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Playing God

The Bible on the Broadway Stage [Hardback]

by Henry Bial

    • Author

      Henry Bial

    • Book Format

      Hardback

    • Publisher

      The University of Michigan Press

    • Published

      October 2015

      Read full description

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      £81.44

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      Playing God

      Today's Price £81.44



      Product Description

      Whether we regard it as the collected inscriptions of an earlier oral tradition or as the divinely authored source text of liturgical ritual, the Bible can be understood as a sacred performance text, a framework for an instructional theater that performs the shared moral and ethical values of a community. It's not surprising, then, that playwrights have turned to the Bible as a source for theatrical adaptation. Biblical texts have inspired more than 100 Broadway plays and musicals, ranging from early spectacles like Ben-Hur (1899) to more familiar works such as Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar . What happens when a culture's most sacred text enters its most commercial performance venue? Playing God focuses on eleven financially and/or critically successful productions, as well as a few notable Broadway flops that highlight the difficulties in adapting the Old and New Testaments for the stage. The book is informed by both performance studies and theater history, combining analysis of play-scripts with archival research into the actual circumstances of production and reception.
      Biblical plays, Henry Bial argues, balance religious and commercial considerations through a complex blend of spectacle, authenticity, sincerity, and irony. Though there is no magic formula for a successful adaptation, these four analytical lenses help explain why some biblical plays thrive while others have not.

      Specification

      • Author

        Henry Bial

      • Book Format

        Hardback

      • Publisher

        The University of Michigan Press

      • Published

        October 2015

      • Weight

        500g

      • Page Count

        240

      • Dimensions

        150 x 232 x 26 mm

      • ISBN

        9780472072927

      • ISBN-10

        0472072927

      • Eden Code

        4339800

      More Information

      • Author/Creator: Henry Bial

      • ISBN: 9780472072927

      • Publisher: The University of Michigan Press

      • Release Date: October 2015

      • Weight: 500g

      • Dimensions: 150 x 232 x 26 mm

      • Eden Code: 4339800


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