Overview

"What happens when freedom of artistic expression offends freedom of religion? A great controversy arose when America's first professional Passion play, staged in San Francisco in 1879, was pronounced a ""sacrilege"" by Protestant ministers (Salmi Morse's play, The Passion, was in reality a pious description of the Gospel story). This work shows that Morse and his play were victims of the Protestant church's struggle to maintain power during the late 1800s, a time when America was changing into a more urban nation. This saga of a society's attempt to control ""immoral""art by government intervention is also a disconcerting look at how easily artistic freedom can be sacrificed on the altar of political expediency."

Full Product Details

Author:   Alan Nielsen
Publisher:   McFarland & Co Inc
Imprint:   McFarland & Co Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.50cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.408kg
ISBN:  

9780786473878

ISBN 10:   0786473878
Pages:   304
Publication Date:   06 February 2013
Recommended Age:   From 18 years
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable  
The supplier advises that this item is temporarily unavailable. It will be ordered for you and placed on backorder. Once it does come back in stock, we will ship it out to you.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents Acknowledgments Preface Part One: The Passion in San Francisco, 1879 Prologue: The Most Despised Human Being in America 1. A “Wicked, Unchristian Pastime” 2. Don Quixote, Munchausen, and Salmi Morse 3. “A Miracle Play in Ten Acts” 4. Preachers, the Press, and Politics as Usual 5. The Passion Premieres 6. “It Is the Cross Strangled by the Cross” Part Two: The Passion in New York, 1880-1884 7. “The Grandest Thing I Ever Listened To” ...“A National Disaster” 8. The Mirror’s War on Mr. Abbey 9. The Shrine of the Holy Passion 10. The Passion Plays New York at Last 11. The Aftermath: “Alas, Poor Yorick!” 12. The Resurrection and Redemption of The Passion Notes Bibliography Index

Reviews

extensively researched...recommended --<i>Choice</i>; fascinating --<i>Church & State</i>.

Author Information

The late Alan Nielsen was a professor emeritus in theatre at Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas and an award-winning composer and lyricist as well as playwright and director.

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