Ben-Hur was an 1899 theatrical adaptation of the novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1880) by Lew Wallace . The story was dramatized by William W. Young and produced by Marc Klaw and A. L. Erlanger . The stage production was notable for its elaborate use of spectacle, including live horses for the famous chariot race . The hippodrama had six acts with incidental music written by American composer Edgar Stillman Kelley . The stage production opened at the Broadway Theater in New York City on November 29, 1899, and became a hit Broadway show . Traveling versions of the production, including a national tour that ran for twenty-one years, played in the United States, Great Britain, and Australia. By the end of its run in April 1920, the play had been seen by more than twenty million people and earned over $ 10 million at the box office. There have been other stage adaptations of Wallace's novel, as well as several motion picture versions.
20-700: Ben-Hur or Ben Hur may refer to: Fiction [ edit ] Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ , an 1880 novel by American general and author Lew Wallace Ben-Hur (play) , a play that debuted on Broadway in 1899 Ben Hur (1907 film) , a one-reel silent film adaptation produced by Kalem Studios of New York Ben-Hur (1925 film) , an MGM silent film adaptation starring Ramon Novarro Ben-Hur (1959 film) , an MGM sound film adaptation starring Charlton Heston; winner of eleven Academy Awards Ben Hur (2003 film) , an animated direct-to-video film adaptation featuring
40-836: A Filipino politician Ben Hur Villanueva (1938–2020), a Filipino sculptor Places [ edit ] Ben Hur, Arkansas , an unincorporated community in Newton County, Arkansas Ben Hur, California , an unincorporated community in Mariposa County, California Ben Hur, Texas , a town Ben-Hur, a settlement in the district capital of the Kalahari Constituency , Namibia Ben Hur, Virginia , an unincorporated community in Lee County, Virginia Other uses [ edit ] Ben Hur (album) , an album by Bitch Magnet Ben-Hur Museum, renamed
60-428: A new audience, "many of them devout churchgoers who'd previously been suspicious of the stage". Adaptations of other novels with biblical settings followed Ben-Hur to the stage. These included Quo Vadis in 1901 and Judith of Bethulia in 1904. The key spectacle of the 1899 show recreated the novel's chariot race with live horses and real chariots running on treadmills against a rotating backdrop. When Wallace saw
80-550: A partnership with A. L. "Abe" Erlanger that started as a theatrical booking agency in New York City in 1888. Operating as " Klaw & Erlanger " they expanded their business through the acquisition and construction of theaters, to the point where they controlled most of the theaters in the U.S. South and several major locations in New York. Among their holdings were they owned "Klaw and Erlanger's Costume Company" and
100-439: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Ben-Hur (play) After Wallace's novel was published in 1880, there was widespread demand for it to be adapted for the stage, but Wallace resisted for nearly twenty years, arguing that no one could accurately portray Christ on stage or recreate a realistic chariot race. Despite that resistance, smaller theatre companies adapted
120-773: The Broadway Theater in New York City on November 29, 1899. It ran for 194 performances in its first season, before closing on May 10, 1900. Critics of the three-hour-and-twenty-nine-minute performance gave it mixed reviews; however, the audience, many of whom were first-time theatergoers, packed the house. Ben-Hur became a hit show, selling 25,000 tickets per week. The play reopened in New York City on September 3, 1900, and ran for eighteen non-consecutive years on Broadway . The play's twenty-one-year national tour included large venues in cities such as Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and Baltimore. International versions of
140-825: The General Lew Wallace Study and Museum Club Sportivo Ben Hur , a sports club in Argentina Ben Hur (automobile) , an early car Ben Hur trailer , a nickname for the World War II G-518 one-ton U.S. Army trailer Tribe of Ben-Hur , an authorized fraternal order based on the book, later an insurance company Paradelta Ben Hur , an Italian paraglider design See also [ edit ] Ben Huh , South-Korean-American internet entrepreneur Hur (Bible) All pages with titles beginning with Ben-Hur All pages with titles containing Ben-Hur Topics referred to by
160-487: The "Klaw & Erlanger Opera Company." By 1895 Klaw & Erlanger were the second largest booking company in the US. In 1896, Klaw & Erlanger joined with Al Hayman , Charles Frohman , Samuel F. Nixon , and J. Fred Zimmerman to form the "Theatrical Syndicate". Their organization established systemized booking networks throughout the US and created a monopoly that controlled every aspect of contracts and bookings until
