Commedia Connections

Curious about commedia dell’arte‘s reach in modern culture? We’ve found some familiar and current examples of the masks Goldoni uses in The Servant of Two Masters.

Some modern examples of commedia-influenced characters include:

Scrooge and Bob Cratchit, woodcut by John Leech (1809-1870)

• Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, a classic Pantalone.
• Gabrielle and Troy in High School Musical, two classic Innamorati.
• Professor Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter is a classic Capitano.
• Gloria Delgado-Pritchett from Modern Family is a great example of a La Signora.
• Kenneth the Page from 30 Rock is a Zanni. The clumsy comic duo Pintel and Ragetti in Pirates of the Caribbean are also a classic 1st and 2nd Zanni.

Excerpted from STC Education’s First Folio: Teacher and Student Resource Guide. First Folio provides information and activities to help students form a personal connection to the play before attending the production. First Folio contains material about the playwrights, their world and their works. Also included are approaches to explore the plays and productions in the classroom before and after the performance.

The First Folio can be found as a PDF here.