I recently saw a play with a familiar dramatic structure. In the first act, a certain hopeful reality is presented. Then right after intermission the audience learns that the reality is far sadder and more complex than the audience had been led to believe.
This is essentially the structure of a number of other works for the stage, including The Fantasticks and Into the Woods. It’s a clever way to drive a story — the sudden deepening of reality serves to invest the audience in the ultimate outcome.
I tried to find out whether there is a term for this structure, but apparently there isn’t one. So I made one up. I call it Second Act Disillusionment, or SAD.