The Nativity Crucifixion and Resurrection of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador
Bread and Puppet, 1984. Stapled in original white wrappers (5 1/2 inches tall), printed in black on both sides, 16 pages. About Fine. Item #1779
"IN THE NAME OF THIS SUFFERING PEOPLE...I BEG YOU, I IMPLORE YOU, I ORDER YOU...STOP THE REPRESSION"
First edition of Bread and Puppet's Oscar Romero of El Salvador—an illustrated program for the production of the radical theater group's Christmas show, staged in New York City in December 1984. Uncommon.
Peter Schumann's Bread and Puppet Theatre, together with the San Francisco NMime Troupe and the Teatro Campesino, was one of the most important radical theater groups in America in the 1960's. In 1984, printed a "Why Cheap Art Manifesto" which declared: "ART IS FOOD. You can't EAT it BUT it FEEDS you...ART IS LIKE GOOD BREAD!"
Later in the same year, The Bread and Puppet Christmas show was described by the theatre critic of the New York Times as "a heartfelt tribute to the Central American Roman Catholic prelate who was assassinated while celebrating Mass in a hospital chapel in March 1980. As is usual with Peter Schumann's troupe—for 20 years a theatrical sentinel of political and moral concern—the musical pageant is both somber and jubilant, as the hero, in death, is able to unite his people. A brass band marches through Greenwich Village streets and into Judson Memorial Church to begin the evening's homage, a one-hour dramatic sermon against repression. The focus of attention is on the company's larger-than-life puppets and masks, which have the archetypal weight of primitive art"
"Trees walk in the manner of Birnam Wood. A mob of puppet fists attacks a crowd of open palms. A gathering of totem figures with great stone faces festoon Archbishop Romero with placards proclaiming his bravery and devotion to truth, and, towering at the center of the open stage, is a 20-foot puppet of the Archbishop, looking very much like the man himself. Just before he is shot, we hear his voice announcing, 'If they kill me I shall rise again in the people of El Salvador.' There is a tattoo of bullets, and the massive figure topples. Fulfilling the Archbishop's prophecy, his followers overcome the 'soldiers of death,' and the evening ends with a chorus of flag-waving. In contrast to the company's smaller-scale pieces, the play is in the nature of a community holiday event, drawing many of its actors and puppeteers from the general public. This leads to a certain ingenuousness of performance, which enhances the sincerity of the Bread and Puppet message" (Mel Gussow).
The program consists of six sections, each decorated with simple illustrations: Part One. The Nativity, Part Two. The Village of Mozote, Part Three. San Salvador, Part Four. Romero's Sermon to the Army, Part Five. Crucifixion, Part Six. Resurrection. The text on the final pages is drawn from Romero's sermon (March 23,1980), which included a desperate plea addressed directly to the members of El Salvador's military and security forces who "kill your own campesino brothers and sisters." Romero was martyred the next day. Mel Gussow. Archbishop Remembered. New York Times (Dec. 20, 1984).
Price: $200.00