Principal boy

A principal boy role is the young male protagonist of a play, traditionally filled in theatre by a young actress in boy's clothes. The earliest example is Miss Ellington who in 1852 appeared in The Good Woman in the Wood by James Planché to the consternation of a reviewer. She was followed by other music hall and burlesque entertainers, such as Harriet Vernon described as "a magnificent creature, who was willing to show her ample figure as generously as the conventional tights and trunks of the day allowed" and thus setting the standard of good legs on display and nominally male costume which emphasized her figure. The tradition grew out of laws restricting the use of child actors in London theatre, and the responsibility carried by such lead roles. A breeches role was also a rare opportu...