Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Holy, Catholic Theater: Exegesis of Life on the Stage

  • Published:
Topoi Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This article explores the theological/philosophical resonances of the theater. “Holy” and “catholic” are the key terms that shape the reflection. The holy is masked in the ordinary details of plays and musicals. Thus, it is fitting to say that the theater is “God-haunted,” a place of transcendence and transformation. The catholicity of the theater is found in acknowledging its inherent commitment to telling the whole truth, or at least endeavoring to tell what is true, about human existence. We are by nature story-telling creatures, and the narratives embodied in the theater aid in interpreting and reflecting on mystery and truth, in the exegesis of our lives and of our way of being in the world. Two plays and a musical are representative anecdotes that flesh out the ideas advanced in the essay—Equus, Auntie Mame, and A Chorus Line.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. It was in 1962 that St. Clement’s began a ministry to the theater arts community under the leadership of the Reverend Sydney Lanier, the church’s Vicar at that time.

  2. MacIntyre (1984, p. 216).

  3. Küng (1981, p. 28).

  4. Brook (1968, pp. 48, 71).

  5. Shaffer (1973, p. 10).

  6. Burke (1969, p. 55).

  7. Equus, p. 46.

  8. Equus, p. 100.

  9. Equus, pp. 108–109.

  10. Lawrence and Lee (1999, p. 28).

  11. Auntie Mame, p. 31.

  12. Auntie Mame, p. 36.

  13. Auntie Mame, p. 87.

  14. Hamlisch (1995, p. xviii).

  15. A Chorus Line, p. 8.

  16. A Chorus Line, p. 9.

  17. A Chorus Line, pp. 13, 18.

  18. A Chorus Line, p. 16.

  19. A Chorus Line, p. 22.

  20. A Chorus Line, p. 30.

  21. A Chorus Line, p. 129.

  22. A Chorus Line, p. 135.

  23. A Chorus Line, p. 138.

  24. A Chorus Line, p. 105.

  25. A Chorus Line, p. 106.

  26. LaCugna (1991, p. 271).

  27. LaCugna, p. 274.

  28. Hall (1986, p 123).

  29. Macquarrie (1977, pp 348–349).

References

  • Brook P (1968) The empty space. Touchstone Publishing, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Burke K (1969) A rhetoric of motives. University of California Press, Berkeley

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall DJ (1986) Imaging God. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamlisch M (1995) A chorus line/conceived, choreographed, and directed by Michael Bennett; book by James Kirkwood & Nicholas Dante; music by Marvin Hamlisch; lyrics by Edward Kleban. Applause, New York

  • Küng H (1981) Art and the question of meaning. Crossroad Publishing, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • LaCugna CM (1991) God for us: the Trinity and Christian life. HarperCollins Publishers, San Francisco

    Google Scholar 

  • Lawrence J, Lee RE (1999) Auntie Mame, revised edition. Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York

    Google Scholar 

  • MacIntyre A (1984) After virtue: a study in moral theory, 2nd ed. University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame

  • Macquarrie J (1977) Principles of Christian theology. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaffer P (1973) Equus. Scribner, New York

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The General Theological Seminary, New York, NY, USA

    Mitties McDonald DeChamplain

Authors
  1. Mitties McDonald DeChamplain
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mitties McDonald DeChamplain.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

DeChamplain, M.M. The Holy, Catholic Theater: Exegesis of Life on the Stage. Topoi 30, 157–163 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11245-011-9093-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11245-011-9093-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation