Spectacular
The Restoration spectacular, or elaborately staged machine play, hit the London public stage in the late 17th-century Restoration period, enthralling audiences with action, music, dance, moveable scenery, baroque illusionistic painting, gorgeous costumes, and special effects such as trapdoor tricks, "flying" actors, and fireworks. From the start, these shows had ill reputations as vulgar and commercial threats to the witty, "legitimate" Restoration dramas.