![]() ![]() ![]() When it comes to the success or failure of dramas about sacred Christian stories, however, the debate usually comes down to the question of whether the play was too controversial, or not controversial enough.Ĭritics of “The Testament of Mary” certainly thought the play, adapted from author Colm Toibin’s 2012 novel of the same title, was blasphemous because it imagined an aging Mary venting her anger about her son’s death and voicing her doubts about the stories his followers were telling about him. So what went wrong with “Mary”? In the quirky business of the theater, there are always many factors at work, and as Sarah Pulliam Bailey wrote in The Wall Street Journal last week, it is true that a number of religiously themed shows on Broadway have indeed tanked - Kathie Lee Gifford’s “Scandalous” among them, late last year - yet she also cited others that have done quite well. But was there something about “The Testament of Mary” that doomed it to failure?Īfter all, biblically themed shows are all the rage on television and especially on cable the recent History Channel miniseries “The Bible” generated huge ratings, and a host of shows and films are trying to explore - and perhaps exploit - similar territory. Shows fold on Broadway all the time, of course, and as The New York Times noted, just 25 percent of them ever show a profit. David Gibson writes for Religion News Service. ![]()
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