Power of Myth

Is "I am not an animal!" what most of us remember about Victorian Englishman Joseph Merrick, a.k.a. the Elephant Man? Or the myth that Michael Jackson tried to buy his skeleton? In any case, 1980's film, starring John Hurt, followed Bernard Pomerance's play, The Elephant Man, a work of enduring...

By Julie Peterson

February 28, 2013

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Is "I am not an animal!" what most of us remember about Victorian Englishman Joseph Merrick, a.k.a. the Elephant Man? Or the myth that Michael Jackson tried to buy his skeleton? In any case, 1980's film, starring John Hurt, followed Bernard Pomerance's play, The Elephant Man, a work of enduring popularity playing at Scottsdale Desert Stages Theatre through Sunday, March 10.

Merrick spent his early adulthood working in freak shows, where audiences were taken aback by his appearance; one or more physical disorders caused his bones and skin to grow abnormally, giving him an enormous, deformed head and a grotesque appearance. In his final four years, at a London hospital, he made friends ranging in social status from the maintenance staff to the Princess of Wales.

Fridays, Saturdays, 7:30 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Starts: Feb. 8. Continues through March 10, 2013

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Julie has written for the Night & Day events calendar section since 2005. As a student at Arizona State, she received the Glendon and Kathryn Swarthout Creative Writing Award and the Theatre Medallion of Merit.

Contact: Julie Peterson