The word vaudeville originally referred to a type of light, comedic song that originated in Vau-de-Vire in Normandy, France.
It came to mean the whole program of songs, dances, comedy, and other acts once popular in theaters across America.
Vaudeville was introduced to the United States in 1865 with the opening of the Opera House, a theater in New York City.
The greatest vaudeville showplace in the country, the Palace Theatre (also in New York), closed in 1932.