The Magnificent Stephen

The Magnificent Stephen

written by Larry Muhammad (2011, originally published 2011), 74 page(s)

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Abstract / Summary
A celebrated slave guide at Mammoth Cave in the 1850s, miscalculates the limits of his fame in a life-and-death quest for the freedom promised in his late master’s will.Internationally renowned for his showmanship and underground exploits, he was first to cross the dangerous chasm called the Bottomless Pit, discovered eyeless fish and other exotic species adapted to total darkness, was handpicked guide for Charles Dickens, opera star Jenny Lind and other dignitaries visiting the Cave.But the authority he commands underground is invalidated by the harsh antebellum realities on the surface as the Civil War approaches.He watches helpless as a villainous master drags away the preteen daughters of a friend to the slave market for sale. He is powerless to protect the Cave from a dangerous and potentially disfiguring commercial development planned by management.Ahead of his time, out of step, a slave tragically alienated from a demeaning life of servitude, he makes a fateful climactic bid for the dignified manhood so long denied.Based the remarkable life of Stephen Bishop, a slave who spoke Greek and Latin, confounded scientists with an incredible knowledge of geology and became a legend in his own time, only to die mysteriously at age 37, a year after he was freed.
Field of Interest
Theatre
Copyright Message
Copyright © 2011 Larry Muhammad
Content Type
Play
Duration
0 sec
Format
Text
Sub Genre
Drama
Original Publication Date
2011
Page Count
74
Playwright
Larry Muhammad
Publication Year
2011
Subject
Theatre, Music & Performing Arts, Black Theater, American Theater, Racism, Slavery, Civil war, Slavery and Abolition, 1776 - 1865, U.S. Civil War, 1861-1865, Teatro Afroamericano, Teatro Afro-Americano, Teatro Norte-Americano, Teatro Norteamericano, Stephen, Benjamin, T.L., Lowry, Mat
Keywords and Translated Subjects
Teatro Afroamericano, Teatro Afro-Americano, Teatro Norte-Americano, Teatro Norteamericano

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