History Expy / Theatre

* An EpilepticTrees theory has argued that the Antonio of Creator/WilliamShakespeare's ''Theatre/TwelfthNight'' is the same as the Antonio of ''The Merchant of Venice''. Both seem to be homosexual and it's argued that the character of the the former, who is a sea captain, was able to become a wealthy merchant thanks to help from Sebastian and Viola.
** Similarly, although the character in ''RomeoAndJuliet'' is a ghost character (never appearing on stage), the Petruchio of that play ''could have been'' the same person as the one in ''Theatre/TheTamingOfTheShrew'', given that both are from Verona.
*** Outside of all of the women dressing as boys, Iachimo from ''{{Cymbeline}}'' has a name essentially meaning "little Iago" and is something like that character as a HarmlessVillain. There's also a degree of expytude between ''HenryIV'' and ''Julius Caesar'' which were written at about the same time. In both plays, an idealistic AntiVillain Hotspur/Brutus faces off an AntiHero MagnificentBastard Prince Hal/Marc Antony.
** ''Theatre/TwoGentlemenOfVerona'', being one of Shakespeare's earliest plays, is ''full'' of characters who would later be Expied:

*** Plot outline: Guy A and Girl A are in love. Girl A's father doesn't want them to be together. Meanwhile, Guy B tries to catch Girl A but is continually rebuffed. Girl B, who Guy B dumped in favor of Girl A, lurks in the wings, feeling sorry for herself. In the end, Guy B changes his mind, he and Girl B get back together, and everyone's happy. Now decide for yourself whether you want these four to be called Valentine, Sylvia, Proteus and Julia or [[AMidsummerNightsDream Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius and Helena]]. It doesn't really matter.
*** As an added bonus, ''each'' of the two couples informed one of Shakespeare's other famous couples. Sylvia [[RomeoAndJuliet sneaks off to marry her man in a friar's cell, after which he is "banished" and believes it's a fate worse than death because be can't be with his new wife]]. [[note]] Both scenarios were inspired by Arthur Brook's poem ''Romeus and Juliet'', but the latter was a straight adaptation.[[/note]] Julia, [[Theatre/TwelfthNight disguised as a boy, ends up delivering love letters for the guy she herself in love with, while ambiguously trying to convince him that sending the letters is a bad idea]]. Just to make it more obvious, her alias is "Sebastian", which was used as the name of Viola' HalfIdenticalTwin who complicates the situation further.
** The basic "Friar Laurence" type appears a third time as "Friar Francis" in ''MuchAdoAboutNothing'', once again convincing people that the best solution to any romantic difficulty is for the girl to fake her own death.
** Part of the reason Shakespeare has so much of this is that he wrote most of his plays for the same actors, leading to plenty of ActorAllusion.
* Speaking of Shakespeare, not only does nearly every character in RomeoAndJuliet correspond to one in Theatre/WestSideStory, so do many of the scenes:

* GilbertAndSullivan's ''Utopia, Ltd.'' features a Sir Edward Corcoran, KGB, who can be identified with Captain Corcoran of ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' - especially given that he sings part of the younger character's entrance song. Since [[spoiler: Corcoran and Ralph Rackstraw switch places]] at the end of the earlier musical, it is a matter of some debate which of the two (if either) the older character is supposed to be.
** Also from GilbertAndSullivan, some believe that Dick Deadeye in ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' may be an older, more jaded version of Dick Dauntless in ''Ruddigore''.

* CyranoDeBergerac:
** The Duenna is an expy from The Nurse from RomeoAndJuliet.
** Raguenau is an expy of M. Jourdain, protagonist of Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme (a play by Creator/{{Moliere}}.) M. Jourdain is a Burgher who dreams to be an [[BlueBlood Aristocrat]], [[TragicDream even when he really doesn’t understand exactly what an Aristocrat is]] [[FanDumb All he knows is that Aristocrats are cool]], and his naiveté makes him everyone’s ButtMonkey. Ragueneau is a baker who dreams to be a poet…

* Every character in MissSaigon corresponds to one in MadameButterfly, which it's based on:

* Speaking of Shakespeare, not only does nearly every character in RomeoAndJuliet correspond to one in WestSideStory, so do many of the scenes:

** Raguenau is an expy of M. Jourdain, protagonist of Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme (a play by {{Moliere}}.) M. Jourdain is a Burgher who dreams to be an [[BlueBlood Aristocrat]], [[TragicDream even when he really doesn’t understand exactly what an Aristocrat is]] [[FanDumb All he knows is that Aristocrats are cool]], and his naiveté makes him everyone’s ButtMonkey. Ragueneau is a baker who dreams to be a poet…

* An EpilepticTrees theory has argued that the Antonio of {{Shakespeare}}'s ''Theatre/TwelfthNight'' is the same as the Antonio of ''The Merchant of Venice''. Both seem to be homosexual and it's argued that the character of the the former, who is a sea captain, was able to become a wealthy merchant thanks to help from Sebastian and Viola.

