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“This is a stock character originating in Italian theater of the 17th century. It’s generally the equivalent to the court jester – a Harlequin is often a servant, known for quick wit, comedy, and getting themselves into complicated situations. The Harlequin is usually depicted in a diamond-patterned…”
Grand Guignol
“This is technically French for ‘great puppet,’ but it usually refers to a theater in Paris called Théâtre du Grand Guignol (‘The Theater of the Great Puppet.’) It was known for its realistic, gruesome horror shows. Each performance would be several short plays. Here’s a description from a 1957 New…”
“People often talk about ‘stage right’ and ‘stage left’ in the theater. I know from play production class that this is from the perspective of the performer facing the audience, so it’s the opposite of what the audience sees – ‘stage left’ would be the audience’s right. It turns out there’s an…”
“ This related to the size and location of the theater. Broadway : a theater of greater than 500 seats in the theater district of New York. Off-Broadway : a theater of between 99-500 seats, not necessarily in New York Off-Off Broadway : pretty much anything else ”
Great White Way
“ Clearly, Broadway in New York City is an example of this. However, I suppose it could apply to any ‘entertainment district’ of a city – even a couple blocks Phillips Avenue in downtown Sioux Falls. Wiktionary just has this for etymology: So called from its brilliant illumination at night. ”
Harold Hill
“ This was the main character of 1957 the musical The Music Man . Hill is a conman who takes money from townspeople with the promise to create a youth band, but intends to abscond with the funds. ”
“This is a phrase commonly known to mean ‘jealously,’ but I’m having trouble figuring out why it means this. Shakespeare used the phrase at least twice. In Othello : O beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on. In The Merchant of Venice : How all…”
“ This is something like a TV or film producer, but for live performances, like plays, concerts, or operas. ”
“A principle of fiction that says every story element has to matter to the overall plot, and if something doesn’t further the plot, it should be removed. The principle is often stated as: If a gun appears in Act One, it better go off in Act Three. The original reference was by the Russian playwright…”
“ This is a line from Act 1, Scene 2 of Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar : The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings. Cassius is trying to explain to Brutus that their current lives were not due to fate (‘not in our stars’). ”