Barrie Stavis (June 16, 1906 – February 2, 2007) was an American playwright. He wrote several plays about men struggling in the vortex of history. His subjects include scientist

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...

, abolitionist

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

, and labor leader Joe Hill. His play, ''

Lamp at Midnight ''Lamp At Midnight'' is a play that was written by Barrie Stavis, and first produced in 1947 at New Stages, New York. The play treats the 17th Century Galileo affair, which was a profound conflict between the Roman Catholic Church and Galileo Gali ...

'', about Galileo's struggle with the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

to get his ideas accepted, was performed and televised on the

Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City-based greeting card company. The longest-running prime-time series in t ...

in 1966.

Melvyn Douglas Melvyn Douglas (born Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg, April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981) was an American actor. Douglas came to prominence in the 1930s as a suave leading man, perhaps best typified by his performance in the romantic comedy ''Ninotchka ...

starred as Galileo. Stavis's plays can be done on a clean, simple stage. They have been translated into 28 languages and have been produced in dozens of major theaters around the world and in numerous college theaters. Stavis was actively working until his death on February 2, 2007, at the age of 100.

Major plays

* ''Harpers Ferry'' (New York: A.S. Barnes, 1960, 67). First new play in a classical repertory produced by the Guthrie Theater,

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, 1967: John Brown adopts guerrilla warfare to overthrow slavery. The raid fails and he is executed, but slavery is eventually abolished. * ''

Lamp At Midnight ''Lamp At Midnight'' is a play that was written by Barrie Stavis, and first produced in 1947 at New Stages, New York. The play treats the 17th Century Galileo affair, which was a profound conflict between the Roman Catholic Church and Galileo Gali ...

'' (New York: A.S. Barnes, 1966). First produced at New Stages, New York, 1947. Television adaptation Hallmark Hall of Fame, 1966:

challenges religious dogma with science and finds enormous resistance to the truth. * ''The Man Who Never Died'' (New York: A.S. Barnes, 1972). Joe Hill confronts power by organizing a trade union and pays with his life. First produced at the Jan Hus Theater, New York, 1958. * ''The Raw Edge of Victory in Dramatics'' (Vol. 57, No. 8 and 9; April and May 1986):

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

leads a revolution to establish national independence.

Honors

* The National Theater Conference honors an outstanding emerging playwright each year with the Barrie and Bernice Stavis Playwriting Award

External links

* * *
Staging History: Barrie Stavis and the Dramatization of John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry
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University of Delaware Library. Special Collections

Barrie Stavis letters to Stanley Weintraub
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University of Delaware Library. Special Collections

References

1906 births 2007 deaths 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American centenarians Men centenarians {{US-writer-stub

Major plays

Honors

Further reading

External links

References