Journey to Jerusalem
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Journey to Jerusalem is a 1940 play by Maxwell Anderson about a trip made to Jerusalem by the Holy Family when Christ was twelve years old. In the play, Anderson parallels ancient Biblical events with the rise of Adolf Hitler, embodied in the play by Herod Antipas. Jesus (here called Jeshua) slowly realizes from a fictitious New Testament prophet what his destiny as the Messiah will be. The play featured Arlene Francis as the Virgin Mary (here called Miriam) and future screen director Sidney Lumet in an early acting appearance as Jeshua. Karl Malden also had an early role in the play, as a Centurion. [1]
Although the play was acclaimed,[2] it had an extremely brief run and was not a box-office success. Nor was it ever filmed or presented on television, although there is a record of a film document of excerpts from the stage performance - misleadingly labeled "a screen reproduction of the play" on a website.[3]
