An extravaganza is a literary or musical work (often

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

) usually containing elements of

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

and parody in a spectacular production and characterized by freedom of style and structure. It sometimes also has elements of cabaret, circus,

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

, variety,

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

and

mime Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) is an Internet standard that extends the format of email messages to support text in character sets other than ASCII, as well as attachments of audio, video, images, and application programs. Message ...

. ''Extravaganza'' may more broadly refer to an elaborate, spectacular, and expensive theatrical production. 19th-century British dramatist,

James Planché James Robinson Planché (27 February 1796 – 30 May 1880) was a British dramatist, antiquary and officer of arms. Over a period of approximately 60 years he wrote, adapted, or collaborated on 176 plays in a wide range of genres including ...

, was known for his extravaganzas. Planché defined the genre as "the whimsical treatment of a poetical subject."Planché. ''The recollections and reflections of J.R. Planché (Somerset herald): a professional biography'' (1872), Vol. II, p. 43 The term is derived from the Italian word ''stravaganza'', meaning extravagance.

References

Comedy Italian words and phrases Musical theatre Theatrical genres Satire Variety shows {{musical-theat-stub

See also

References