The Green Pasturesis a play written in 1930 byMarc Connellyadapted fromOl' Man Adam an' His Chillun(1928), a collection of stories written byRoark Bradford.[1]The play was the winner of thePulitzer Prize for Dramain 1930.[2]It had the first all-black Broadway cast. The play and the film adaptation were generally well received and hailed by white drama and film critics.[3]African-American intellectuals, cultural critics, and audiences were more critical of white author Connelly's claim to be presenting an authentic view of black religious thought.[4]
The play portrays episodes from theOld Testamentas seen through the eyes of a youngAfrican-Americanchild in theGreat Depression-eraSouthern United States,who interpretsThe Biblein terms familiar to her. Following Bradford's lead, Connelly set the biblical stories in New Orleans and in an all-black context. He diverged from Bradford's work, however, in enlarging the role of the character "De Lawd" (God), played on stage byRichard B. Harrison(1864–1935).The Green Pasturesalso featured numerous African-American spirituals arranged byHall Johnsonand performed by The Hall Johnson Choir. The cast also included singerMabel Ridley.The chorus included torch singer Eva Sylvester and members of the Sylvester family as cherubs.
Adaptations
editConnolly later collaborated withWilliam Keighleyin directing a Hollywoodfilm adaptationof the play, which was made in 1936, starringRex Ingramas "De Lawd". At the time, the film caused some controversy. It was banned inAustralia,Finland,andHungaryon the grounds that it was "blasphemous" to portray Biblical characters in this way.
The play was adapted fortelevision,and presented twice during the days of live TV on theHallmark Hall of Famein 1957 and 1959. Both productions starredWilliam Warfieldas "De Lawd", in the largest dramatic acting role he ever had on television.
In the UK, a radio adaption byRoy Lockwoodwas produced from New York in October 1945.[5]A UK television version was broadcast by BBC Television in theBBC Sunday-Night Theatreseries on 14 September 1958, produced by Eric Fawcett and starringWilliam Marshallas De Lawd.[6]
References
edit- ^Internet Broadway Database
- ^Pulitzer.org
- ^Dietz, Dan.The Complete Book of 1930s Broadway Musicals(2018)
- ^Evans, Curtis J. 'The Religious and Racial Meanings of The Green Pastures', inReligion and American Culture: A Journal of Interpretation,Vol. 18, No. 1 (Winter 2008), pp. 59-93
- ^Radio Times,Issue 1151, 21 October 1945, p. 8.
- ^Radio Times,Issue 1818, 14 September 1958, p. 7 and p. 11.
