Theater, BON-DAL
There's no business like show business! Nothing quite matches the immediacy and electricity of a live dramatic performance, a fact which may help explain why the art form has persevered from its ancient origins up through the present day. During the 20th century, live theater demonstrated an unexpected tenacity in the face of tough competition from film, television, video, the Internet, and other media.
Theater Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Bono, Sonny
Sonny Bono was an American songwriter, producer, entertainer, and politician who found fame in the 1960s and â70s......
Bourne, Matthew
Matthew Bourne is a British choreographer and dancer noted for his uniquely updated interpretations of traditional......
box set
box set, in Western theatre, realistically detailed, three-walled, roofed setting that simulates a room with the......
Boyce, William
William Boyce was one of the foremost English composers of church music, known also for his symphonies and stage......
Brassens, George
George Brassens was a French singer, songwriter, and poet. One of the most-celebrated French chansonniers (cabaret......
Brecht, Bertolt
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatrical reformer whose epic theatre departed from the conventions......
Brel, Jacques
Jacques Brel was a Belgian singer and songwriter whose literate, passionate songs made him one of the most popular......
Breuer, Marcel
Marcel Breuer was an architect and designer, one of the most-influential exponents of the International Style;......
Brice, Fanny
Fanny Brice was a popular American singing comedienne who was long associated with the Ziegfeld Follies. Brice......
Brighella
Brighella, stock character of the Italian commedia dellâarte; a roguish, quick-witted, opportunistic, and sometimes......
Britannicaâs Female Directors Bingo
Are you a feminist film buff? Looking for a good movie to get you in the mood for Oscars night? Or something to......
Broderick, Matthew
Matthew Broderick is an American actor best known for playing the title character in Ferris Buellerâs Day Off (1986)......
Brougham, John
John Brougham was an Irish-born American author of more than 75 popular 19th-century plays. He was also a theatre......
Brown, George Mackay
George Mackay Brown was a Scottish writer who celebrated Orkneyan life and its ancient rhythms in verse, short......
Brown, Ruth
Ruth Brown was an American singer and actress, who earned the sobriquet âMiss Rhythmâ while dominating the rhythm-and-blues......
Bruce, Lenny
Lenny Bruce was an American stand-up comic and social satirist during the 1950s and early â60s. Although public......
Brynner, Yul
Yul Brynner was a Russian-born stage and film actor who was known primarily for his role as the Siamese monarch......
Buckley, Jessie
Jessie Buckley is an Irish actress and singer, best known for her performance as Agnes (Anne) Hathaway, the wife......
Bud Billiken Parade
Bud Billiken Parade, annual public procession in Chicago, Illinois, the largest African American parade in the......
Buffalo Bill
Buffalo Bill was an American buffalo hunter, U.S. Army scout, Pony Express rider, Indian fighter, actor, and impresario......
Bunraku
Bunraku, Japanese traditional puppet theatre in which half-life-size dolls act out a chanted dramatic narrative,......
Buontalenti, Bernardo
Bernardo Buontalenti was a Florentine stage designer and theatre architect. Buontalenti entered the service of......
burlesque show
burlesque show, stage entertainment, developed in the United States, that came to be designed for exclusively male......
Burns, George
George Burns was an American comedian whoâwith his dry humour, gravelly voice, and ever-present cigarâwas popular......
C.K., Louis
Louis C.K. is an American comedian, writer, director, and producer known for his ribald confessional stand-up comedy......
Cabaret
Cabaret, acclaimed stage musical by composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb that explores the decadence of Berlin......
cabaret
cabaret, restaurant that serves liquor and offers a variety of musical entertainment. The cabaret probably originated......
Cagliostro, Alessandro, Count di
Alessandro, count di Cagliostro was a charlatan, magician, and adventurer who enjoyed enormous success in Parisian......
Cahn, Sammy
Sammy Cahn was an American lyricist who, in collaboration with such composers as Saul Chaplin, Jule Styne, and......
cai luong
cai luong, Vietnamese theatre style, the term meaning reformed or renewed theatre. It evolved during the French......
Calamity Jane
Calamity Jane was a legendary American frontierswoman whose name was often linked with that of Wild Bill Hickok.......