180-512: The audience, secured with steel cable traces as they ran on treadmills. The horses also drove the movement of a vast cyclorama backdrop that revolved in the opposite direction to create an illusion of rapid speed. Electric rubber rollers spun the chariot wheels, while fans created clouds of dust. A critic for The Illustrated London News described it as "a marvel of stage-illusion" that was "memorable beyond all else". The Sketch ' s critic called it "thrilling and realistic ... enough to make
200-475: The child of Jewish immigrants from Germany. He studied law at Louisville Law School , graduating in 1879. He established a law practice in Louisville , and worked as a part-time drama critic. In 1881 he moved to New York City to work on legal issues regarding the theater for theater executive Gustave Frohman . Klaw was drawn to the theater business, and for several years was a manager of tours. He formed
220-490: The elaborate stage sets, he exclaimed, "My God. Did I set all of this in motion?" When the play was produced for the London stage, it used four chariots, as opposed to two in the U.S. In 1902, The Era ' s drama critic detailed how it was achieved with "four great cradles, 20 ft (6.1 m) in length and 14 ft (4.3 m) wide" that are moved "back and front on railways". The horses galloped full-pelt towards
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#1732772802648240-548: The famous chariot race, won a record eleven Academy Awards and was the top-grossing film of 1960. Notes Bibliography Marc Klaw Marc Klaw , (born Marcus Alonzo Klaw , May 29, 1858 – June 14, 1936) was an American lawyer , theatrical producer , theater owner, and a leading figure of the Theatrical Syndicate . Referred to as both Mark and Marc, he was born in Paducah, Kentucky ,
260-619: The fortune of any play" and noted that "the stage, which has to bear 30 tons' weight of chariots and horses, besides huge crowds, has had to be expressly strengthened and shored up". There have been other stage adaptations since the initial production in 1899, including a London production staged in 2009 at the O2 arena featuring a live chariot race. The book was also adapted for motion pictures in 1907 , 1925 , 1959 , 2003 , 2016 , and as an American television miniseries in 2010 . The 1959 film adaptation , starring Charlton Heston and featuring
280-477: The last minute. William Farnum replaced Morgan after the show's first season. William S. Hart played Messala. Hart would go on to leading roles in silent films such as The Aryan (1916), and became a silent screen cowboy hero. Farnum also appeared in several films, including The Spoilers (1914). The character of Christ was "represented as a 25,000-candlepower beam of light" and not portrayed by an actor. The resulting production of Ben-Hur opened at
300-612: The late 1910s when the Shubert brothers broke their hold on the industry. Despite being nearly universally despised in the industry for their ruthless tactics, Klaw and Erlanger produced dozens of Broadway plays and financed many others including the early editions of the Ziegfeld Follies . The partnership of Klaw & Erlanger was hurt as a result of the Actors' Equity strike of 1919. The partnership ended in 1919, and
320-490: The novel for the stage. In 1899, following three months of negotiations, Wallace entered into agreement with theatrical producers Marc Klaw and A. L. Erlanger to adapt his novel into a stage production. Wallace would receive two thirds of the royalties from the production, while Harper and Brothers , the book's publisher, would receive one third. Playwright William Young wrote the stage adaptation, reducing it to six acts in thirteen scenes. The stage version closely followed
340-416: The novel's plot and retained portions of its dialog. Edgar Stillman Kelley composed the play's music, but it was its elaborate staging and special effects that created a life-sized visual presentation of Wallace's novel. Ernest Gros and the painter Ernest Albert designed the production's sets. The character of Ben-Hur was initially cast with Walker Whiteside , but he was replaced by Edward J. Morgan at
360-505: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Ben-Hur . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ben-Hur&oldid=1145543202 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Disambiguation pages with given-name-holder lists Hidden categories: Short description
380-533: The show played in London, England, and in Sydney and Melbourne , Australia. When the play finally closed in April 1920, it had been seen by more than twenty million people and earned over $ 10 million at the box office. Fans included William Jennings Bryan , who claimed it was "the greatest play on stage when measured by its religious tone and moral effect". Its popularity is credited with introducing stage shows to
400-454: The voice of Charlton Heston Ben Hur (miniseries) , a television miniseries that aired in 2010 Ben-Hur (2016 film) , directed by Timur Bekmambetov and starring Jack Huston Judah Ben-Hur , the main character of the novel and adaptations People [ edit ] Ben-Hur Baz (1906–2003), a Mexican painter of pin-up art Ben-Hur (footballer) (born 1977), a Brazilian football midfielder Benhur Salimbangon (born 1945),
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