ABSTRACT
With its glorious display, its multitude of performers, and its prominence on the London social scene, Calisto certainly represents the high-water mark of theatrical splendor at the Restoration court. Subsequent entertainments were invariably mounted on a smaller scale, and hence at considerably reduced cost to the perpetually cash-strapped Charles II. This did not mean, however, that Calisto had no lasting impact on court theatrical productions going forward. Even with all its superficial splendor stripped away, Crowne and Staggins’s masque had helped to solidify two important principles. First, it had demonstrated the value to the court of placing its youngest members on the stage not simply as an exercise meant to instill poise and deportment, but rather explicitly for public consumption-and hence augmented as necessary by trained “occupational” performers whose presence would inevitably enhance production values. Second, it established a protocol for generic experimentation that was to have near-term consequences and that would also extend into the next decade. Even without recourse to a bottomless purse, the court would be able to seek out new opportunities for self-promotion by means of theatrical performances that transcended conventional norms, and hence had the potential to keep audiences interested.
