The Sign of the Cross (1895 Barrett), play
The Sign of the Cross (1895) is a play by Wilson Barrett.
Abstract
The story, set in the time of early Christianity and somehow inspired by Quo Vadis? (1895 Sienkiewicz), novel, related how a Prefect of Rome, Marcus Superbus, attempts to seduce a Christian maiden. She remains steadfast to her principles and the Prefect, now deeply in love, becomes a Christian and dies with her in the arena.
Editions, performances, translations
Premiered at the Lyric Theatre in New York, USA, and then, on 26 August 1895, at the Grand Theatre in Leeds, England. An instant and lucrative success. Became a novel in 1897, and had three cinematographic adaptations (1904, 1914, and 1932).
- The Sign of the Cross (1897 Barrett), novel
- The Sign of the Cross (1904 Haggar), film
- The Sign of the Cross (1914 Thomson), film
- The Sign of the Cross (1932 DeMille), film