Anyone have any idea when Willeford wrote his
stage adaptation of "High Priest"? I just finished reading
the Re/Search edition containing both versions, and it's
still unclear to me whether (1) the play was written at
more-or-less the same time as the novel, or (2) this was a
deliberate
"period piece" recreation of an earlier time and style.
Dictionary of Literary Biography mentions a 1988 production
at the Sanford Meisner Theatre
-- and that's the only pre-1990 bit of stage history I've
been able to find so far.
Part of what made me wonder this was the reason
for Salvatore Vitale/Blackie Victor losing his job in the
novel, and that reason's conspicuous absence in the stage
version.
Perhaps it's a bit early to start talking about
Willeford and "High Priest." Let's just say, though, that the
novel put me in mind of the superb Ray-directed "On Dangerous
Ground" (male protagonist does "good" things for exceedingly
questionable reasons), while the stage version had distinct
similarities to John Van Druten's "Voice of the Turtle" (city
girl invites strange man to her apartment -- will they or
won't they?).
Chris
P.S. Having expressed my extreme fondness for "On Dangerous
Ground," I might as well add that I'd be interesting in
hearing what anyone (Al Guthrie?) has to say about the source
novel, "Mad With Much Heart," and its author, Gerald Butler.
Did the novel contain much of what we see in this
Ray/Bezzerides/Houseman adaptation? Or was the shift from a
UK locale to a US one a signal to create something new?
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