Burlesque was one of America's most popular forms of live entertainment in the first half of the twentieth century. Gaudy, bawdy, and spectacular, the shows entertained thousands of paying customers seven days a week, week after week. And yet the legacy of burlesque is often vilified and misunderstood, left out of the history books. By telling the intimate and surprising stories from its golden age through the women (and men!) who lived it, Behind the Burly Q reveals the true story of burlesque, even as it experiences a new renaissance.