splendors of Italian grand opera hit London in the early 18th century. The Restoration economic spiral of the extravagant machine served as a lesson for 18th- and 19th-century theatrical entrepreneurs to dispense with playwrighting altogether and minimize the cast, utilizing any number of surprising effects and scenes in the dumbshow of pantomime and Harlequin, without attendant costs in music, dramatists, and cast. There have been a small number of attempts to resurrect the Restoration spectacular as a background to modern cinema: Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen features at its start perhaps the most accurate reconstruction, with painted scenery, mechanisms and lighting effects typical of the period. See also Augustan drama Notes References Bakewell, Lyndsey. "Changing scenes and flying machines: re-examination of spectacle and the spectacular in Restoration theatre, 1660-1714" (PhD. Diss. Loughborough University, 2016) online. Bordinat, Philip, and Sophia B. Blaydes. Sir William Davenant (Boston: Twayne, 1981). Burden, Michael. "Aspects of Purcell’s operas", in Michael Burden, ed., Henry Purcell’s Operas: the complete texts. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. 3–27. Burden, Michael. "Casting issues in Purcell’s opera The Fairy-Queen", Music and Letters, LXXXIV/4 (2003). 596–607. Burden, Michael. "Did monkeys dance at Dorset Garden?." Theatre Notebook, LVII/3 (2003). 119–135. Cunningham, John E. Restoration Drama. London: Evans Brothers Limited, 1966. 11–17. Davenant, William, John Dryden, and Thomas Shadwell (1674). The Tempest, in LION English Drama 1280–1915. This digital version is only available by subscription to LION. The first (1674) edition plus one edition from 1786 are in the British Library, but the Wikipedia editor of this page has not had an opportunity to consult them. Development of Scenic Spectacle, a site at appstate.edu devoted to the study of renaissance and baroque theatrical spectacle. Some QuickTime animations of stage machines: Wave machine Flying machine Scene change Duffett, Thomas (ed. Dilorenzo, Ronald Eugene, 1972). Three Burlesque Plays of Thomas Duffett: 'The Empress of Morocco'; 'The Mock-Tempest'; 'Psyche Debauch'd. Ames: Iowa UP. Freehafer, John (1965). "The formation of the London patent companies in 1660." Theatre Notebook 20, 6–30. Harbage, Alfred. Sir William Davenant: Poet Venturer. New York: Octagon Books, 1971. 140–148. Highfill, Philip Jr, Burnim, Kalman A., and Langhans, Edward (1973–93). Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers and Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660–1800. 16 volumes. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press. Hume, Robert D. (1976). The Development of English Drama in the Late Seventeenth Century. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Langhans, Edward A.