''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
The Galileo affair ( it, il processo a Galileo Galilei) began around 1610 and culminated with the trial and condemnation of Galileo Galilei by the Roman Catholic Inquisition in 1633. Galileo was prosecuted for his support of heliocentrism, the ...
, which was a profound conflict between the Roman Catholic Church and
Galileo Galilei
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 wa ...
over the interpretation of his astronomical observations using the newly invented telescope. By coincidence,
Bertolt Brecht's play on the same theme, ''
Life of Galileo
''Life of Galileo'' (), also known as ''Galileo'', is a play by the 20th century German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and collaborator Margarete Steffin with incidental music by Hanns Eisler. The play was written in 1938 and received its first theatri ...
'', opened in New York just a few weeks before ''Lamp at Midnight''. Some critics now consider ''Galileo'' to be a masterpiece,
but in 1947 the ''New York Times'' reviewer,
Brooks Atkinson
Justin Brooks Atkinson (November 28, 1894 – January 14, 1984) was an American theatre critic. He worked for '' The New York Times'' from 1922 to 1960. In his obituary, the ''Times'' called him "the theater's most influential reviewer of hi ...
, preferred ''Lamp at Midnight''.
A revival of ''Lamp at Midnight'' directed by Sir
Tyrone Guthrie
Sir William Tyrone Guthrie (2 July 1900 – 15 May 1971) was an English theatrical director instrumental in the founding of the Stratford Festival of Canada, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at h ...
and starring
Morris Carnovsky
Morris Carnovsky (September 5, 1897 – September 1, 1992) was an American stage and film actor. He was one of the founders of the Group Theatre (1931-1940) in New York City and had a thriving acting career both on Broadway and in films un ...
toured the United States in 1969.
Adaptation for television
A television adaptation, directed by
George Schaefer and starring
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 ''Ninotchk ...
as Galileo, appeared in the ''
Hallmark Hall of Fame'' series in 1966. A recording of the television performance was released to video in 1983.
References
Further reading
* Doctoral thesis that compares ''Lamp at Midnight'' with Bertolt Brecht's play, ''Galileo''.
* Discussion of the reception of Stavis' play in 1947 and the production of the television adaptation in 1966. Both
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 ''Ninotchk ...
and
Kim Hunter, stars of the 1966 television production, had few opportunities for film and television work through the 1950s as a consequence of the
Hollywood blacklist
The Hollywood blacklist was an entertainment industry blacklist, broader than just Hollywood, put in effect in the mid-20th century in the United States during the early years of the Cold War. The blacklist involved the practice of denying empl ...
.
External links
*
Cultural depictions of Galileo Galilei
1947 plays
American plays
Plays set in Italy
Plays based on real people
Plays set in the 17th century
Plays adapted into television shows
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