Ben-Hur (play)

Last updated
Ben-Hur
Ben Hur Broadway2.jpg
1899 poster from the Broadway premiere
Written by William W. Young,
Lew Wallace
Directed by Ben Teal
Date premiered1899 (1899)
Place premiered Broadway Theatre (41st Street)
in New York, NY
Genre Hippodrama, Melodrama

Ben-Hur was an 1899 theatrical adaptation of the 1880 Lew Wallace novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ . The story was dramatized by William W. Young and produced by Marc Klaw and A. L. Erlanger. The stage production was notable for its elaborate use of spectacle, including live horses for the famous chariot race. The hippodrama had six acts with incidental music written by American composer Edgar Stillman Kelley. The stage production opened at the Broadway Theater in New York City on November 29, 1899, and became a hit Broadway show. Traveling versions of the production, including a national tour that ran for twenty-one years, played in the United States, Great Britain, and Australia. By the end of its run in April 1920, the play had been seen by more than twenty million people and earned over $10 million at the box office. There have been other stage adaptations of Wallace's novel, as well as several motion picture versions.

Contents

History

After Wallace's novel was published in 1880, there was widespread demand for it to be adapted for the stage, but Wallace resisted for nearly twenty years, arguing that no one could accurately portray Christ on stage or recreate a realistic chariot race. [1] Despite that resistance, smaller theatre companies adapted the novel for the stage. [2] In 1899, following three months of negotiations, Wallace entered into agreement with theatrical producers Marc Klaw and A. L. Erlanger to adapt his novel into a stage production. Wallace would receive two thirds of the royalties from the production, while Harper and Brothers, the book's publisher, would receive one third. [3]

Playwright William Young wrote the stage adaptation, reducing it to six acts in thirteen scenes. The stage version closely followed the novel's plot and retained portions of its dialog. [4] Edgar Stillman Kelley composed the play's music, but it was its elaborate staging and special effects that created a life-sized visual presentation of Wallace's novel. [5] Ernest Gros and the painter Ernest Albert designed the production's sets. [6]

Edward J. Morgan as Judah Ben-Hur and Corona Riccardo as Iras Edward Morgan and Corona Riccardo - Photoplay, January 1921.jpg
Edward J. Morgan as Judah Ben-Hur and Corona Riccardo as Iras

The character of Ben-Hur was initially cast with Walker Whiteside, but he was replaced by Edward J. Morgan at the last minute. [5] William Farnum replaced Morgan after the show's first season. [7] William S. Hart played Messala. [5] Hart would go on to leading roles in silent films such as The Aryan (1916), and became a silent screen cowboy hero. Farnum also appeared in several films, including The Spoilers (1914). [8] [9] The character of Christ was "represented as a 25,000-candlepower beam of light" and not portrayed by an actor. [3]

The resulting production of Ben-Hur opened at the Broadway Theater in New York City on November 29, 1899. It ran for 194 performances in its first season, before closing on May 10, 1900. Critics of the three-hour-and-twenty-nine-minute performance gave it mixed reviews; however, the audience, many of whom were first-time theatergoers, packed the house. Ben-Hur became a hit show, selling 25,000 tickets per week. [7] [10] [11] The play reopened in New York City on September 3, 1900, and ran for eighteen non-consecutive years on Broadway. [12] The play's twenty-one-year national tour included large venues in cities such as Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and Baltimore. International versions of the show played in London, England, and in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia. When the play finally closed in April 1920, it had been seen by more than twenty million people and earned over $10 million at the box office. [10] [13] [14] [15]

Fans included William Jennings Bryan, who claimed it was "the greatest play on stage when measured by its religious tone and moral effect". [16] Its popularity is credited with introducing stage shows to a new audience, "many of them devout churchgoers who'd previously been suspicious of the stage". [16] Adaptations of other novels with biblical settings followed Ben-Hur to the stage. These included Quo Vadis in 1901 and Judith of Bethulia in 1904. [17]

Spectacle

The key spectacle of the 1899 show recreated the novel's chariot race with live horses and real chariots running on treadmills against a rotating backdrop. [10] [14] When Wallace saw the elaborate stage sets, he exclaimed, "My God. Did I set all of this in motion?" [10] [16]

Esther, Simonides, Ben Hur, and Amrah in a 1903 scene Esther, Simonides, Ben Hur, and Amrah in a scene from "Ben Hur" (SAYRE 12703) (cropped).jpg
Esther, Simonides, Ben Hur, and Amrah in a 1903 scene

When the play was produced for the London stage, it used four chariots, as opposed to two in the U.S. [8] In 1902, The Era 's drama critic detailed how it was achieved with "four great cradles, 20 ft (6.1 m) in length and 14 ft (4.3 m) wide" that are moved "back and front on railways". The horses galloped full-pelt towards the audience, secured with steel cable traces as they ran on treadmills. The horses also drove the movement of a vast cyclorama backdrop that revolved in the opposite direction to create an illusion of rapid speed. Electric rubber rollers spun the chariot wheels, while fans created clouds of dust. A critic for The Illustrated London News described it as "a marvel of stage-illusion" that was "memorable beyond all else". The Sketch 's critic called it "thrilling and realistic ... enough to make the fortune of any play" and noted that "the stage, which has to bear 30 tons' weight of chariots and horses, besides huge crowds, has had to be expressly strengthened and shored up". [14]

Adaptations

There have been other stage adaptations since the initial production in 1899, including a London production staged in 2009 at the O2 arena featuring a live chariot race. [18]

The book was also adapted for motion pictures in 1907, 1925, 1959, 2003, 2016, and as an American television miniseries in 2010. The 1959 film adaptation, starring Charlton Heston and featuring the famous chariot race, won a record eleven Academy Awards [19] and was the top-grossing film of 1960. [20]


A 1901 poster for a production at the Illinois Theater in Chicago Strobridge & Co. Lith.- Ben-Hur - Klaw & Erlanger's Stupendous Production.jpg
A 1901 poster for a production at the Illinois Theater in Chicago

Related Research Articles

Ben-Hur or Ben Hur may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lew Wallace</span> American general, politician, and author (1827–1905)

Lewis Wallace was an American lawyer, Union general in the American Civil War, governor of New Mexico Territory, politician, diplomat, artist, and author from Indiana. Among his novels and biographies, Wallace is best known for his historical adventure story, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1880), a bestselling novel that has been called "the most influential Christian book of the nineteenth century."

<i>Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ</i> 1880 novel by Lew Wallace

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ is a novel by Lew Wallace, published by Harper and Brothers on November 12, 1880, and considered "the most influential Christian book of the nineteenth century". It became a best-selling American novel, surpassing Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) in sales. The book also inspired other novels with biblical settings and was adapted for the stage and motion picture productions.

<i>Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ</i> (1925 film) 1925 film by Fred Niblo

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ is a 1925 American silent epic adventure-drama film directed by Fred Niblo and written by June Mathis based on the 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by General Lew Wallace. Starring Ramon Novarro as the title character, the film is the first feature-length adaptation of the novel and second overall, following the 1907 silent short film.

<i>Ben Hur</i> (1907 film) 1907 American film

Ben Hur is a 1907 American silent drama film set in ancient Rome, the first screen adaptation of Lew Wallace's popular 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. Co-directed by Sidney Olcott and Frank Oakes Rose, this "photoplay" was produced by the Kalem Company of New York City, and its scenes, including the climactic chariot race, were filmed in the city's borough of Brooklyn.

<i>Ben-Hur</i> (1959 film) 1959 American epic film directed by William Wyler

Ben-Hur is a 1959 American religious epic film directed by William Wyler, produced by Sam Zimbalist, and starring Charlton Heston as the title character. A remake of the 1925 silent film with a similar title, it was adapted from Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The screenplay is credited to Karl Tunberg, but includes contributions from Maxwell Anderson, S. N. Behrman, Gore Vidal, and Christopher Fry. The cast also features Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet, Hugh Griffith, Martha Scott, Cathy O'Donnell, and Sam Jaffe.

