Christ As a Dramatic Character

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University Microfilms International 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 4B106 USA St. John's Road, Tyler's Green High Wycombe, Bucks, England HP10 8HR SPEARY, John P hillips, J r ., 1951- CHRIST AS A DRAMATIC CHARACTER. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1977 Theater University Microfilms InternationalAnn , Arbor, Michigan 48108 © Copyright by John Phillips Speary, Jr. 1977 PLEASE NOTE: Page U 6 is lacking in number only. No text ts missing. Filmed as received. UN I VERS t TY MICROFILMS. CHRIST AS A DRAMATIC CHARACTER DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Chio State University m * By John Phillips Speary, Jr., B. A. E., M. A. * The Ohio State University 1977 Reading Committeei Approved By Dr. Roy Bowen Dr. John Morrow Dr. John 7/alker Department of Theatre ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to thank Victoria, my wife, for her loving support Dr. 3owen for his efforts and encouragement; Greg Wallace for his editorial assistance; Leslie Tudor and Deborah Flower-Smith for their help in typing and proof-reading; and all of my brothers and sisters for their prayers and concern. VITA August 9, 19^1 • • • • • Born- Wichita, Kansas 1973* • ••••••.. B.A.E., Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas 1973-197 7 .............. Graduate Fellow, Department of Theatre, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1974-1976. ••••••• Teaching Associate, Department of Theatre, The Ohio State Uni versity, Columbus, Ohio 1975>* ......... M.A., The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio FIELDS OF STUDY Major Fields: Directing and Criticism Studies in Directing and Literature. Professor Roy Bowen Studies in Contemporary Drama and Criticism. Professor John Morrow Studies in Classical Criticism. Professor Donald Glancy lil TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...................... ii VITA ................................................... iii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION! CHRIST AS A DRAMATIC CHARACTER.... 1 II. CHRIST AS A HISTORICAL FIGURE..................... 19 III. CHRIST AS A SPIRITUAL PROTAGONIST............ - . IV. CHRIST AS A MYTHOLOGICAL FIGURE...................13^ V. CHRIST AS AN OBJECT OF REFUTATION.................. 182 VI. CHRIST AS A POSITIVE INFLUENCE................ 230 VII. CHRIST AS A MUSICAL COMEDY CHARACTER........ 2?9 VIII. PROBLEMS OF CHRIST AS A DRAMATIC CHARACTER .... 323 APPENDIX A 1 THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT ACCOUNTS . 3^5 Bi HARMONY OF THE GOSPELS........................ 368 Ci GOSPEL EVENTS USED IN THE SCRIPTS................ 386 BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................... 388 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION CHRIST AS A DRAMATIC FIGURE Consider these dramatic protagonists* a young Jewish boy on a pilgrimage to the Holy City comes to realize his destiny involves reforming the faith of his ancestors* an intense* country priest rejects the affection from a girl who has loved him since they were children and causes her to plot for his downfall* an aging and penitent monk is confronted by the fanatical spokesman for a radical sect which he had inspired unintentionally many years before* a gentle, yet mercurial clown leads his troupe of friends through a series of games until he is turned over to the authorities by a disenchanted follower. Disparate as they may be, all of these are different approaches to the charac terization of Jesus, the Christ, taken by four twentieth century playwrights. More plays have been written concerning the life and character of the Nasarene preacher over the course of theatre history than any other figure. However it was not until the twentieth century that a significant portion of those scripts broke out of the rigid mold of a traditionally 2 1 reverent approach to the subject matter. Before the 1900's, the majority of plays about Jesus were pageant-like coordi nations of major Biblical incidents strung together with little regard for the creation of fully dimensioned characterization or dramatic continuity. Over the past several decades there has been an increasing number of serious attempts by skilled dramatic artists to explore more freely the dramatic potential of the founder of the Christian faith. The attempts have covered a wide range of views of the focal character. Jesus' identity has been presented in such disparate ways as being on one extreme little more than a myth perpetrated for the self-serving goals of those who profess to be his followers to on the other extreme being unquestionably the human incarnation of God and the only means by which mortal man can receive a relationship with God, It is the aim of this study to analyse various major dramatizations of the life of Jesus and his influence on contemporary characters in the first century A.D. The study presents the range of dramatic alternatives taken by the playwrights included. Both the specific and common 1Donn Brian Murphy, "Dramatic Portrayals of Christ" (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Wisconsin, 1 9 W , p. 3 difficulties found in the scripts are discussed in order to ascertain the nature of the dilemmas inherent in trying to turn this vastly influential, yet highly controversial historical figure into a stage persona. Problems in taking different philosophical stances to the available historical sources are examined as well as the aesthetic crises found in attempting to create a full drama from those sources. Despite the many efforts to present Jesus on stage, little success has been found in this century for the Nazarene as a dramatic subject. In evaluating both the failures and the isolated successes, the study conjectures on possible dramatic principles which might yield more bountiful fruit for future attempts at presenting Christ as a dramatic figure* This study ventures inescapably into the threatening and largely uncharted regions of religious drama. The exact significance of religious drama to general theatrical scho larship has been a point of painful controversy in recent years. However, it has only been in the past century and a half that the critical view of literature has attempted to detach itself not only from a religious framework but also from the acceptance of any subjective construct of philoso- 2 phical and moral beliefs. That insistence on a clean 2 G.B. Tennyson and Edward E, Ericson, Jr., ed., Religion and Modern Literature (Grand Rapids, Michigani Eerdmans, 1975)» p. 9. separation of aesthetic form from the moral and thematic implications of content,'most*strongly exemplified in the New School critics, is a major factor in making the discussion of religious drama so problematic. More so than with other generic classifications determined by subject area, the field of religious drama demands a critical approach which recognizes the inextricable bond between its aesthetic form and its philosophical content in order for any discussion of the area to be of any practical merit. An initial block to the resolution of controversy con cerning religious drama's nature and significance has been scholars' apparent inability to arrive at an acceptable and comprehensive definition of "religious drama." Harold Ehrensperger ties his concept of religious drama to the principal motivations of the focal characters in the conflict. By his definition, active characters must be presented in conflict situations which test their faith and/or beliefs as those beliefs apply to their life experiences.-^ Religious drama is thereby afforded a broader range for possible choice of conflicts than might be assumed if the definition were restricted more narrowly to types of behavior directly ^Harold Ehrensperger, Religious Dramai Means

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