Ruckus! American Entertainments at the Turn of the Twentieth Century recalls popular amusements at the turn of the century in all their variety and vivacity and celebrates the performers, both the famous and the forgotten, who were at the heart of the period’s most lively divertissements. The exhibition includes materials related to vaudeville, minstrel shows, popular plays, early burlesque, and Wild West shows. The “ruckus” of the title refers to the finale of many minstrel shows, when the entire company–which might include comics, dancers, acrobats, animal acts, female impersonators, among others–joined on stage for a final song and dance number. [About 60 items]