<i>Ben Hur</i> (2003 film) 2003 animated film based on the Lew Wallaces 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

Ben Hur is a 2003 American-Canadian animated drama film based on the 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, by Lew Wallace. It is the fourth film adaptation of the novel, the prior three of which were the 1907 silent short film, the 1925 silent film, and the Academy Award-winning 1959 film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zerelda G. Wallace</span> American activist

Zerelda Gray Sanders Wallace was the First Lady of Indiana from 1837 to 1840, and a temperance activist, women's suffrage leader, and inspirational speaker in the 1870s and 1880s. She was a charter member of Central Christian Church, the first Christian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. Her husband was David Wallace, the sixth governor of Indiana; Lew Wallace, one of her stepsons, became an American Civil War general and author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Wallace</span> American author and poet (1830–1907)

Susan Arnold Elston Wallace was an American author and poet from Crawfordsville, Indiana. In addition to writing travel articles for several American magazines and newspapers, Wallace published six books, five of which contain collected essays from her travels in the New Mexico Territory, Europe, and the Middle East in the 1880s: The Land of the Pueblos (1888), The Storied Sea (1883), The Repose in Egypt: A Medley (1888), Along the Bosphorus, and Other Sketches (1898), and The City of the King: What the Child Jesus Saw and Heard (1903). She was also the wife of Lew Wallace, a lawyer, American Civil War general, politician, author and diplomat. Susan completed the manuscript of Lew Wallace's two-volume autobiography following his death in 1905, with the assistance of Mary Hannah Krout, another Crawfordsville author. Wallace died in Crawfordsville in 1907.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hippodrama</span>

Hippodrama, horse drama, or equestrian drama is a genre of theatrical show blending circus horsemanship display with popular melodrama theatre.

Ben Hur Live is a 2009 stage adaptation of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. Produced by Franz Abraham with music and narration by Stewart Copeland, it premièred on 17 September 2009 at the O2 Arena in London, the first date of its European tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grace George</span> American actress

Grace George was a prominent American stage actress, who had a long career on Broadway stage and also appeared in two films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Age of Indiana Literature</span> Time period from 1880–1920

The Golden Age of Indiana Literature is a period from 1880 to 1920 when many nationally and internationally acclaimed literary works were created by natives of the state of Indiana. During this time, many of the United States' most popular authors came from Indiana. Maurice Thompson, George Ade, Booth Tarkington, Theodore Dreiser, Edward Eggleston, Frank McKinney Hubbard, George Barr McCutcheon, Meredith Nicholson, Gene Stratton Porter, Lew Wallace, and James Whitcomb Riley were foremost among the Hoosier authors.

Production of <i>Ben-Hur</i> (1959 film)

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) originally announced a remake of the 1925 silent film Ben-Hur in December 1952, ostensibly as a way to spend its Italian assets. Stewart Granger and Robert Taylor were reported to be in the running for the lead. Nine months later, MGM announced it would make the film in CinemaScope, with shooting beginning in 1954. In November 1953, MGM announced it had assigned producer Sam Zimbalist to the picture and hired screenwriter Karl Tunberg to write it. Zimbalist was chosen because he had produced MGM's Best Picture-nominated Christians-and-lions epic Quo Vadis in 1951. The studio then announced in July 1954 that production would start in March 1955 with 42 speaking parts and 97 sets. MGM said Sidney Franklin would direct, that the script by Tunberg was finished, that shooting would occur in Rome and in Spain, and that Marlon Brando was up for the lead. In September 1955, Zimbalist, who continued to claim that Tunberg's script was complete, announced that a $7 million, six-to-seven month production would begin in April 1956 in either Israel or Egypt in MGM's new 65mm widescreen process. MGM, however, suspended production in early 1956.

William Wallace Young was an American playwright, writer, and actor, best known for his play adaptation of the novel Ben-Hur in 1899.

