Every attempted delineation of the manners and customs of Imperial Rome must necessarily include a survey, as exhaustive as may be, of the spectacles, as the best measure of her grandeur, and as indicative in many ways of her moral and intellectual condition. Originally, for the most part, religious celebrations, they became, even in the later Republic, the best means of purchasing popular favour, and, under the Empire, of keeping the populace contented. Augustus, the tale runs, once reproached Pylades the Pantomime for his jealousy of a rival, and Pylades replied: 'It is to your advantage, Caesar, that the people concerns itself about us'. But these spectacles effected more even than the diversion of popular interest; their magnificence was a gauge of the popularity of the sovereign. The emperors, like Louis XIV, knew how admiration aids absolute autocracy; like Napoleon, that the imagination of the people must be excited: splendid festivals were one of their most indispensable and most constant devices. Even Caligula, according to Josephus, was honoured and beloved by the folly of the populace; the women and the youth did not desire his death; distributions of meat, the games and the gladiatorial combats had won their hearts, for such were the delights of the mob: the lavishing of these gifts was nominally due to consideration for the populace, though the gladiatorial combats were only intended to sate the monarch's lust of blood.

Every attempted delineation of the manners and customs of Imperial Rome must necessarily include a survey, as exhaustive as may be, of the spectacles, as the best measure of her grandeur, and as indicative in many ways of her moral and intellectual condition. Originally, for the most part, religious celebrations, they became, even in the later Republic, the best means of purchasing popular favour, and, under the Empire, of keeping the populace contented. Augustus, the tale runs, once reproached Pylades the Pantomime for his jealousy of a rival, and Pylades replied: 'It is to your advantage, Caesar, that the people concerns itself about us'. But these spectacles effected more even than the diversion of popular interest; their magnificence was a gauge of the popularity of the sovereign. The emperors, like Louis XIV, knew how admiration aids absolute autocracy; like Napoleon, that the imagination of the people must be excited: splendid festivals were one of their most indispensable and most constant devices. Even Caligula, according to Josephus, was honoured and beloved by the folly of the populace; the women and the youth did not desire his death; distributions of meat, the games and the gladiatorial combats had won their hearts, for such were the delights of the mob: the lavishing of these gifts was nominally due to consideration for the populace, though the gladiatorial combats were only intended to sate the monarch's lust of blood.

Charlie Nicholson has writer's block, but when he is offered a commission he sees a way to escape his debts. Merlin Foster, an actor, has specific needs: Charlie's script must contain the perfect method and alibi for the murder of Merlin's wife, only then can it be theatrically convincing. Eden, Merlin's young wife, is to remain in the dark so he can't surprise her with the play... A murderous and surprising tale.1 woman, 2 men, 1 woman or man

In the sequel to The Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch has stolen the Scarecrow's brains, the Lion's courage and the Tinman's heart. So off Dorothy and her old friends go to the Mountain of Darkness to get them back. Many hazards and dangers are encountered on the journey but they eventually manage to retrieve everything and, with the help of Glinda the Good Witch, the Wicked Witch is whisked off in a whirlwind.8 women, 10 men

Baum's story of Dorothy, carried by a cyclone from a Kansas farm to the land of the Tin Woodman, Scarecrow, and Cowardly Lion, was published in May 1900. By the following January, 100,000 copies had been sold, and the book has ever since been an undisputed favorite. The original illustrations by Denslow, which are reflected in the film and stage versions, have often been imitated but never surpassed.

"From the Hardcover edition."