The Gospel at Colonus is a gospel version of Sophocles’s tragedy, Oedipus at Colonus. The show was created in New York City in 1985 by Lee Breuer, the experimental-theatre director, and composer Bob Telson, the founders of a troupe called Mabou Mines. The original script was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The show had a brief run on Broadway from March to May in 1988. Breuer was Tony-nominated for his book.
Breuer and Telson handed the storytelling duties to a black Pentecostal preacher and the choir of his church, who in turn enacted the story of Oedipus’s torment and redemption as a modern parable. They employed the unusual device of casting The Blind Boys of Alabama to collectively portray Oedipus as well the Chancel Choir of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem.
Video:
The Gospel at Colonus
Edinburgh International Festival
August 21-23, 2010
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