<i>Ben-Hur</i> (2016 film) 2016 film by Timur Bekmambetov

Ben-Hur is a 2016 epic historical drama film directed by Timur Bekmambetov and written by Keith Clarke and John Ridley. It is the fifth film adaptation of the 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace following the 1907 silent short film, the 1925 silent film, the Academy Award-winning 1959 film and the 2003 animated film; it is the third version produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It has been termed a "re-adaptation", "reimagining", and "new interpretation" of the novel, and follows Judah Ben-Hur, a young prince who is falsely accused by his step-brother, an officer of the Roman army, and is sent to slavery, only to escape and seek vengeance. The film stars Jack Huston as the titular character, alongside Toby Kebbell, Rodrigo Santoro, Nazanin Boniadi, Ayelet Zurer, and Morgan Freeman. Principal photography began on February 2, 2015, in Matera, Italy and lasted about five months, finishing in June 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judah Ben-Hur</span> Fictional character

Judah Ben-Hur, shortened to Ben-Hur, is a fictional character, the title character and protagonist from Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The book covers the character's adventures and struggle against the Roman Empire as he tries to restore honor to his family's name after being falsely accused of attacking the Roman governor. Judah encounters Jesus Christ and becomes a Christian.

Kalem Co. v. Harper Bros., 222 U.S. 55 (1911), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held producing a motion picture based on a dramatic work can be copyright infringement. The producer of the motion picture is liable even they are not the exhibitor. This does not extend to a restriction of the dramatic work's ideas; it is a recognition of the author's monopoly powers granted by Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Teal</span> American actor

Benjamin Moses Teal was an American actor, theater director, and playwright. He directed over 30 plays on Broadway between 1897 and 1916, and was widely known for his strict, often brusque stage direction. Born in Eugene, Oregon, Teal spent his formative years in San Francisco, where he began performing as a child actor in theatrical productions.

Benjamin Stannard Mears, also known as Ben Mears, Ben S. Mears, and Stannard Mears, was an American stage actor, vaudeville performer, and playwright. He is best known for the 1918 play Seventeen; an adaptation of Booth Tarkington's 1916 novel of the same name which he co-wrote with Hugh Stanislaus Stange.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Ray E. Boomhower (2005). The Sword and the Pen. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society Press. pp. 138–39. ISBN   0-87195-185-1.
  2. ↑ ""Ben Hur"". No. Wellington Daily Mail. Jan 7, 1893. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  3. 1 2 Robert E. Morsberger and Katharine M. Morsberger (1980). Lew Wallace: Militant Romantic. New York: McGraw-Hill. p.  457. ISBN   0-07-043305-4.
  4. ↑ Morsberger and Morsberger, p. 458.
  5. 1 2 3 Morsberbger and Morsberger, p. 459.
  6. ↑ Jon Solomon (2016). Ben-Hur: The Original Blockbuster. Edinburgh University Press. p. 334. ISBN   9781474407960.
  7. 1 2 Morsberger and Morsberger, p. 464.
  8. 1 2 Morsberger and Morseberger, p. 466.
  9. ↑ "The Spoilers". Internet Movie Database . Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Boomhower, pp. 140–41.
  11. ↑ Jon Solomon (2008). "Fugutive Sources, Ben-Hur, and the Popular Art "Property"". RBM. 9 (1). Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries: 68.
  12. ↑ "Ben Hur". Internet Broadway Database . Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  13. ↑ Morsberger and Morsberger, pp. 464–66.
  14. 1 2 3 Samantha Ellis (8 October 2003). "Ben-Hur, London, 1902". The Guardian . Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  15. ↑ Amy Lifson (2009). "Ben-Hur". Humanities. 30 (6). Washington, D.C.: National Endowment for the Humanities. Archived from the original on 2015-10-15. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
  16. 1 2 3 John Swansburg (26 March 2013). "The Passion of Lew Wallace". The Slate Group. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  17. ↑ Morsberger and Morsberger, p. 465.
  18. ↑ Mark Espiner (14 September 2009). "Ben Hur Live Leaves Little to the Imagination". The Guardian . Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  19. ↑ "The 32nd Academy Awards (1960) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
  20. ↑ Cobbett Steinberg (1980). Film Facts. New York: Facts on File, Inc. pp.  17 and 23. ISBN   0-87196-313-2.

Bibliography


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.