The Green Pastures

Summary

1958 BBC Television production of The Green Pastures by Marc Connelly.

Theatre play

The Green Pastures by Marc Connelly (1890-1980) [more information]

Play synopsis

'The play portrays episodes from the Old Testament as seen through the eyes of a young African-American child in the Depression-era South, who interprets The Bible in terms familiar to her. Following Bradford’s lead, Connelly (a white man) set the biblical stories in New Orleans and in an all-black context. He diverged from Bradford’s work, however, in enlarging the role of the character "De Lawd" (God)'. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Green_Pastures.

Production history

The Green Pastures is a play written in 1930 by Marc Connelly as an adaptation of Ol’ Man Adam an’ His Chillun (1928), a collection of stories written by Roark Bradford’ (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Green_Pastures). ‘Connelly received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for The Green Pastures in 1930. The play [...] was a landmark in American drama; boasting the first all-black Broadway cast’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Connelly). An article in The Times, 16 November 1936, p. 20 sets forth the BBC’s rationale for withdrawing the planned transmission of scenes from the film version from a 1936 Entertainment Parade programme: the Controller of Programmes considered that ‘an item of this particular nature could not properly be included in a mixed programme [...] In view of the past publicity on the play and the nature of the theme the broadcasting of an excerpt was bound to arouse considerable controversy’. The film was shown at the New Gallery Cinema on 30 November 1936, at a time when the play on which the film was based was still under the Lord Chamberlain’s ban. A performance of the play went out on the Home Service in 1945 and a BBC Television version in 1958.

Date of transmission

Sunday 14 September 1958

Time

8.00-9.45pm

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Producer

Eric Fawcett

Playwright

Marc Connelly (1890-1980)

Composer

Leonard de Paur

Choir Directed by

George Mitchell

Sets / Settings

Barry Learoyd

Associate Producer

Marc Connelly (1890-1980)

Cast

Robert Adams	Pharaoh
Zoe Adams	an unnamed part
F. K. Arthur	an unnamed part
Curtis Auguste	Carlisle
Samuel Awo	an unnamed part
Harry Baird	Japheth
Ansel Bernard	Alexander
Barbara Bernard	Gracie
Althea Blandine	Eve
Locksley Booth	Randolph
John Bouie	Gabriel
Berril Briggs	Myrtle
Earl Cameron	Adam-Hezdral
Nadia Cattouse	Mrs Deshee
James Clarke	Moses
André Dakar	Isaac
Doreen Daniels	an unnamed part
Evelyn Dove	Noah’s Wife
Carmen Francis	an unnamed part
John Harrison	Noah
Ike Hatch	Custard Maker
Gloria Henry	an unnamed part
Harold Holness	an unnamed part
Roy Hyman	an unnamed part
Dan Jackson	High Priest
Richardina Jackson	First Cook
Eldica Joachim	an unnamed part
Ruby Joachim	an unnamed part
Bari Johnson	Master of Ceremonies
Don Johnson	Head Magician
Clifton Jones	Cain
Vivet Laing	an unnamed part
Joseph Layode	Ham
Cassandra Mahon	an unnamed part
Lucille Mapp	Zeba
William Marshall	The Lord
Carmen Martin	an unnamed part
Patricia Martin	an unnamed part
Joe Martins	an unnamed part
Orlando Martins	King of Babylon
Barbara McKenzie	an unnamed part
Edna McKenzie	an unnamed part
K. A. Medas	an unnamed part
Lionel Ngakane	Shem
Sarah Palmer	an unnamed part
Ade Peter	an unnamed part
Pearl Prescod	an unnamed part
Harry Quashie	Aaron
Johnny Reece	an unnamed part
Jimmy Rich	an unnamed part
Colleen Roberts	an unnamed part
Ida Shepley	Zipporah
Frank Singuineau	Prophet
Corinne Skinner-Carter	an unnamed part
Connie Smith	A Stout Angel
Keith St Bernard	Joshua
Rita Stevens	A Slender Angel
Ruby Stewart	an unnamed part
Hayden Tangyuk	an unnamed part
Keith Tangyuk	an unnamed part
Clunis Wade	an unnamed part
Tony Wagner	an unnamed part
Pauline Yarboi	an unnamed part
Rosita Yarboi	an unnamed part

Additional details

Play tags

American drama; biblical stories; race relations

Audiovisual sources

Title

The Green Pastures (BBC, 1958)

Archive

BFI Research Viewing Service [more information]

Address

21 Stephen Street
London
W1T 1LN
UK

Telephone

+44 (0)20 7957 4726

Email

Use the contact form at http://www.bfi.org.uk/form/contact-research-viewing-services

Website

http://www.bfi.org.uk/archive-collections/searching-access-collections/research-viewing-services

Access

The Research Viewing Service is available to non-commercial researchers and to students wishing to view research related material. It allows access to all films and videos designated as ‘viewing copies’ in the BFI National Archive. Viewings take place by appointment, between 10.30am and 5.30pm, Monday to Friday. Charges apply: please see the website for further details.

Print sources

Title

Radio Times, 12 September 1958 (Magazine)

Linking notes

article, p. 7; listing, p. 11

Title

Television Revival: Mr M. Connelly’s The Green Pastures (Newspaper review)

Reference

The Times, 15 September 1958, p. 3