LES FOLIES BERGERE

It’s the Montmartre district of Paris in the middle of the nineteenth century. Sophistication and elegance are setting Parisian fashion. Historians referred to it as France’s Golden Years. The year is 1869, and tonight is the opening of Paris’ first Music Hall, the glamorous Folies Bergere Theatre.

A new trend and style were introduced that evening, both in large-scale production revues and entertainment pastimes. It became chic to be seen at the Folies Bergere, so aristocrats and royal families alike came from all over the European continent to claim there coveted seats at the Folies.

The dazzling display of color and motion that painted the Folies stage nightly, not to mention the beautiful girls, the dancing, the acrobatics, lights, costumes and scenery, became the toast of Paris.

The Folies Bergere was named for the nearby Rue Bergere, a district in Paris, which in turn, is a corruption of ‘Bergier,’ the name of a master dyer who once had his business there. The term ‘folies’ for many years used to describe a piece of land where soft grass and lush thickets favored the clandestine meeting of romantic couples. The word later came to denote public places where Parisians of the 18thcentury could dance, drink and watch open-air entertainment.

Dancing and drinking were only the beginning for patrons who frequented the Folies Theatre in Paris. The Folies became the center of world attention as an entertainment spot for fostering new, upcoming stars. Variety acts and talented young artisans from around the world, names like Maurice Chevalier, Will Rogers, Josephine Baker, the Marx Brothers, Charlie Chaplin, Colette, and Fernandel all made their claim to fame under the glittering marquee of the Folies.

The show’s reputation, however, would never be the same after the first nude showgirl appeared on the Folies stage in 1918. For, on that night, a devastating hush fell over the audience, followed by a great sigh of admiration. A naughty new chapter had begun in the history of the Folies Bergere.

As the Folies Bergere name and reputation quickly grew, the demand for the revue made its way throughout France and all of Europe. Soon, the show had developed a touring company and began performing to standing-room-only crowds around the world. In fact, the Folies Bergere became known today as the most spectacular show in stage revues!

The spectacular stage production proved to be an immediate success. The large showroom and facilities allowed the Tropicana to stage the Folies Bergere in a fashion never before dreamed possible. The cast included both French and American talent and soon began yielding stars of its own, just like its Parisian counterpart.

Singing star Bobbie Gentry made her Las Vegas debut at age 17 as a Folies showgirl, along with French singer (and former wife of Andy Williams), Claudine Longet. Felicia Atkins became the Tropicana and Las Vegas’ premier showgirl and graced the centerfold pages of Playboy magazine as well as a multitude of Las Vegas posters and special TV appearances. The Tropicana Hotel became known as the “Home of the Most Beautiful Women in the World.”

In 1975, the Folies Bergere was moved from the Fountain Theatre, where the show had run for 16 years, into the new and expansive 950-seat Tiffany Theatre. At that time, the show became an original American production. More spectacular than ever before, and produced solely for the Tropicana, it was conceived, directed and choreographed by Jerry Jackson, who has held this position until the present day.

The show, however, still maintains that historical Folies name and is licensed through special arrangement with the original Folies Bergere of Paris.

Every new edition of the Tropicana’s Folies Bergere is different with new costuming, new production numbers, original, colorful choreography, elaborate new stage settings and scenery.

The Folies Bergere attracts over 40,000 people a month from around the world, and is regarded as much a Las Vegas tradition as the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre is to Paris.