History
After Wallace's novel was published in 1880, there was widespread demand for it to be adapted for the stage, but Wallace would not permit it, as he did not want Christ to be portrayed onstage by an actor. Finally, he accepted playwright William Young's idea that Jesus be represented by a beam of light. The resulting production was a hit show that opened in 1899 and ran for 21 non-consecutive years on Broadway. In total, it was seen by more than 20 million people. It initially starred William S. Hart, who played Messala, not Ben-Hur. Hart would go on to leading roles in silent films such as The Aryan (1916), and became a silent screen cowboy hero.
Read more about this topic: Ben-Hur (play)
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