Seminar by Prof. Mark Cosdon (Allegheny College di Meadville, Pennsylvania), visiting professor at Dipartimento di Scienze Umanistiche dell’Università degli Studi di Palermo
25/10/2023, ore 15, Aula A, Ex Vetrerie Sciarra, via dei Volsci 122
The Hanlon Brothers’ Le Voyage en Suisse, Fantasma, and Superba were among the most popular productions to appear on the nineteenth- and twentieth-century stages of the United States and Europe. Borrowing heavily from English pantomime and the French féerie, the Hanlons evolved a unique theatrical style that combined breath-taking acrobatics with trick scenery, novel illusions, and wild, often violent, knockabout comedy.
Given the ephemeral nature of theatre, the Hanlons’ stage magic would appear to be lost permanently. Or is it?
Mark Cosdon demonstrates how the documents housed in the Library of Congress and early films produced by luminaries including George Méliès are crucial links for recapturing previously lost stage routines and performances.
Mark Cosdon, Professor of Theatre and Performance Studies at Allegheny College serves this fall as Visiting Professor at the State University of Palermo. Dr. Cosdon has published widely on the history of popular entertainments and physical comedy, the contemporary Broadway musical, and the economics of Broadway production. Prof. Cosdon is a past-president of the American Theatre and Drama Society. He has also consulted on a number of films and television productions. At Allegheny College, Professor Cosdon is the managing director of the Playshop Theatre. In spring 2024, Professor Cosdon will direct the musical Head Over Heels, a contemporary fairytale featuring the music of the Go-Go’s.
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