The proscenium arch perfectly framed a still-glowin,’ still-crowin’ Carol Channing in “Hello, Dolly!” and drew all eyes to a gravity-defying Idina Menzel in “Wicked.” Beyond creating ...

It features a large, usually rectangular stage framed by an arch called the proscenium arch. The audience faces the stage directly, with a clear "fourth wall" separating the actors from the audience.

In his 1997 book “Architects of the Web,” Rhapsody founder Rob Reid calls this phenomenon “shooting the proscenium arch,” referring to the “proscenium” that frames a traditional stage.

We look up at the frame, and wait. We are in an extremely unusual frame of mind. The first proscenium arch is generally agreed to be the one in Parma, Italy, in the Teatro Farnese, built in 1618.

offered the following description of the director he referred to as ”young Spielberg ”: ”He’s the first one of us who doesn’t see the proscenium arch.” Spielberg, in other words ...