Benito Cereno Program [1968]

Written by Robert Lowell Directed by David Wheeler Performed by the Theatre Company of Boston From the program: AN HISTORICAL INCIDENT, first reported in Delano\u27s Voyages and Travels, published in Boston in 1817, caught the imagination of Herman Melville some 40 years later. Melville, whose now famous novel, Moby Dick, had been a critical failure when it was first published in 1851, had turned to the writing of short stories. He used Delano\u27s account as the basis of a short story which was published by Putnam\u27s Magazine under the title of Benito Cereno. MELVILLE\u27S STORY stirred brief interest, but then it sank into obscurity for more than one hundred years, when the famous contemporary American poet, Robert Lowell, recognized its significance. BENITO CERENO, through the magic of Lowell\u27s pen and the inspired interpretation of the Theatre Company of Boston, has been acclaimed a cultural and poetic masterpiece by critic Robert Brunstein. Of particular significance is the portrayal of Babu, the black slave, a character central to the dramatic conflict of the play.https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/theatre-programs-1940-1969/1014/thumbnail.jp