Burlesque is a play in three acts co-written by George Manker Watters and Arthur Hopkins. Set in the 1920s, the play takes place at a burlesque theater somewhere in the Midwestern United States, at a hotel suite in New York City, and at the Star Theatre in Paterson, New Jersey. While described as a play and not strictly speaking a musical, the show did include songs with music by Albert Von Tilzer and Peter De Rose, and lyrics by Joe Trent and Edward Grant. Starring Barbara Stanwyck, Hal Skelly, and Oscar Levant, the play opened at Broadway's Plymouth Theatre on September 1, 1927 where it ran for 372 performances; closing on July 14, 1928.^[1]

Burlesque was later successfully revived on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre where it played from December 1946 through January 1948. The cast was led by Bert Lahr and Jean Parker. Hopkins was the director for both the original 1927 production and the 1946 revival.^[2]

The popularity of the stage version of Burlesque in both its original production and its later revival made it an attractive candidate for film adaptations.^[3] It was first adapted by Paramount Pictures into the 1929 film The Dance of Life with Hal Skelly reprising his role as Skid from the stage production.^[2] This was later followed by a second Paramount picture, Swing High, Swing Low (1937) which starred Carole Lombard and Fred MacMurray.^[3] A third and final film adaptation, When My Baby Smiles at Me (1948),^[2] was made starring Betty Grable and Dan Dailey. It was made by 20th Century Fox who acquired the rights to Burlesque after the success of the Broadway revival in the mid 1940s.^[3]

Burlesque was also adapted into a radio play for the Lux Radio Theatre. The 1936 broadcast of the play on this program starred Al Jolson and his wife Ruby Keeler.^[2]

• Dietz, Dan (2019). The Complete Book of 1920s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 9781442245280.
• Fisher, James; Hardison Londré, Felicia (2009). "Burlesque". The A to Z of American Theater: Modernism. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810868847.

• ​Burlesque​ at the Internet Broadway Database