From the late nineteenth century to 1913, one of the country's most beloved activities was the theater singalong. The illustrated song was a popular vaudeville act, typically sung by a professional singer while specially made glass slides were projected to illustrate the song's lyrics. By the time cinema became a mainstay of the small storefront theaters called "nickelodeons," illustrated song slides were being made commercially--a title slide, one slide for each line, and a slide providing the words of the chorus so that the audience could sing along. For the better part of a decade, illustrated songs were America's most popular activity. Alas, the gorgeous hand-colored glass slides were easily broken, and often discarded as soon as this week's hit song dropped off the charts. Only recently have scholars discovered the importance of illustrated songs for the history of American music, cinema, and culture.

With the help of the audience, a piano, and over a hundred song slides, Altman will demonstrate the interactive workings of illustrated songs, thereby providing insight into the form of entertainment preferred by ordinary Americans just a century ago: "All Join in the Chorus."