''The Passion of Josef D'' is a play by

Paddy Chayefsky Sidney Aaron "Paddy" Chayefsky (January 29, 1923 – August 1, 1981) was an American playwright, screenwriter and novelist. He is the only person to have won three solo Academy Awards for writing both adapted and original screenplays. He was ...

based on the life of

Josef Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

. It only had a short run on Broadway in 1964 despite being directed by Chayefsky himself and featuring a cast including

Luther Adler Luther Adler (born Lutha Adler; May 4, 1903 – December 8, 1984) was an American actor best known for his work in theatre, but who also worked in film and television. He also directed plays on Broadway. Early life and career Adler was born on ...

and Peter Falk. This experience scarred Chayefsky from having his plays produced on Broadway for the rest of his career. David Amram composed acappella vocal music for the play and hired two perfect pitch singers to get the ensemble started on key. Tyrone Guthrie was scheduled to direct but when he became unavailable Chayefsky decided he would direct it himself, his first and last time directing. Many years later, when asked by original cast member Robert Aberdeen if he had any unproduced plays that he would consider having produced, Chayefsky replied, "Bob, I'm not interested in theater. There's no money in Theater." Jerome Robbins came in (Known as the Doctor) to try to help to no avail. David Amram said of the play, "If Guthrie and not Chayefsky had directed it, we'd still be running."

Original cast

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

* Peter Falk as

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

* Alvin Epstein as Constable Kentinov/ Alexander Lomov/

Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian M ...

Elizabeth Hubbard Elizabeth Hubbard is an American actress perhaps best known for her role as Dr. Althea Davis on '' The Doctors'' (1964–69, 1970–77, 1981–82), and as powerful businesswoman Lucinda Walsh on ''As the World Turns'' (1984-2010). She also pla ...

as Nadezhda * Milt Kamen (making his Broadway debut) as Kamenev /Grigori Nikitin * Betty Walker as Olga Evgeyevna/ Krupskaya *Sean Allen as Ensemble *Robert Berdeen (AKA Robert Aberdeen) as Ensemble *

Ramon Bieri Ramon Arens Bieri (June 16, 1929 – May 27, 2001) was an American actor who starred in many films and TV shows. Television work Bieri starred as the title character in the NBC sitcom ''Joe's World'', from December 1979 to July 1980, playing ...

as Alliluyev *Frank Bouley as Second Sailor/Ensemble *John Carver as First Sailor/Ensemble *John A. Coe as Rykov/Ensemble *Carole Crook as Ensemble *Michael Enserro as Zinoviev/Ensemble *Janet Frank as Ensemble *Richard Frisch as Ensemble *Rico Froehlich as Brustein /Cheidze *Gene Gross as Muranov/Sverdlov *Bruce Kimes as Bronsky/Ensemble *Simm Landres as Molotov/Ensemble *Penelope Laughton as Ensemble *Royce Lenelle as Ensemble * Michael McGuire as Kapinsky/Ensemble *Sylvia O'Brien as Ensemble *Anthony Palmer as Mirsky/Ensemble *Gedda Petry as Ensemble *Richard Robbins as Ensemble * Nicholas Saunders as Sukhanov/Orjonikidze/Ensemble *Jon Silo Klurman as General Kornilov *Peggy Steffans as Ensemble *Elaine Sulka as Ensemble *Don Wesley as Chugurin *Carol Wilder as Soloist/Ensemble *Mervyn Williams as Rusikov/Skobelov/Ensemble *Stafford Wing as Ensemble

Reception

''The Passion of Josef D.'' was not well-received upon its initial release. Howard Taubman wrote, "Since he can write with tension and power, Mr. Chayefsky has developed some scenes that have dramatic intensity. But his intoxication with the thunder of the English language also has betrayed him into bursts of rhetoric. His careful researching of his subject has led him into long discourses that are not dramatic at all, but oratorical flourishes in hindsight."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Passion of Josef D. 1964 plays Plays by Paddy Chayefsky