Theater, MAC-PAL
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
MacArthur Fellows Program
MacArthur Fellows Program, grant program administered by the MacArthur Foundation in which money is awarded to......
Macdonald, Norm
Norm Macdonald was a Canadian stand-up comedian and actor known for his acerbic wit and deadpan delivery. He was......
MacKaye, (James Morrison) Steele
Steele MacKaye was a U.S. playwright, actor, theater manager, and inventor who has been called the closest approximation......
MacKaye, Percy
Percy MacKaye was an American poet and playwright whose use of historical and contemporary folk literature furthered......
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, beloved Thanksgiving Day tradition enjoyed by generations of Americans that draws......
Madách, Imre
Imre Madách was a Hungarian poet whose reputation rests on his ambitious poetic drama Az ember tragediája (1861;......
magic
magic, theatrical representation of the defiance of natural law. Legerdemain, meaning “light, or nimble, of hand,”......
Maher, Bill
Bill Maher is an American comedian and talk-show host known for his acerbic political commentary, most notably......
makeup
makeup, in the performing arts, motion pictures, or television, any of the materials used by actors for cosmetic......
Mamoulian, Rouben
Rouben Mamoulian was a Georgian-born American theatrical and motion-picture director noted for his contribution......
Manipuri dance
Manipuri dance, one of the principal classical dance forms of India, having originated in the region of what is......
mansion
mansion, scenic device used in medieval theatrical staging. Individual mansions represented different locales in......
Marais Theatre
Marais Theatre, one of the major theatrical companies in 17th-century France. With the actor Montdory as its head,......
Marbury, Elisabeth
Elisabeth Marbury was an American theatrical and literary agent who represented a stellar array of theatrical performers......
Marceau, Marcel
Marcel Marceau was a preeminent 20th-century French mime whose silent portrayals were executed with eloquence,......
Marcellus, Theatre of
Theatre of Marcellus, in Rome, building begun by Julius Caesar and completed by Augustus in 13 bc. It was dedicated......
Mariinsky Theatre
Mariinsky Theatre, Russian imperial theatre in St. Petersburg. The theatre opened in 1860 and was named for Maria......
marionette
marionette, any of several types of puppet figures manipulated from above by strings or threads attached to a control.......
Mark Hamill
American actor Mark Hamill has the distinction of having resisted typecasting so successfully that the two defining......
Maron, Marc
Marc Maron is an American stand-up comedian and actor who was perhaps best known for the podcast WTF with Marc......
Martin, Mary
Mary Martin was an American singer and actress best known for her work in Broadway musicals. Martin attended private......
Martin, Steve
Steve Martin is an American comedian, writer, and producer who began his career as a stand-up comic and eventually......
Marx Brothers
Marx Brothers, American comedy team that was popular on stage, screen, and radio for 30 years. They were celebrated......
Maskelyne, John Nevil
John Nevil Maskelyne was a British magician whose inventions and patronage of new performers greatly influenced......
masque
masque, festival or entertainment in which disguised participants offer gifts to their host and then join together......
Mathews, Charles
Charles Mathews was a prominent English stage personality and theatre manager who, renowned for his genius at mimicry......
Matshikiza, Todd
Todd Matshikiza was a journalist, writer, and musician noted for his score for the musical play King Kong (1960)......
Maximus Of Ephesus
Maximus Of Ephesus was a Neoplatonist philosopher and theurgic magician whose most spectacular achievement was......
May, Elaine
Elaine May is an American comedian, actor, writer, and director who is known for her sardonic wit, her caustic......
McCarthy, Melissa
Melissa McCarthy is an American actress known for roles that highlight her gift for physical comedy and raunchy......
McDonald, Audra
Audra McDonald is an American actress and singer whose melodious soprano voice and expressive stage presence made......
McGregor, Ewan
Ewan McGregor is a Scottish actor of stage, film, and television who is perhaps best known for his portrayal of......
McHugh, Jimmy
Jimmy McHugh was a U.S. song composer. McHugh became a Tin Pan Alley song plugger and began writing songs for Broadway......
