Product Description
From their 1861 opening with a flying-trapeze performance directly over spectators’ heads to giant octopuses, simulated shipwrecks, on-stage horse-drawn carriage collapses and the 1890 fairy play “Superba,” the six Hanlon brothers dazzled 19th- and early 20th-century audiences.
The Hanlon Brothers: Their Amazing Acrobatics, Pantomimes and Stage Spectacles
Tags: Acrobatics, Amazing, Brothers, Hanlon, Pantomimes, Spectacles, Stage, their
Much of 20th-century silent film comedy, especially the work of Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd, grew directly out of the physical comedy tradition spawned by the 19th-century theatrical troupe the Hanlon-Lees. John A. McKinven has written the first history of this troupe, and he has done a fine job. It is obviously a labor of love. The illustrations are wonderful, the story fascinating, and his understanding of stage machinery a huge asset; indeed, many of the Hanlons’ spectacular special effects were a precursor to today’s Broadway stage and blockbuster films. An index would have been a plus, but other than that this is a thorough piece of work and a welcome addition to one’s theatrical library. –John Towsen, author: Clowns, a Panoramic History
Rating: 5 / 5