Mask work and movement are key in Commedia dell’arte, an Italian comedy tradition ... eg Pantalone and his servant Arlecchino from the play, The Servant of Two Masters.

Taking centre stage was the acrobatic Harlequin - the English name for the Commedia dell’arte’s Arlecchino - who evolved into a impish magician. Known as Harlequinades, Rich’s plays were an ...

emerging as a new canon of distinctly American Commedia del'arte archetypes. The Professor (Russell Johnson) is the updated version of Il Dottore. Mr. Howell (Jim Backus) is the new Pantolone.