J.B.

J.B. [1] is a 1958 play written in free verse by American playwright and poet Archibald MacLeish (1892-1982) [2].

Not to be confused with The Book of Job' by Irene Corey and Orlin Corey.

The original text

J.B. is a modern retelling of the story of the biblical figure Job — hence the title: J.B./Job. The play went through several incarnations before it was finally published. MacLeish began the work in 1953 as a one-act production but within three years had expanded it to a full three-act manuscript. There are two versions of J.B. available: the original book, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 1958, and the script which MacLeish revised substantially for Broadway, published by Samuel French Inc.

Performances in South Africa

1964: Staged by the University of Cape Town Drama Department in the Little Theatre, directed by Robert Mohr, with a cast including Percy Sieff (J.B.) William Currie (Nickles) and Roy Sargeant (Mr Zuss). Stage management by Mavis Lilenstein, decor by Keith Anderson and costumes by Helen Rooza. Curry was awarded the Three Leaf Arts Award for best supporting actor for his performance as "Nickles".

Sources

Little Theatre programme, 1964.

Teater SA, 1(3), 1969).

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