*** As an added bonus, ''each'' of the two couples informed one of Shakespeare's other famous couples. Sylvia [[RomeoAndJuliet sneaks off to marry her man in a friar's cell, after which he is "banished" and believes it's a fate worse than death because be can't be with his new wife]]. [[hottip:*: Both scenarios were inspired by Arthur Brook's poem ''Romeus and Juliet'', but the latter was a straight adaptation.]] Julia, [[Theatre/TwelfthNight disguised as a boy, ends up delivering love letters for the guy she herself in love with, while ambiguously trying to convince him that sending the letters is a bad idea]]. Just to make it more obvious, her alias is "Sebastian", which was used as the name of Viola' HalfIdenticalTwin who complicates the situation further.

*** ''TheMerchantOfVenice'' has Launcelot (technically Launcelet, "little Launce"), an obvious copy of Launce. Both characters are [[CloudCuckoolander oddball]] servants who go off into comedic monologues, and their dialogues and jokes are eerily similar. Nerissa could also be seen as the new and improved Lucetta--both are maidservants who act as straight men in practically the same dialogue about suitors, and both assist their mistresses in disguising themselves as boys.

* An EpilepticTrees theory has argued that the Antonio of {{Shakespeare}}'s ''TwelfthNight'' is the same as the Antonio of ''The Merchant of Venice''. Both seem to be homosexual and it's argued that the character of the the former, who is a sea captain, was able to become a wealthy merchant thanks to help from Sebastian and Viola.

*** As an added bonus, ''each'' of the two couples informed one of Shakespeare's other famous couples. Sylvia [[RomeoAndJuliet sneaks off to marry her man in a friar's cell, after which he is "banished" and believes it's a fate worse than death because be can't be with his new wife]]. [[hottip:*: Both scenarios were inspired by Arthur Brook's poem ''Romeus and Juliet'', but the latter was a straight adaptation.]] Julia, [[TwelfthNight disguised as a boy, ends up delivering love letters for the guy she herself in love with, while ambiguously trying to convince him that sending the letters is a bad idea]]. Just to make it more obvious, her alias is "Sebastian", which was used as the name of Viola' HalfIdenticalTwin who complicates the situation further.

** Similarly, although the character in ''{{Romeo and Juliet}}'' is a ghost character (never appearing on stage), the Petruchio of that play ''could have been'' the same person as the one in ''{{The Taming of the Shrew}}'', given that both are from Verona.

* Speaking of Shakespeare, not only does nearly every character in RomeoAndJuliet correspond to one in WestSideStory, so do many of the scenes:

* {{Gilbert and Sullivan}}'s ''Utopia, Ltd.'' features a Sir Edward Corcoran, KGB, who can be identified with Captain Corcoran of ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' - especially given that he sings part of the younger character's entrance song. Since [[spoiler: Corcoran and Ralph Rackstraw switch places]] at the end of the earlier musical, it is a matter of some debate which of the two (if either) the older character is supposed to be.
** Also from {{Gilbert and Sullivan}}, some believe that Dick Deadeye in ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' may be an older, more jaded version of Dick Dauntless in ''Ruddigore''.

** Roxane is an expy of Marcela, [[MarySue the beautiful, intelligent, easygoing and rich woman]] [[SoBeautifulItsACurse who has become a shepherdess to escape the constant courtship of a lot of suitors]]. She is a friendly person, [[DoesNotLikeMen but is not interested in love.]] She is present at Grisóstomo’s burial and claims that she never leaded Grisóstomo on, [[BrutalHonesty she was sincere with him when she said she didn’t love him]] and if Grisóstomo [[DrivenToSuicide took his own life it was not because he was a]] LoveMartyr, but because he was a MartyrWithoutACause.

* A [[FantasticRacism fantastic racist]], CompleteMonster, extremely ambitious and selfish headmistress of a magical school... Wait, who said anything about [[HarryPotter Professor Umbridge]]? We're talking about [[Theatre/{{Wicked}} Madame Morrible]].
** Of course, Order of the Phoenix and Wicked both came out in the same year, so this isn't intentional.

** The basic "Friar Laurence" type appears a third time as "Friar Patrick" in ''MuchAdoAboutNothing'', once again convincing people that the best solution to any romantic difficulty is for the girl to fake her own death.

** ''TheTwoGentlemenOfVerona'', being one of Shakespeare's earliest plays, is ''full'' of characters who would later be Expied:

* In Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hoffmannsthal's opera ''Theatre/DerRosenkavalier'', the Marschallin and Octavian are versions of the Countess and Cherubino from ''TheMarriageOfFigaro''.

* In Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hoffmannsthal's opera ''DerRosenkavalier'', the Marschallin and Octavian are versions of the Countess and Cherubino from ''TheMarriageOfFigaro''.

* A [[FantasticRacism fantastic racist]], CompleteMonster, extremely ambitious and selfish headmistress of a magical school... Wait, who said anything about [[HarryPotter Professor Umbridge]]? We're talking about [[{{Wicked}} Madame Morrible]].

