He put his show on a stage, at the Borough of Manhattan Community College in Lower Manhattan, rather than on a runway, which raised the possibility of turning a collection display into theater.
Adapted and directed by Dominic Cooke, this imaginative display of theater magic weaves its spell from rich strands of fine acting, riveting storytelling, music, dance, puppetry, design, lighting and costumes.
If, for instance, you use the Internet Movie Database app to look up a current film synopsis, the app will also display nearby theaters and times for that movie.
And they will all be on display in theaters this week, in a gamut of English-accented offerings that go from high tragedy on war-bloodied plains to crisp contemplations of marital infidelity in drawing rooms.
These were displayed in theater lobbies and often adapted as an advance poster, announcing the name of a future film under the actor's name.
But it was defined just as much on the low end by proliferating freak shows, fireworks displays, minstrel theaters and penny entertainments.
Even the State of the Union, a display of political theater to its core, doesn't have to be an annual ceremony.
Two hours before the hearing began, a huge crowd gathered in front of City Hall in a display of civic theater not seen since the AIDS protests in the early days of the Giuliani administration.
The producers of the Broadway play "Lombardi" are hoping for a halo effect at the box office from the Green Bay Packers' victory in Sunday night's Super Bowl, ordering championship T-shirts to display at the theater, inviting Packers players to see the show, and planning a springtime media campaign linking the play to that storied N.F.L. franchise's fourth Super Bowl win.