McMahon, Vince
Vince McMahon is an American professional wrestling impresario who used showmanship and tireless promotion to make......
McNally, Terrence
Terrence McNally was an American dramatist whose plays explore human relationships—frequently those of gay men—and......
McNeill, Don
Don McNeill was a U.S. radio entertainer. He entered radio in the 1920s as part of a singing team. In 1933 he took......
Meiningen Company
Meiningen Company, experimental acting group begun in 1866 and directed by George II, duke of Saxe-Meiningen, and......
Meisner technique
The Meisner technique is a system of dramatic training developed by Sanford Meisner, an American actor and one......
Menken, Alan
Alan Menken is an American composer whose captivating scores helped invigorate the animated feature films of the......
Menzel, Idina
Idina Menzel is an American actor and singer whose three-octave mezzo-soprano voice has made her a star of stage......
Mercer, Johnny
Johnny Mercer was an American lyricist, vocalist, and composer who contributed to many Broadway musical productions......
Merman, Ethel
Ethel Merman was an American singer, actress, and lead performer in Broadway musicals who is remembered for her......
Merrily We Roll Along
Merrily We Roll Along, American musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by George Furth, based......
Meschke, Michael
Michael Meschke is a German-born puppeteer who was the founder and producer of the Marionetteatern (“Marionette......
Midler, Bette
Bette Midler is an American actress and singer who is known for her dynamic energy, comedic wit, and campy humour.......
Miller, Dennis
Dennis Miller is an American comedian and actor known for his work on Saturday Night Live (SNL), his brief run......
Miller, Marilyn
Marilyn Miller was one of the most popular American musical comedy actresses of the 1920s. Mary Ellen Reynolds......
Mills, Bertram
Bertram Mills was an English circus entrepreneur who for 18 years (1920–37) staged a circus at London’s Olympia......
Mills, Florence
Florence Mills was an American singer and dancer, a leading performer during the Jazz Age and the Harlem Renaissance......
mime and pantomime
mime and pantomime, in the strict sense, a Greek and Roman dramatic entertainment representing scenes from life,......
mind reading
mind reading, a magician’s trick involving various silent or verbal signals that cue a conjurer to answer a question......
Minnelli, Liza
Liza Minnelli is an American actress and singer perhaps best known for her role as Sally Bowles in Bob Fosse’s......
Minnelli, Vincente
Vincente Minnelli was an American motion-picture director who infused a new sophistication and vitality into filmed......
minstrel show
minstrel show, an American theatrical form, popular from the early 19th to the early 20th century, that was founded......
Misrule, Lord of
Lord of Misrule, official of the late medieval and early Tudor period in England, who was specially appointed to......
Mistinguett
Mistinguett was a popular French comedienne noted especially for her beautiful legs and stage personality. The......
Mockumentary
A mockumentary is a work of fiction that is presented in the style of a nonfiction documentary, usually to “mock”......
mohiniyattam
mohiniyattam, semiclassical dance form from the state of Keralam, southwestern India. The dance is performed by......
Moore, Grace
Grace Moore was an American singer and actress who found great popular and critical success in both opera and motion......
Morgan, Helen
Helen Morgan was an American actress and singer whose talent was shown to greatest effect in the 1920s and ’30s......
Morris, William
William Morris was a U.S. theatrical agent and manager who opposed the attempted monopoly of vaudeville talent......
Moscow Art Theatre
Moscow Art Theatre, outstanding Russian theatre of theatrical naturalism founded in 1898 by two teachers of dramatic......
Mo’Nique
Mo’Nique is an American actress, stand-up comedian, and talk-show host known for her bawdy humor and dramatic gravitas.......
Mr. T
Mr. T is an actor and professional wrestler known for his tough appearance and his iconic roles in television and......
multiple setting
multiple setting, staging technique used in medieval drama, in which all the scenes were simultaneously in view,......
mumming play
mumming play, traditional dramatic entertainment, still performed in a few villages in England and Northern Ireland,......
Muppet Show, The
The Muppet Show, TV comedy series created by Jim Henson that ran from 1976 to 1981. It featured the Muppets, a......