*** As an added bonus, ''each'' of the two couples informed one of Shakespeare's other famous couples. Sylvia [[RomeoAndJuliet sneaks off to marry her man in a friar's cell, after which he is "banished" and believes it's a fate worse than death because be can't be with his new wife]]. [[hottip:*: Both scenarios were inspired by Arthur Brook's poem ''Romeus and Juliet'', but the latter was a straight adaptation.]] Julia, [[TwelfthNight while disguised as a boy, ends up delivering love letters for the guy she herself in love with, while ambiguously trying to convince him that sending the letters is a bad idea]]. Just to make it more obvious, her alias is "Sebastian", which was used as the name of Viola' HalfIdenticalTwin who complicates the situation further.

*** As an added bonus, ''each'' of the two couples informed one of Shakespeare's other famous couples. Sylvia [[RomeoAndJuliet sneaks off to marry her man in a friar's cell, after which he is "banished" and believes it's a fate worse than death because be can't be with his new wife]]. [[hottip:*: Both scenarios were inspired by Arthur Brook's poem ''Romeus and Juliet'', but the latter was a straight adaptation.]] Julia, [[TwelfthNight while disguised as a boy named Sebastian, ends up delivering love letters for the guy she herself in love with, while ambiguously trying to convince him that sending the letters is a bad idea]].

*** As an added bonus, ''each'' of the two couples informed one of Shakespeare's other famous couples. Sylvia [[RomeoAndJuliet sneaks off to marry Proteus in a friar's cell, after which he is "banished" and believes it's a fate worse than death because be can't be with his love]]. [[hottip:*: Both scenarios were inspired by Arthur Brook's poem ''Romeus and Juliet'', but the latter was a straight adaptation.]] Julia, [[TwelfthNight while disguised as a boy named Sebastian, ends up delivering love letters for the guy she herself in love with, while ambiguously trying to convince him that sending the letters is a bad idea]].

*** As an added bonus, ''each'' of the two couples informed one of Shakespeare's other famous couples. Sylvia [[RomeoAndJuliet sneaks off to marry Proteus in a friar's cell, after which he is "banished" and believes it's a fate worse than death because be can't be with his love]]. [[hottip:Both scenarios were inspired by Arthur Brook's poem ''Romeus and Juliet'', but the latter was a straight adaptation.]] Julia, [[TwelfthNight while disguised as a boy named Sebastian, ends up delivering love letters for the guy she herself in love with, while ambiguously trying to convince him that sending the letters is a bad idea]].

*** As an added bonus, ''each'' of the two couples informed one of Shakespeare's other famous couples. Sylvia [[RomeoAndJuliet sneaks off to marry Proteus in a friar's cell, after which he is "banished" and believes it's a fate worse than death because be can't be with his love]]. [[*hottip: Both scenarios were inspired by Arthur Brook's poem ''Romeus and Juliet'', but the latter was a straight adaptation.]] Julia, [[TwelfthNight while disguised as a boy named Sebastian, ends up delivering love letters for the guy she herself in love with, while ambiguously trying to convince him that sending the letters is a bad idea]].

*** As an added bonus, ''each'' of the two couples informed one of Shakespeare's other famous couples. Sylvia [[RomeoAndJuliet sneaks off to marry Proteus in a friar's cell, after which he is "banished" and believes it's a fate worse than death because be can't be with his love]]. [[hottip: Both scenarios were inspired by Arthur Brook's poem ''Romeus and Juliet'', but the latter was a straight adaptation.]] Julia, [[TwelfthNight while disguised as a boy named Sebastian, ends up delivering love letters for the guy she herself in love with, while ambiguously trying to convince him that sending the letters is a bad idea]].

*** As an added bonus, ''each'' of the two couples informed one of Shakespeare's other famous couples. Sylvia [[RomeoAndJuliet sneaks off to marry Proteus in a friar's cell, after which he is "banished" and believes it's a fate worse than death because be can't be with his love]]. Julia, [[TwelfthNight while disguised as a boy named Sebastian, ends up delivering love letters for the guy she herself in love with, while ambiguously trying to convince him that sending the letters is a bad idea]].
** Speaking of Friar Laurence, he appears a third time as "Friar Patrick" in ''MuchAdoAboutNothing'', once again convincing people that the best solution to any romantic difficulty is for the girl to fake her own death.

** Roxane is an expy of Marcela, [[MarySue the beautiful, intelligent, easygoing and rich woman]] [[TooBeatifulItsACurse who has become a shepherdess to escape the constant courtship of a lot of suitors]]. She is a friendly person, [[DoesNotLikeMen but is not interested in love.]] She is present at Grisóstomo’s burial and claims that she never leaded Grisóstomo on, she was sincere with him when she said she didn’t love him and if Grisóstomo took his own life it was not because he was a LoveMartyr, but because he was a MartyrWithoutACause.

* A [[FantasticRacism fantastic racist]], CompleteMonster, extremely ambitious and selfish headmistress of a magical school... Wait, who said anything about [[HarryPotter Professor Umbridge]]? We're talking abput [[{{Wicked}} Madame Morrible]].