“Stage Fright: Or the Fate of Frankenstein”

In 1823, Mary Shelley watched with trepidation as an actor in green greasepaint gave life to her “hideous progeny.” Soon, over a dozen dramatizations of Frankenstein crowded onto stages in England and France. Through prints, playbills, and play texts — including the first edition of Shelley’s novel and the earliest images of Frankenstein’s monster — this exhibit explores how 19th-century playwrights transformed Shelley’s original vision, setting a pattern for future reincarnations of the tale that forever altered popular culture.