The Tenth Man – An Exorcism Before “The Exorcist”
Before Linda Blair and The Exorcist
Before Linda Blair, and “The Exorcist”, there was Paddy Chayesfsky’s “The Tenth Man”. This is a “small play”; did not become a TV show or Movie, and believe it or not it was a “black comedy”. Set in a Jewish community, a young woman is possessed by a “dibbuk” – a demon, in common parlance. The comedic part is that 10 men are needed to exorcise the demon, but getting 10 average Jewish guys who want to do this is a difficult challenge. The play ends with the Jewish exorcism and https://www.haytheatre.com/ .”complications”.
In the play, the old men of a shabby orthodox synagogue find they have only nine worshippers in attendance. They wish to banish demons from Evelyn Foreman, the granddaughter of one of their members, the old men find they have only nine worshipers in attendance. Jewish religious law requires a minyan, or quorum of ten. So they convince a clean-cut young man who happens to be passing by to join them. He is Arthur Brooks, who turns out to be possibly even more troubled than Evelyn. The exorcism expels his devils, but not the girl’s. Arthur, however, has fallen in love with Evelyn and believes his love will cure her. This briefly tells the story. Paddy Chayefsky’s story was intended to be mystical and inspirational, in addition to funny and human and appealing.
Kalamazo, Michigan and St. Joseph, Michigan
The local Director – Burt French, chose the hit play to do because it was fresh, and urban, and strangely dramatic for a comedy. For 7 years, Burt brought plays and musicals to the Kalamazoo, Michigan and St. Joseph, Michigan stage. Hot from TV stardom he was known for his quickly paced, high energy directing style. He put Kalamazoo Civic on the map all through the 50’s. Not far from the Chicago stage and the Cleveland Playhouse, Kalamazoo was the hottest Community Theatre going. He also was Director in St. Joseph, Michigan.
Like “Poltergeist”, the Production was Plagued.
The Director would use Family as Costumier and Box Office Manager, and as it turns out his son, was about to do his first bit as Stage Manager. Not only is the play about not being able to get enough volunteers, but the production was kind of “spooky too”. The Director kept on getting people who would back out on the Stage Manager role. So, he picked his son, who was just dealing with puberty to handle the job. This play was not too complicated. Later, he would stage manage “Mister Roberts”, a play with about 10,000 actor cues, light cues and sound cues. But this was pretty simple. Small cast, one set, it was fairly direct as a stage managing assignment. Stage Managing “The Music Man”, “Guys and Dolls”, “Oklahoma”, now those are challenges. But this would prove to be unique.
The Kabbalah, Jewish Mysticism, Astrology and The Big Questions –
Life is definitely woven. It is like a mural. It is not separate snapshots and compartmentalized experiences. It was this particular play in the early 60’s that set the young stage manager off on a life time of study about “hidden” things. Night after night, he would listen to Chayefsky’s dialogue. Rehearsal after rehearsal, performance after performance, he would “hold book” too, reading the play over and over again as a “prompter”. Being raised in the theatre exposed him to Shakespearean dialogue, along with the works of American playwrights. It was a tremendous education, and much of it was “osmotic”. It was not formal as much as it was the “the young man as Sponge” picking up concepts, precepts, dramatic conflicts, human interchange and tragedy, all from just being around production after production, year after year. And so, because of “The Tenth Man”, the young man began a life long interest in the mystical, the non-traditional and the esoteric. Paddy Chayefsky also penned “Altered States”, not under his name, but only because he rejected certain aspects of the production, creatively. This was also about controversial “altered states” showing that Paddy’s interests led the young man down certain paths.
A “Dan Brown Mindset” –
In back of Orthodox Christianity, there is mystical Christianity. For years the young man had what one might call a “Dan Brown Mindset”. Dan Brown’s books about the “The Da Vinci Code” and “Angels and Demons” are showing to the masses how much “hidden” material there is. This is true for all orthodoxic mainstream religions. There is the marginal, the mystical and the peripheral. All of such is readable and fantastic and valid. This play started the young man off in a “searching style”. Because of this play, he looked at all research and exploration as being a search for the non-orthodox. he would ask the continuing question – “What is off the beaten track? What is not being talked about? What is the rejected teacher saying about this? I want to hear from the one who is being burnt at the stake, not the one who is doing the burning.” Later, his Mother.