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Victor Hugo's "Hernani"
Hugo's tragedy broke the neoclassical rules governing language and character behavior, as well the unities of time and place. It has enraged supporters of traditional drama and made the ones who supported romanticism's call for lifting the restrictions and rules. ( Brockett 140) -
"Uncle Tom's Cabin"
"Uncle Tom's Cabin," was the most popular stage melodrama of the nineteenth century. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was produced by William Brady in 1901. The author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," was Harriet Beecher Stowie. The novel was about a slave named Eliza. She just learned that her child Harry was being sold into slavery, So Eliza took it upon herself to run off just her and her son. Eliza finds someone who could help her but she has to get out of Kentucky. ( Brockett 149) -
The Trapdoor
In 1843, the stage door in Circa was beneath the stage. How it worked was that one man would wine the trap up, while the other two people would make appropriate sound effects. "Brockett 147" -
"Monte Cristo"
“Monte Cristo” is the name of the play that was created after the book, “The Count of Monte Cristo” in 1845 by the one and only Alexandre Dumas Pere's. The first act of “Monte Cristo” takes place in 1815, when Napoleon was in exile in Elba. “Monte Cristo," required eight sets, two of which were simple and shallow. The play was about The classic story of an innocent man wrongly, but deliberately imprisoned, and his brilliant strategy for revenge against those who betrayed him.(Brockett 144) -
Settings and Costumes
Historical accuracy in settings and costumes began to be favored, although it was not realized until 1850. Shakespeare's plays evinces of the decrease in vigor in Neoclassicism and the rise of Romanticism as an aesthetic. (Brockett 140) -
"The Octoroon"
"The Octoroon," a melodrama was written by Dion Boucicault, the play was first performed in England 1859. The play is about a man that seeks to save his mixed-blooded love from to the highest bidder at a slave auction to the higgest bidder. The ending was tragic due to the fact the producers wanted to avoid portraying a mixed-racial marriage. (Brockett 142) -
"Under the Gaslight"
American playwright Augustin Daly's "Under the Gaslight, includes a thrilling scene where a character who was tied to a railroad track in the path or oncoming locomotive only to be rescued at the last moment. ( Brockett 143) -
Booth's Theater
Booth's Theater opened in New York in the 1869's. The theater was built by one of America's greatest actor Edwin Booth. The Booth's Theater was probably the first stage in modern times to have a flat floor, and to get rid of the traditional arrangement of wings. Booth's Theater also had a number of elevator traps that raised and lowered heavy set pieces. (Brockett 147) -
Limelights
Royal Comedy Theater in London, England, showed spotlights used to illuminate the actors on the stage. The limelight's was allowing production to create more intense lighting focus in the indoor theaters. (Brockett 148) -
The Country Fair
In 1889, the country fair staged a horse race at the Union Square Theater in New York. By using a moving panorama an treadmills connected to electric motors the speed was controlled by a man. (Brockett 144) -
WorkCited
Brockett,Oscar G., et al. The Essential Theatre Cengage Learning,2017
