Research Catalog
Playing God The Bible on the Broadway Stage
- Title
- Playing God [electronic resource] : The Bible on the Broadway Stage / Henry Bial.
- Author
- Bial, Henry, 1970-
- Publication
- Baltimore, Maryland : Project Muse, 2015
- Ann Arbor [Michigan] : University of Michigan Press, [2015]
Details
- Additional Authors
- Project Muse.
- Description
- 1 online resource (1 PDF (ix, 247 pages) :) : illustrations.
- Summary
- 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 successful productions, as well as a few notable 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.
- Uniform Title
- Playing God (Online)
- Book collections on Project MUSE.
- Alternative Title
- Playing God (Online)
- Subject
- Note
- Issued as part of book collections on Project MUSE.
- Bibliography (note)
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 221-237) and index.
- Access (note)
- Access restricted to authorized users.
- Source of Description (note)
- Description based on print version record.
- Contents
- Faith-based initiatives -- Ben-Hur, Biblical fan fiction -- In the beginning : theatrical creations -- These are the generations of Noah -- Why do the righteous suffer? -- Jesus Christ, Broadway star -- Hard job being God.
- OCLC
- ssj0001558202
- Author
- Bial, Henry, 1970-
- Title
- Playing God [electronic resource] : The Bible on the Broadway Stage / Henry Bial.
- Imprint
- Baltimore, Maryland : Project Muse, 2015 (Baltimore, Md. : Project MUSE, 2015)Ann Arbor [Michigan] : University of Michigan Press, [2015] (Baltimore, Md. : Project MUSE, 2015)
- Series
- Book collections on Project MUSE.
- Bibliography
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 221-237) and index.
- Access
- Access restricted to authorized users.
- Connect to:
- Added Author
- Project Muse.
- Other Form:
- Print version: 0472072927 9780472072927