Transformation scene a close with the suggestion of harmony restored. John Rich, earlier in the century, made Harlequin with his slap stick able to transform stage props; and later Joseph Grimaldi as Clown was in charge of transformations. Early pantomime related to and contained the traditional harlequinade by means of a transition in which a group of characters descended from the traditional types from the "commedia del arte" were transformed and "revealed" as being the key characters in the pantomime of the fairy tale that followed. A production in 1781 of "Robinson Crusoe" by Richard Brinsley Sheridan is credited with breaking down
Jim Crow (character) Jim Crow (character) The Jim Crow persona was a theater character by Thomas D. Rice and an ethnic depiction in accordance with contemporary white ideas of African-Americans and their culture. The character was based on a folk trickster named Jim Crow that was long popular among black slaves. Rice also adapted and popularized a traditional slave song called "Jump Jim Crow" (1828). The character dressed in rags, battered hat and torn shoes. Rice blackened his face and hands using burnt cork and impersonated a very nimble and irreverently witty African American field hand who sang, ""Come listen all you galls