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The Vigil
The Vigil
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Author: Ladislas Fodor Publisher: Samuel French (cover may change) Format: Softcover # of Pages: 109 Pub. Date: 1975 Edition: Acting ISBN-10: 0573617554 ISBN-13: 9780573617553 Cast Size: 6 female, 18 male
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About
the Play:
The Vigil is a full-length courtroom drama by renowned
classic movie screenwriter Ladislas Fodor.
The dramatic Easter story translated into a modern setting in a small
town American courtroom. It probes deeply into the facts concerning
the Resurrection and centres on the allegation that Jesus body had
been stolen from the grave, rather than his having been raised from
the dead. The principal tenet of the Christian faith is on trial –
who will be victorious?
The Vigil is set in a
modern courtroom, but the theme is far from modern. The action occurs
between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. The defendant is one Elias
Jacobson, the gardener from the Garden of Gethsemane in which Jesus
of Nazareth was entombed. He is charged by the Romans with stealing
and hiding the body in an attempt to make people believe he has
risen. Numerous
witnesses involved in the great drama are called to the stand, all
with critical facts to add to the story of what did happen on that
night. Each tells in everyday language what he saw and the way he
reacted. With a large cast of Biblical figures contributing evidence
both for the prosecution and the defence, the familiar story achieves
stirring suspense. In an electrifying, scene, Mary Magdalene steps
down from the stand and reenacts her meeting with Jesus in the
Garden. The
climax is a dramatic showdown in court between the two opposing
factions. The audience is in the role of jury, and is left at the end
to consider the verdict. Was the body stolen, or did Jesus rise?
The Vigil premiered
in 1948 on Broadway at the
Royale Theatre in
New York City, and, later
that year, premiered in the
UK at the Embassy Theatre in
London and transferred to
the West End at the Prince of Wales Theatre. While
the play is rarely performed professionally, is
regularly performed in church
and community
theatre productions.
Cast: 6 female, 18 male
What people say:
"Fresh, fascinating, disarming
... [with] one well drawn character sketch after another." —
New York Journal American
About the Playwright:
Ladislas Fodor (1898-1978) was a Hungarian-American author
and screenwriter. He first worked as a journalist in Budapest and
beginning in the early 1920s, wrote several comedies for the stage,
which were also translated into German. He emigrated to France and
from there to the United States where he was involved in Hollywood as
a co-author of several screenplays.
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