Background
Langhans, Edward Allen was born on March 11, 1923 in Warren, Pennsylvania, United States. Son of Allen Milton and Frances Allen Langhans.
( Volumes three and four of this monumental work include...)
Volumes three and four of this monumental work include full entries for all such illustrious names as those of the Cibbers—Colley, Theophilus, and Susanna Maria—Kitty Clive, and Charlotte Charke, George Colman, the Elder, and the Younger, William Davenant, and De Loutherboug. But here also are full entries for dozens of important secondary figures and of minor ones whose stories have never been told, as well as a census (and at least a few recoverable facts) for even the most inconsiderable performers and servants of the theatres. As in the previous volumes in this distinguished series, the accompanying illustrations include at least one picture of each subject for whom a portrait exists.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/080930693X/?tag=2022091-20
( Volumes three and four of this monumental work include...)
Volumes three and four of this monumental work include full entries for all such illustrious names as those of the Cibbers—Colley, Theophilus, and Susanna Maria—Kitty Clive, and Charlotte Charke, George Colman, the Elder, and the Younger, William Davenant, and De Loutherboug. But here also are full entries for dozens of important secondary figures and of minor ones whose stories have never been told, as well as a census (and at least a few recoverable facts) for even the most inconsiderable performers and servants of the theatres. As in the previous volumes in this distinguished series, the accompanying illustrations include at least one picture of each subject for whom a portrait exists.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0809306921/?tag=2022091-20
( Like the works already published, these latest volumes ...)
Like the works already published, these latest volumes of the Biographical Dictionary deal with theatre people of every ilk, ranging from dressers and one-performance actors to trumpeter John Shore (inventor of the tuning fork) and the incomparable Sarah Siddons. Also prominent is Susanna Rowson, a novelist, actress, and early female playwright. Although born into a British military family, Rowson often wrote plays that dealt with patriotic American themes and spent much of her career on the American stage. The theatrical jewel of these volumes is the "divine Sarah" Siddons: "She raised the tragedy to the skies," wrote William Hazlitt, and "embodied to our imagination the fables of mythology, of the heroic and dignified mortals of elder time." She endured much tragedy herself, including a crippling debilitating illness and the deaths of five of her seven children. Siddons played major roles in both comedy and tragedy, not the least of which was a performance as Hamlet.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0809315254/?tag=2022091-20
( A major project begun in 1973 reaches its conclusion wi...)
A major project begun in 1973 reaches its conclusion with the publication of volumes 15 and 16 of the Biographical Dictionary, a series considered "a reference work of the first order" by Theatre and Performing Arts Collections. Among performers highlighted in these last volumes is Catherine Tofts, a gifted singer whose popular acclaim was captured in lines by Samuel Phillips: "How are we pleas’d when beauteous Tofts appears, / To steal our Souls through our attentive Ears?’ / Ravish’d we listen to th’ inchanting Song, / And catch the falling Accents from her Tongue." The first singer of English birth to master the form of Italian opera, Tofts frequently won leading roles over native Italian singers. Her salary£400 to £500 a seasonwas one of the highest in the theatre. Her popularity declined, however, as her demands for payment increaseda situation captured in an epigram Alexander Pope may have penned: "So bright is thy beauty, so charming thy song, / As had drawn both the beasts and their Orpheus along; / But such is thy avarice, and such is thy pride, / That the beasts must have starved, and the poets have died." John Vanbrugh, whose play The Relapse is ranked as one of the best comedies of the Restoration period, became a subordinate crown architect under Sir Christopher Wren in 1702. In 1703, Vanbrugh began plans for the Queen’s Theatre in the Haymarket, an enterprise endorsed by the Kit Cat Club (of which Vanbrugh was a member). Even though his lavish design was acoustically defective, restructuring helped correct the problem and the theatre eventually became the exclusive center for opera in London.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0809318024/?tag=2022091-20
( A major new reference tool that gathers for the first t...)
A major new reference tool that gathers for the first time all discovered Restoration promptbooks, with full facsimiles of the richest ones and transcriptions of the prompt notes in the remainder. This book is the product of 25 years of searching in libraries and private collections in England and America by the distinguished coauthor of A Biographical Dictionary. Among the best sources of information about Restoration staging, acting, and theatre architecture, these promptbooks have been so difficult of access that most of them have never been studied in detail and a number of them are presented here by Langhans for the first time. As many of the promptbooks contain cuts and changes, they reveal how the players respected or ignored the playwright’s wishes. In an introduction, Langhans discusses the identifying features of promptbooks, their preparation, and their disposition; the audiences for which productions were prepared; the layout of a typical Restoration playhouse; the duties of the prompter and his backstage colleagues; acting conventions of the time; and the probability of further promptbook discoveries. Among the most valuable promptbooks are The Change of Crownes by Edward Howard, Aglaura and Brennoralt by Sir John Suckling, The Loyal Subject by John Fletcher, The Sisters, The Ball, The Wittie Faire One, and The Maides Revenge by James Shirley, The Lady-Errant and The Ordinary by William Cartwright, The Vow-Breaker by William Sampson, The Wise-Woman of Hogsdon by Thomas Heywood, Tyrannick Love by John Dryden, and The Albion Queens by John Banks. Appendixes provide brief examinations of some pre- and post-Restoration prompt-books, a facsimile of a manuscript prompt-book from Restoration Dublin, and a study of the only known actor’s “part” from Restoration London. More than seventy prompt-books or related documents are examined in part or in detail by Langhans.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0809308851/?tag=2022091-20
( A major project begun in 1973 reaches its conclusion wi...)
