Marching Song
A Play
Roger Hill author Orson Welles author Todd Tarbox editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Rowman & Littlefield
Published:12th Jul '19
Should be back in stock very soon
Before The Cradle Will Rock, before War of the Worlds, before Citizen Kane—there was Marching Song. At the age of 25 Orson Welles co-wrote, directed, and starred in Citizen Kane, widely regarded as one of the greatest films of all time. But this was not the first achievement in the young artist’s career. A few years earlier he terrorized America with his radio broadcast of War of the Worlds. And even before he conquered the airwaves, Welles had made a name for himself in New York theatre, with his dynamic stagings of Shakespeare classics and the politically charged musical The Cradle Will Rock. But before all of these there was Marching Song—a play about abolitionist John Brown—that Welles had co-written at the age of 17. While attending the Todd School for Boys, Welles collaborated with Roger Hill, the schoolmaster at Todd, to produce this full-length drama. Marching Song: A Play is a work by one of America’s true geniuses at an early stage of his creative growth. Steeped in historical detail, the play chronicles Brown’s fight against slavery, his raid on Harper’s Ferry, his capture, his conviction for treason, and his execution. In addition to the entire text of the play, this volume features a biographical sketch of Welles and Hill—written by Hill’s grandson—during their days together at Todd. A fascinating dramatization of a pivotal event in American history, this play also demonstrates Welles’ burgeoning development as social commentator and an advocate for human rights, particularly on behalf of African Americans. Featuring a foreword by noted Welles biographer, Simon Callow, Marching Song: A Play is an important work by an American icon.
This script of an action-filled play about John Brown that was never performed on stage raises profound questions about the role of violence in the crusade against slavery. The drama is compelling--no surprise, since one of the playwrights was Orson Welles, master of stage, screen, and radio, who uses this medium to illustrate a key event that brought on the Civil War. -- James M. McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom
Those of us who love Orson Welles owe a large debt of gratitude to Todd Tarbox for continuing to fill in the amazing puzzle pieces of Welles’ extraordinary creative life. That Orson was able to write as mature a piece as Marching Song at the age of 17 defies belief. But then he did make Citizen Kane at 25, not to mention all the masterpieces that followed, including The Other Side of the Wind, shown for the first time 40 years after he shot it, and still it seems ahead of its time. But even from the grave, Orson is unstoppable. -- Peter Bogdanovich, Director of The Last Picture Show
A must-have for any serious Welles fan, Marching Song: A Play is bookended by two illuminating essays by Tarbox. [It] will be devoured by those looking for insight into the mind of one of the most creative men of the 20th century. -- Ray Kelly, Wellesnet.com
A significant cultural event. . . One of the first things that strikes the reader about Marching Song is that it is more advanced in its approach—one might say, far more advanced—than virtually anything else in the American theater in the 20th century—including the efforts, as sincere and serious as they certainly were, of Eugene O’Neill, Arthur Miller, Clifford Odets, Tennessee Williams, William Inge, Edward Albee, etc. Welles’ play owes far more to Shakespeare and other epic traditions than it does to the cramped psychological drama so beloved by American playwrights. * The World Socialist Website *
ISBN: 9781538125526
Dimensions: 238mm x 161mm x 21mm
Weight: 435g
200 pages