vaudevillian

[vawd-vil-yuhn, vohd-, vaw-duh-]

noun

1. Also vaudevillist. a person who writes for or performs in vaudeville.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of vaudeville.

Word History and Origins

Origin of vaudevillian¹

First recorded in 1925–30; vaudeville + -ian

Example Sentences

The book by Jay Thompson, Marshall Barer and Dean Fuller, which infuses vaudevillian mirth into “The Princess and the Pea,” has been updated by Amy Sherman-Palladino to be more in keeping with contemporary sensitivities.

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For one thing, the vaudevillian madness onstage — which juxtaposes twee songs with violent video, highbrow with Hollywood, the mundane with the alien — does not build on its political subject matter.

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It’s a younger generation than the new vaudevillians like Bill Irwin and David Shiner, but this group has the same inventiveness, ambition and dedication to breathing new life into old shtick.

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To generations of musical aficionados, Ms. Rivera was a whirling, bounding, high-kicking elemental force of the dance; a seductive singer of smoky ballads and sizzling jazz; and a propulsive actress of vaudevillian energy.

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When Parkkinen wants to expand the class’ repertoire, he visits Los Angeles’ Central Library and peruses the performance section; recently he was inspired by exercises found in a 1920s book for vaudevillians.

Read more on Seattle Times