A major project begun in 1973 reaches its conclusion with the publication of volumes 15 and 16 of the Biographical Dictionary, a series considered "a reference work of the first order" by Theatre and Performing Arts Collections. Among performers highlighted in these last volumes is Catherine Tofts, a gifted singer whose popular acclaim was captured in lines by Samuel Phillips: "How are we pleas’d when beauteous Tofts appears, / To steal our Souls through our attentive Ears?’ / Ravish’d we listen to th’ inchanting Song, / And catch the falling Accents from her Tongue." The first singer of English birth to master the form of Italian opera, Tofts frequently won leading roles over native Italian singers. Her salary£400 to £500 a seasonwas one of the highest in the theatre. Her popularity declined, however, as her demands for payment increaseda situation captured in an epigram Alexander Pope may have penned: "So bright is thy beauty, so charming thy song, / As had drawn both the beasts and their Orpheus along; / But such is thy avarice, and such is thy pride, / That the beasts must have starved, and the poets have died." John Vanbrugh, whose play The Relapse is ranked as one of the best comedies of the Restoration period, became a subordinate crown architect under Sir Christopher Wren in 1702. In 1703, Vanbrugh began plans for the Queen’s Theatre in the Haymarket, an enterprise endorsed by the Kit Cat Club (of which Vanbrugh was a member). Even though his lavish design was acoustically defective, restructuring helped correct the problem and the theatre eventually became the exclusive center for opera in London.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0809318032/?tag=2022091-20
( Like the works already published, these latest volumes ...)
Like the works already published, these latest volumes of the Biographical Dictionary deal with theatre people of every ilk, ranging from dressers and one-performance actors to trumpeter John Shore (inventor of the tuning fork) and the incomparable Sarah Siddons. Also prominent is Susanna Rowson, a novelist, actress, and early female playwright. Although born into a British military family, Rowson often wrote plays that dealt with patriotic American themes and spent much of her career on the American stage. The theatrical jewel of these volumes is the "divine Sarah" Siddons: "She raised the tragedy to the skies," wrote William Hazlitt, and "embodied to our imagination the fables of mythology, of the heroic and dignified mortals of elder time." She endured much tragedy herself, including a crippling debilitating illness and the deaths of five of her seven children. Siddons played major roles in both comedy and tragedy, not the least of which was a performance as Hamlet.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0809315262/?tag=2022091-20
( Volume 8 discusses, among others, the careers of Charl...)
Volume 8 discusses, among others, the careers of Charles Incledon, the English Ballad-Singer,” boxing champion of England, Gentleman” John Jackson, and members of the famous Kemble family Charles, Maria Theresa, Frances, Henry, John Philip, Priscilla, Elizabeth, Roger, and Stephen.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/080930919X/?tag=2022091-20
( This comprehensive volume lists and describes all known...)
This comprehensive volume lists and describes all known eighteen century British and Irish promptbooks. Each entry includes the location of the copy, shelf mark, production for which the prompt-book was prepared (theatre, date, prompter's name, if known), the types of notes the copy contains (description of setting, entrance notes, costume notes, ground plans, warnings, cues, stage movement, line interpretation), and citations of any books or articles that have dealt with the copy. The illustrations of sample pages from some of the promptbooks listed will provide the reader with a fuller and more accurate understanding of eighteenth century theatre architecture and staging practices.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0313240299/?tag=2022091-20
Langhans, Edward Allen was born on March 11, 1923 in Warren, Pennsylvania, United States. Son of Allen Milton and Frances Allen Langhans.
Bachelor, University Rochester, 1948. Master of Arts in English, University Rochester, 1949. Master of Arts in Theatre, University Hawaii, 1951.
Doctor of Philosophy in Theatre, Yale University, 1955.
Assistant professor drama, University Texas, Austin, 1955-1957; assistant professor drama and theatre, U. Hawaii, Honolulu, 1957-1964; associate, U. Hawaii, 1964-1971; professor, department chairman, U. Hawaii, 1971-1985; associate dean arts and humanities, U. Hawaii, 1987; professor emeritus, U. Hawaii, since 1988. Visiting professor Tufts U., 1967-1968. Research professor George Washington University, 1975-1976.
( Volume 8 discusses, among others, the careers of Charl...)
(Volumes three and four of this monumen-tal work include f...)
( Volumes three and four of this monumental work include...)
( Volumes three and four of this monumental work include...)
( Like the works already published, these latest volumes ...)
( Like the works already published, these latest volumes ...)
( A major project begun in 1973 reaches its conclusion wi...)
( A major project begun in 1973 reaches its conclusion wi...)
( A major new reference tool that gathers for the first t...)
( To be completed in 12 volumes, this monumental work her...)
( Volume 7 includes such notables as the composers Handel...)
( This comprehensive volume lists and describes all known...)
(NY 1987 1st Greenwood. ISBN 0-313-24029-9. Octavo, 268pp....)
Board of directors Honolulu Theatre for Youth, 1958-1963, Hawaii Theatre Council, 1965-1970, Hawaii Theatre Festival, 1978-1982. Served with United States Army Air Force, 1942-1947. Member American Assn for Theatre in Higher Education, Society Theatre Research, American Society Theatre Research.