How Have Elements of Music Hall and Melodrama Influenced Subsequent Essay

How Have Elements of Music Hall and Melodrama Influenced Subsequent 20th and 21st Century Performance Styles - Essay Example The melodrama performances of the early nineteenth century were designed for the middle class. A form of serious drama, Michael R. Booth, in his book Theatre in the Victorian Age, says that â€Å"Melodrama contains every possible ingredient of popular appeal: strong emotion, both pathetic and potentially tragic, low comedy, romantic colouring, remarkable events in an exciting and suspenseful plot,†. He goes on to describe the many aspects of the human experience that the melodrama touches, â€Å"physical sensations, sharply delineated stock characters, domestic sentiment, domestic settings and domestic life, love, joy, suffering, morality, the reward of virtue, and the punishment of vice.† ( pg 151). These dramas appealed to the working class as they touched on themes that were familiar and relatable to the audience. While much of the work would be done with past historical eras as the time periods, according to Booth, the themes had a nineteenth century contemporary feel and resonance. was Thomas Holcroft’s, â€Å"A Tale of Mystery† which would be performed at Covent Garden in 1802. This piece was â€Å"Gothic in nature and influenced by the English Gothic novel of the late eighteenth century, the German â€Å"Sturm and Drang† drama, and Parisian melodrama of the post-Revolutionary period.† (Booth, 1991, pg. 155). The story was a translation of the French melodrama, Coelina, ou l’enfant du mystà ¨re , from 1800 by Renà © Guilbert de Pixà ©rà ©court. According to Dr. Marvin Carlson, professor of comparative literature and executive officer of the Ph.D. program at the University of New York, There were several French adaptations that would start the melodrama phase in English theatrical history. However, the development of the familial connection would create a standard for plot and theme. important familial relationships