# Nightclubs with big stage shows

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nightclubs-with-big-stage-shows/551091>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [August 22, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nightclubs-with-big-stage-shows/551091 "2010-08-22T20:22:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nightclubs-with-big-stage-shows/551091/1 "2010-08-22T20:22:28Z")

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I was watching Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom last night. I love the opening scene in the night club with the big production number: orchestra, costumes, big chorus line…

So it lead to some questions:[ol]  
[li]How prevalent were such shows in the 30’s up to today?[/li][li]Was this possible because there was more money, or because the talent didn’t get paid much?[/li][li]Was this strictly a big-city thing?[/li][/ol]

I ask because the only thing I’ve seen close to this has been some burlesque reviews with prerecorded music, and I think the performers were doing it for fun more than anything else. Of course, this was not in a big fancy New York nightclub, so maybe that’s my problem.

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**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\
**Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nightclubs-with-big-stage-shows/551091/2 "2010-08-23T02:38:54Z")

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For another POV watch **Guys and Dolls** or **On the Town.** The nightclub shows in those two are done on tiny little stages, with a handful (maybe six) performers and a small combo instead of a big band.

Of course there were big, big shows – that’s where the big bands played. But (at least in St. Louis) they were big events that played big, big rooms. I’ve been in a couple of the ballrooms that were popular in the 30’s and 40’s and they could easily hold 1,000 people for dinner and dancing. It was a special event, not a typical night at the club.

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**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\
**Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nightclubs-with-big-stage-shows/551091/3 "2010-08-23T06:22:10Z")

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This topic reminds me of this old thread:

> **[Black-tie restaurants with orchestra & dancing (like in old movies)](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=480347)**
>
> In old movies, you always see people going to those fancy restaurants with a live orchestra and a large dance floor, where everyone is dressed in tuxedos and top hats or evening gowns. Sometimes they call it a nightclub, but I don’t know of any...