What year did the "Folies Bergère" stage their first nude revue-style music hall show in Paris?

On November 30, 1886, the Folies Bergère in Paris began featuring the show that would become synonymous with their name. Women performing in sensational costumes as well as scantily clad or sometimes nude chorus girls took center stage. Sparing no expense, the revues featured up to 40 different sets, over 1,000 costumes, and an off-stage crew of 200 people.

The highly popular “Place aux Jeunes” established the Folies as the premier nightlife spot in Paris. The actual theatre dates back to 1869, as one of the first major music halls in Paris, featuring light opera and pantomimes with unknown singers. It was a resounding failure. Success came in the 1870s, when the Folies Bergère staged vaudeville shows with acrobats, a snake charmer, a boxing kangaroo, trained elephants, the world’s tallest man, and a Greek prince who was covered in tattoos. Patrons were allowed to drink and socialize in the theater, and the Folies Bergère became synonymous with the carnal temptations of Paris. Decor included paintings by Édouard Manet and Toulouse-Lautrec. The women gradually wore less and less as the 20th century approached, and the costumes and sets became more and more outrageous. African American dancer/singer Josephine Baker made her Folies debut in 1926, lowered from the ceiling in a flower-covered sphere opening onstage to reveal her wearing a G-string ornamented with bananas.

The Folies Bergère remained a success throughout the 20th century and still can be seen in Paris today.