The Gospel at Colonus is a gospel

Gospel

A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...

 version of Sophocles

Sophocles

Sophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides...

's tragedy, Oedipus at Colonus

Oedipus at Colonus

Oedipus at Colonus is one of the three Theban plays of the Athenian tragedian Sophocles...

. The show was created in New York City in 1985 by the experimental-theatre director Lee Breuer

Lee Breuer

Lee Breuer is an American academic, educator, film maker, poet, lyricist, writer and stage director.-Work with Mabou Mines:Lee Breuer is a founding artistic director of Mabou Mines Theater Company in New York City, which he began in 1970 with colleagues Philip Glass, Ruth Maleczech, JoAnne...

, one of the founders of the seminal American avant-garde theatre company Mabou Mines

Mabou Mines

Mabou Mines is an avant-garde theatre company founded in 1970 and based in New York City.-History:Mabou Mines is a collaborative, avant-garde theater company based in New York City...

, and composer Bob Telson

Bob Telson

Robert "Bob" Eria Telson is an American composer, songwriter, and pianist best known for his work in musical theater and film, for which he has received Tony, Pulitzer, and Academy Award nominations. He is currently living and working in Argentina.-Biography:Robert Eria Telson was born in Cannes,...

. The original script was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama

Pulitzer Prize for Drama

The Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918.From 1918 to 2006, the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than the calendar year...

. The show had a brief run on Broadway from March to May in 1988. Breuer was Tony-nominated for his book.

Breuer and Telson handed the storytelling duties to a black Pentecostal preacher and the choir of his church, who in turn enacted the story of Oedipus's torment and redemption as a modern parable

Parable

A parable is a succinct story, in prose or verse, which illustrates one or more instructive principles, or lessons, or a normative principle. It differs from a fable in that fables use animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as characters, while parables generally feature human...

. They employed the unusual device of casting The Blind Boys of Alabama

The Blind Boys of Alabama

The Blind Boys of Alabama are a gospel group from Alabama that first formed at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind at Talladega, Alabama in 1939. The three main vocalists of the group and their drummer/percussionist are all blind....

 to collectively portray Oedipus as well the Chancel Choir of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem.

Some people have expressed the view that the result was the translation of the Greek myth into a Christian parable. Others observed that the name Jesus is not mentioned and is irrelevant to the story.

While the traditions of Greek theater as religious ritual are unfamiliar to modern audiences, Gospel at Colonus reaffirms those possibilities by its use of call-and-response and ecstatic, sung re-enactment of a culturally important story.

PBS televised the original BAM

Bam

Bam is commonly used as an onomatopoeia for a sound, mostly that of an impact or collision.Bam or BAM may also refer to:Places:*Bam, Iran, a city*Bam County, an administrative subdivision of Iran*Bam Province, Burkina Faso...

 production from Philadelphia in 1985 as part of the Great Performances

Great Performances

Great Performances, a television series devoted to the performing arts, has been telecast on Public Broadcasting Service public television since 1972...

 series, with Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman is an American actor, film director, aviator and narrator. He is noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus and won...

 as The Messenger, Carl Lumbly as Theseus, and Robert Earl Jones

Robert Earl Jones

Robert Earl Jones was an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the films The Cotton Club and The Sting and as the father of actor James Earl Jones.-Early life:...

 as Creon.

The song "How Shall I See You Through My Tears?" was used as the opening number of the 2003 film, Camp

Camp (film)

Camp is a 2003 American independent musical film written and directed by Todd Graff, about an upstate New York performing arts summer camp. The film is based on Graff's own experiences at a similar camp called Stagedoor Manor. The film was released in 2003 by IFC Films.-Plot:The film centers on the...

.

Musical numbers

• "Live Where You Can"
• "Fair Colonus"
• "Stop; Do Not Go On!"
• "Who Is This Man?"
• "How Shall I See You Through My Tears?"
• "A Voice Foretold"
• "Never Drive You Away"
• "Numberless Are The World's Wonders"
• "Lift Me Up (Like A Dove)"
• "Sunlight Of No Light"
• "Eternal Sleep"
• "Lift Him Up" Listen
• "Now Let The Weeping Cease"