Cantor, Eddie
Eddie Cantor was an American comedian and star of vaudeville, burlesque, the legitimate stage, radio, and television.......
Capitano
Capitano, stock character of the Italian commedia dellâarte. He was the prototype of a pretentious but cowardly......
Caragiale, Costache
Costache Caragiale was an actor-manager who helped to encourage the development of a unique Romanian drama. Caragiale......
Carlin, George
George Carlin was an American comedian whose âSeven Words You Can Never Say on Televisionâ routine led to a U.S.......
carnival
carnival, a traveling entertainment combining the features of both circus and amusement park. Developing out of......
Carrey, Jim
Jim Carrey is a Canadian American comedian who established himself as a leading comedic actor with a series of......
Carroll, Earl
Earl Carroll was an American showman, theatrical producer, and director, best known for his Earl Carrollâs Vanities......
Cats
Cats, award-winning stage musical by the English composer and theatrical producer Andrew Lloyd Webber, adapted......
Celtis, Conradus
Conradus Celtis was a German scholar known as Der Erzhumanist (âThe Archhumanistâ). He was also a Latin lyric poet......
Cena, John
John Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, and author who first gained fame with the World Wrestling......
Cervi, Gino
Gino Cervi was an Italian character actor and manager best-known outside of Italy for his film portrayal of a small-town......
Chaplin, Charlie
Charlie Chaplin was a British comedian, producer, writer, director, and composer who is widely regarded as the......
Chappelle, Dave
Dave Chappelle is an American comedian and actor who was best known for cocreating, writing, and starring in the......
Charleson, Ian
Ian Charleson was a Scottish stage actor best known for his work in the film Chariots of Fire (1981), which won......
Che, Michael
Michael Che is a comedian, writer, and actor who is known for his deadpan wit and acerbic style. His jokes often......
Chevalier, Albert
Albert Chevalier was an actor and music-hall entertainer known as the âcostersâ laureateâ because of his songs......
Chevalier, Maurice
Maurice Chevalier was a debonair French musical-comedy star and entertainer who was known for witty and sophisticated......
Children of Paulâs
Children of Paulâs, troupe of boy actors, one of the childrenâs companies popular in Elizabethan England. Affiliated......
Children of the Chapel
Children of the Chapel, prominent and long-lived company of boy actors that was active during most of the 16th......
childrenâs company
childrenâs company, any of a number of troupes of boy actors whose performances enjoyed great popularity in Elizabethan......
childrenâs television
childrenâs television, television programming intended by its network or producers to be watched by viewers between......
Chitlin Circuit
Chitlin Circuit, network of live entertainment venues in the United States that catered to African American audiences......
Chong, Ping
Ping Chong is an American playwright, theatre director, and video artist whose multimedia productions examine cultural......
choragus
choragus, in ancient Greek theatre, any wealthy Athenian citizen who paid the costs of theatrical productions at......
chorus
chorus, in drama and music, those who perform vocally in a group as opposed to those who perform singly. The chorus......
Christy, Edwin P.
Edwin P. Christy was an early American minstrel show performer who founded (c. 1842) the Christy Minstrels, the......
chuanqi
chuanqi, a form of traditional Chinese operatic drama that developed from the nanxi in the late 14th century. Chuanqi......
Chung Ling Soo
Chung Ling Soo was an American conjurer who gained fame in England by impersonating a Chinese magician, both on......
Cinerama
Cinerama, in motion pictures, a process in which three synchronized movie projectors each project one-third of......
circus
circus, an entertainment or spectacle usually consisting of trained animal acts and exhibitions of human skill......
civic theatre
civic theatre, professional or amateur theatre that is wholly or partly subsidized by the city in which it is located.......
Clampett, Robert
Robert Clampett was one of the top directors at the Warner Bros. cartoon studio and the creator of the Beany and......
claque
claque, (French claquer: âto clapâ), organized body of persons who, either for hire or from other motives, band......
Cline, Maggie
Maggie Cline was an American singer whose vigorous persona and hearty performances of Irish songs made her an immensely......
clown
clown, familiar comic character of pantomime and circus, known by distinctive makeup and costume, ludicrous antics,......
Cochran, Sir Charles Blake
Sir Charles Blake Cochran was a leading British impresario and theatrical producer between World Wars I and II,......
