NPR: On a farm in Waitsfield, Vt., in 1945, a Merchant Marine cook named Ralph Ellison was resting after his tour of duty.
"One morning scribbling, I wrote the first sentence of what later became The Invisible Man: 'I am an invisible man,' " Ellison recalled in an interview for National Educational Television.
He wrote that his protagonist — a Negro, as Ellison always put it — was young, powerless and ambitious for the role of leadership, a role at which he was doomed to fail.
4 comments:
This is a really powerful idea for a show and I am so happy that they are staging it as a play. Not having read the book, yet, I can still say that this is very exciting for both parts of this production. It is a little risky turning a book into a play/ movie but if they want to take a chance, then by all means. For some reason, and I am still unclear as to why I think this, I think that turning a book into a play is a lot less riskier than turning a book into a movie. I think that some of the words and feeling get lost on the cinematic screens and the writer looses a bit more. Whereas a play, there are some restrictions and the ideas that the author has can be shown in a more artful way. Again, this is just a feeling, there are exceptions to everything that I just said but those are my initial reactions.
YES! I actually read the book in high school, and for some reason I have always pictured this being a fantastic play. The book itself is beautiful, especially the imagery and symbolics behind what the Invisible man is experiencing. Its genius. I also am so happy that this book is coming to life in the form of a play because of where the Invisible man lives, underground, sucking up all the power of the above tenants with those 1,369 lightbulbs. I think that would be such a powerful visual. The content and the setting is so captivating, horrific, uncomfortable, but grabbing. I'm sure some scenes would be uncomfortable, I know reading the text out loud in class was uncomfortable as well. But that is the point- Ellison has so much to say in this piece. Its social art- a social warning, commentary, calling out, its so great in my opinion and I think it is so appropriate to be put on stage. I'm so happy to hear about this production, hopefully it will make the novel proud, I have a feeling it will! (knock on wood!)
I think it's fantastic that a play like this is happening, especially in DC. DC is sadly, incredibly divided racially, and it might not be as overt as some southern cities, it is still a huge problem that the city grapples with constantly.
This article and this play speak to the power of theatre (I know it's a cliche we use a lot, but sometimes, it's true). Plays like this force people to confront ideas and realities that they might not otherwise be willing to confront. Because the novel is so well-known, this play has a good chance of being able to pull in a wide audience, which will only help its message.
This article got me so interested in this play. I want to know so much more about how it works. I am particularly intrigued by all of the light bulbs and why they are there. I think that it was not unreasonable of the author to be nervous of ruining his book into a play or movie since so many of them have failed so I really hope that this performance did the book justice. I would be very interested to find out what people’s reaction to the play are especially if they have read the book.
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