Gideon (1961), a play by Paddy Chayefsky. [ Plymouth Theatre, 236 perf.] God comes to earth as an Angel (Fredric March) and exhorts the young farmer Gideon (Douglas Campbell) to lead his people against the Midianites. At first Gideon is disbelieving, but when the Angel performs miracles and even gives Gideon the very plan that wins the battle, he accepts that the Angel is indeed Yahweh or Jehovah. But later Gideon refuses God's order to slay the elders of Succoth. His head has been swelled by praise, and so he comes to attribute his success not to God but to “historico‐economic, socio‐psychological forces.” The Angel can only rue that for all Man's belief in God, Man believes first and foremost in himself. Hailed by Howard Taubman of the Times as “a graceful conceit tinged with innocent wonder and wise laughter,” the play demonstrated Chayefsky's increasing preoccupation with mystical and metaphysical concerns.
Gideon
| American Theater Guide: Gideon |
| Wikipedia: Gideon (play) |
Gideon, a play by Paddy Chayefsky, is a seriocomic treatment of the story of Gideon, a judge in the Old Testament. The play had a successful Broadway run in 1961 and was broadcast on NBC in 1971 as a Hallmark Hall of Fame special.
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The story
Chayefsky drew from three chapters in the Book of Judges in writing this play, which explores the relationship of an ordinary man to God.
"The Angel of the Lord" appears before Gideon and drafts him to perform one of God's miracles. Gideon is to save his people from idolatry by winning an impossible battle in which 300 Israelites will defeat 120,000 Midianites.
In the second act, which a Time Magazine review described as the weaker of the play's two acts, Gideon asks to be released from his "covenant of love" with God. Gideon ignores God's order to kill some idolatrous Hebrew tribal chiefs, one of whom has a daughter who performs a seductive dance.
Gideon tells God, "You are too vast a concept for me." Gideon explains that his pity for fellow humans is above God's law. The Lord acknowledges that man wants to be "a proper god. You know, he might some day."
The cast
In the original Broadway version, Gideon was played by Douglas Campbell and Frederic March played "The Angel of the Lord." In the television adaptation, Peter Ustinov played Gideon and José Ferrer played "The Angel of the Lord."
The Time Magazine reviewer described Campbell's portrayal of Gideon in the 1961 production as "a simple-minded oaf one minute and a Judaic Henry V the next." TV Guide noted that Ustinov played Gideon as "a lumbering Hebrew" in the NBC adaptation.
Television adaptation
The 90-minute Hallmark Hall of Fame adaptation on NBC aired in the United States on Friday, March 26, 1971 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time. It pre-empted Name of the Game.
Chayefsky's Broadway script was adapted for television by Robert Hartung. George Schaefer produced and directed the TV version.
Cast
- Gideon — Peter Ustinov
- Angel of the Lord — José Ferrer
- Joash — Arnold Moss
- Shillem — Eric Christmas
- Orpah — Little Egypt
- Hezekiah — Booth Colman
- Abimelech — Harry Davis
References
- (1971, March 20-26). TV Guide, North Carolina Edition, p. A-88
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 | American Theater Guide. The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Copyright © 2004 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Gideon (play)". Read more |
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Mentioned in
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- Oreb (in the Old Testament)
- Zalmunna (king in the Old Testament)
- Zebah (king in the Old Testament)
- Los Grandes Lideres (1988 Spirituality & Philosophy Film)
- Purah
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- Gideon (Bible)
- Jehovah-shalom (in the Old Testament)
- Laudon Symphony (music)
- Great Bible Stories: David & Goliath (1986 Spirituality & Philosophy Film)
- Old Testament, Vol. 1 (1980 Film)
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