De Lawd

?Harrison has been respected over the years for his role as De Lawd' in Marc Connelly's The Green Pastures, but until now little has been known about this man who began his career in professional theatre at age 65. ... In this excellent study, Daniel has written a biography of a role. The man emerges for the role, and the role for the play's history. De Lawd' is offstage for the first three chapters while early contributions of black artists to the American theatre are treated. When Harrison enters, we are ready to follow his career in play that has never been so insightfully discussed. Many carefully chosen sources shed light on the career of an extraordinary actor who portrayed God for 1,658 performances of a play written by a white man for an all-black cast of nearly 100 that toured the US during the Depression. Daniel does not neglect the complexity, ambiguity, and dishonesty of racial relations in America. His study portrays the play as a cultural document and Harrison as an incomparable actor. ... Students and general readers.?-Choice