Research Interests:

My research focuses on physical comedy and spectacle theatre, with a particular emphasis on the nineteenth century American stage. Currently, I am working on two manuscripts.

The Hanlon Brothers: From Daredevil Acrobatics to Spectacle Pantomime, 1833 - 1931.
"Theatre in the Americas Series," Southern Illinois University Press, Fall 2009.

The Hanlon Brothers were a protean family of nineteenth-century performers renowned for an array of aerial, gymnastic, and theatrical specialties. Hailing from Northern England, the family spent their early career cris-crossing the globe performing a dizzying series of daredevil routines. Following a tragic mishap, in the late 1860s the family turned to the production of startlingly macabre pantomimes, replete with violent slapstick comedy. Lasting fame came to the Hanlons in 1879 when they unveiled the astonishing Le Voyage en Suisse. Settling in Cohasset, Massachusetts, the surviving brothers eventually withdrew from the stage and spent the duration of their career managing their long-lived fairy pantomimes Fantasma and Superba.

Borrowing heavily from English pantomime and the French féerie, the Hanlons evolved a unique theatrical style which combined breath-taking acrobatics with trick scenery, novel illusions, and wild, often violent, knockabout comedy. In essence, the Hanlons’ pantomimes were pure visual spectacle. Yearly, they were revamped, with new thrills added to loosely concocted plot lines. Each “new” production was eagerly anticipated by their audiences, as a 1905 writer stated in the New York Times: “The country towns await the Hanlons’ visit like the circus’, as an annual institution.”

Spectacle Pantomimes of the Nineteenth Century American Stage
I am editing a collection of evening-long pantomimes that were popular on the nineteenth century American stage. This book will survey a number of pantomime producers, including the Hanlons, the Byrne Brothers, George L. Fox, George H. Adams, the Kiralfys, the Ravels, and the Martinettis. Drawing from scripts deposited in various archives, this book seeks to make these works accessible to students and scholars.

This is "The Arrival" from Le Voyage en Suisse.

This is "The Upset" from Le Voyage en Suisse.

This is "The Smash Up" from Le Voyage en Suisse.

This is "Falling through the Ceiling" from Le Voyage en Suisse.

This is "The Finale" from Le Voyage en Suisse.