Where's Vaudeville?

Hello Matt:

My friend Mitchie and I have a disagreement about "vaudeville." Was there actually a town called Vaudeville or did someone just make it up for some illusionary special effect for their circus act?

-- Paddy R, La Jolla

So if you buy a ticket to Vaudeville, what do you see when you get off the bus. Straw hat and cane shops? A lot of people telling bad jokes and tap dancing? Well, maybe. But they'll be telling those bad jokes in French. "Vaudeville" is the English mangling of the name of an area in Normandy, Vau de Vire, that became known for its style of popular songs.