenth Street Theater , when Pastor famously staged the first bill of self - proclaimed `` clean '' vaudeville in New York City . Hoping to draw a potential audience from female and family - based shopping traffic uptown , Pastor barred the sale of liquor in his theatres , eliminated bawdy material from his shows , and offered gifts of coal and hams to attendees . Pastor 's experiment proved successful , and other managers soon followed suit . </P>
<P> In the early 1880s , impresario Tony Pastor , a circus ringmaster turned theatre manager , capitalized on middle class sensibilities and spending power when he began to feature `` polite '' variety programs in several of his New York City theatres . The usual date given for the `` birth '' of vaudeville is October 24 , 1881 at New York 's Fourteenth Street Theater , when Pastor famously staged the first bill of self - proclaimed `` clean '' vaudeville in New York City . Hoping to draw a potential audience from female and family - based shopping traffic uptown , Pastor barred the sale of liquor in his theatres , eliminated bawdy material from his shows , and offered gifts of coal and hams to attendees . Pastor 's experiment proved successful , and other managers soon followed suit . </P>
low-brow variety show that originated in new york city
low-brow variety show that originated in new york city
vaudeville
vaudeville