Murphy, Eddie
Eddie Murphy is an American comedian, actor, and singer who was a dominant comedic voice in the United States during......
music hall and variety
music hall and variety, popular entertainment that features successive acts starring singers, comedians, dancers,......
musical
musical, theatrical production that is characteristically sentimental and amusing in nature, with a simple but......
nanxi
nanxi, one of the first fully developed forms of Chinese drama. Nanxi emerged in the area around Wenzhou in southern......
Nash, Ogden
Ogden Nash was an American writer of humorous poetry who won a large following for his audacious verse. After a......
National Theatre of the Deaf
National Theatre of the Deaf (NTD), American theatre, established in 1965 and based in Waterford, Connecticut,......
Neagle, Dame Anna
Dame Anna Neagle was a British actress and dancer, known for her work in stage plays, musicals, and films. Her......
Neuber, Caroline
Caroline Neuber was an actress-manager who was influential in the development of modern German theatre. Rebelling......
Newhart, Bob
Bob Newhart was an American comedian and actor who achieved fame as a stand-up performer and later starred in television......
Ngema, Mbongeni
Mbongeni Ngema was a South African playwright, composer, choreographer, and theatrical director known largely for......
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen ratings, national ratings of the popularity of American television shows. The system was developed by A.C.......
Noh theatre
Noh theatre, traditional Japanese theatrical form and one of the oldest extant theatrical forms in the world. Noh—its......
Nottage, Lynn
Lynn Nottage is an American playwright whose work often focuses on marginalized communities, the working class,......
Novello, Ivor
Ivor Novello was a Welsh actor-manager, composer, and playwright, best known for his lush, sentimental, romantic......
Oakley, Annie
Annie Oakley was an American markswoman who starred in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, where she was often called......
Obraztsov, Sergey Vladimirovich
Sergey Vladimirovich Obraztsov was a puppet master who established puppetry as an art form in the Soviet Union......
odeum
odeum, (Latin: “concert hall,” from Greek ōideion, “school of music”), comparatively small theatre of ancient Greece......
Odissi
Odissi, one of the nine recognized classical dance styles of India; the others include bharatanatyam, kuchipudi,......
Oeuvre, Théâtre de l’
Théâtre de l’Oeuvre, French Symbolist theatre founded in Paris in 1893 by Aurélien Lugné-Poë and directed by him......
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway, in the theatre of the United States, small professional productions that have served since the mid-20th......
Ogunmola, Kola
Kola Ogunmola was a Nigerian actor, mime, director, and playwright who took Yoruba folk opera (drama that combines......
Oklahoma!
Oklahoma!, American musical first opened on Broadway in 1943, written by composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist......
Old Vic
Old Vic, theatre in the Greater London borough of Lambeth. It was formerly the home of a theatre company that became......
Oldenburg, Claes
Claes Oldenburg was a Swedish-born American Pop-art sculptor, best known for his giant soft sculptures of everyday......
Oliver, John
John Oliver is an English-American comedian, writer, and television host who has written and performed for various......
ombres chinoises
ombres chinoises, (French: “Chinese shadows”), European version of the Chinese shadow-puppet show, introduced in......
open stage
open stage, theatrical stage without a proscenium, projecting into the audience and surrounded on three sides by......
O’Connor, Donald
Donald O’Connor was a multitalented American entertainer, best known for his comedic and dancing skills. Born into......
O’Donnell, Rosie
Rosie O’Donnell is an American actress of film, television, and stage who was perhaps best known for her hosting......
pageant
pageant, a large-scale, spectacular theatrical production or procession. In its earlier meanings the term denoted......
pageant wagon
pageant wagon, wheeled vehicle used in the processional staging of medieval vernacular cycle plays. Processional......
Palacio de Bellas Artes
Palacio de Bellas Artes, cultural centre in Mexico City that was built between 1904 and 1934. The palace includes......
Palais-Royal Theatre
Palais-Royal Theatre, Paris playhouse most noted for 17th-century productions by Molière. The Palais-Royal traces......