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Article: The Gospel at Colonus. (Lunt-Fontanne Theater, New York)
- Article from:
- The New Leader
- Article date:
- April 18, 1988
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1988 American Labor Conference on International Affairs. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The Gospel at Colonus
The other production that has been received with unrestrained enthusiasm is The Gospel at Colonus, now installed in the Lunt-Fotanne Theater. This "new musical," set in a black Pentecostal church, had its debut at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1983 and was broadcast on PBS in 1985. We are told that it "reconceives Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus as parable-like sermons on the ways of fate and particularly on a happy death." We are further informed that, with 64 actors and singers, it has the largest cast in Broadway history.
The stage is indeed overcrowded. Director Lee Breuer, who is also the author of the book and lyrics, must ...