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)
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Regarding History as the slaughter-bench at which the happiness of peoples, the wisdom of States, and the virtue of individuals have been victimized—the question involuntarily arises—to what principle, to what final aim these enormous sacrifices have been offered.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)
“I feel as tall as you.”
—Ellis Meredith, U.S. suffragist. As quoted in History of Woman Suffrage, vol. 4, ch. 14, by Susan B. Anthony and Ida Husted Harper (1902)
“The history of reform is always identical; it is the comparison of the idea with the fact. Our modes of living are not agreeable to our imagination. We suspect they are unworthy. We arraign our daily employments.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)