Cockpit, The
The Cockpit, private playhouse located in Drury Lane, London. Built in 1609 for cockfighting, the small, tiered......
Codona family
Codona family, a family of circus trapeze performers that became famous in the Ringling Brothers Circus. In the......
Cohan, George M.
George M. Cohan was an American actor, composer, playwright, and producer, especially of musical comedies, who......
Collins, Judy
Judy Collins is an American folk and pop singer-songwriter known for her soaring soprano, eclectic repertoire,......
Colman, George, the Elder
George Colman the Elder was a leading English comic dramatist of his day and an important theatre manager who sought......
Colman, George, the Younger
George Colman, the Younger was an English playwright, writer of scurrilous satiric verse, and theatre manager whose......
Columbine
Columbine, stock theatrical character that originated about 1530 in Italian commedia dellâarte as a saucy and adroit......
Comici ConfidĂšnti
Comici ConfidĂšnti, either of two companies of the Italian commedia dellâarte that were instrumental in extending......
commedia dellâarte
commedia dellâarte, Italian theatrical form that flourished throughout Europe from the 16th through the 18th century.......
commedia erudita
commedia erudita, (Italian: âlearned comedyâ), 16th-century Italian dramatic form that, unlike its theatrical contemporary,......
Comus
Comus, masque by John Milton, presented on Sept. 29, 1634, before John Egerton, earl of Bridgewater, at Ludlow......
Comédie-Française
ComĂ©die-Française, national theatre of France and the worldâs longest established national theatre. After the death......
Comédie-Italienne
ComĂ©die-Italienne, the Italian commedia dellâarte as it was called in France. The name was used in France after......
Confrérie de la Passion
Confrérie de la Passion, association of amateur actors drawn from the merchants and craftsmen of Paris, for the......
Connelly, Marc
Marc Connelly was an American playwright, journalist, teacher, actor, and director, best-known for Green Pastures......
Cooper, Dame Gladys
Dame Gladys Cooper was a popular British actress-manager who started her 66-year theatrical career as a Gaiety......
Copeau, Jacques
Jacques Copeau was a French actor, literary critic, stage director, and dramatic coach who led a reaction against......
Copperfield, David
David Copperfield is an American entertainer, one of the best-known stage illusionists of the late 20th and early......
Cornysh, William
William Cornysh was an English composer, poet, playwright, and actor, a favourite court musician of Henry VIII,......
Corydon
Corydon, stock character, a rustic or lovesick youth. The name appears notably in Virgilâs Eclogues, a collection......
Cosby, Bill
Bill Cosby is an American comedian, actor, and producer who played a major role in the development of a more-positive......
Coup, W.C.
W.C. Coup was an American businessman, cofounder and manager of P.T. Barnumâs âGreatest Show on Earth.â Working......
Courtneidge, Dame Cicely
Dame Cicely Courtneidge was a British actress who played musical comedy and revue, both in a celebrated partnership......
courtyard theatre
courtyard theatre, any temporary or permanent theatre structure established in an innâs courtyard in England or......
Craig, Edward Gordon
Edward Gordon Craig was an English actor, theatre director-designer, producer, and theorist who influenced the......
Cross, David
David Cross is an American writer, stand-up comedian, and actor who is best known for playing Tobias FĂŒnke in the......
Cruelty, Theatre of
Theatre of Cruelty, project for an experimental theatre that was proposed by the French poet, actor, and theorist......
Crystal, Billy
Billy Crystal is an American actor, writer, director, and comedian, known for a highly expressive manner that lent......
cups and balls trick
cups and balls trick, oldest and most popular of the tricks traditionally performed by a conjurer. To begin the......
Curtain Theatre
Curtain Theatre, playhouse opened in 1577 in Curtain Close, Finsbury Fields, Shoreditch. The Curtain was the second......
Cuvilliés, François de, the Elder
François de Cuvilliés the Elder was the chief architect and decorator in the Bavarian Rococo style. He was trained......
cyclorama
cyclorama, in theatre, background device employed to cover the back and sometimes the sides of the stage and used......
Daly, Augustin
Augustin Daly was an American playwright and theatrical manager whose companies were major features of the New......