Light entertainment popular in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
It consisted of 10–15 unrelated acts featuring magicians, acrobats, comedians, trained animals, singers, and dancers. The form developed from the coarse variety shows held in beer halls for a primarily male audience. Mae West , W.C. Fields , Will Rogers , Buster Keaton , Charlie Chaplin , the Marx Brothers , Bud Abbott and Lou Costello , Milton Berle , and Bob Hope . See also {{link=music hall and variety theatre">music hall and variety theatre .