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About Doctor Faustus
Doctor Faustus has a long history and exists in many guises. I
believe it originates from a series of German folk tales. In the
mid 16th Century P.F.
Gent translated a book by Olms from German which he titled “Doctor Faustus
the History of the Damnable Life and the Deserved Death” (which is the
title I have used for my musical). It is from this text that Marlow based his
play (1604), which he entitled “The Tragic History of Doctor Faustus”.
In 1808 the story was written in the form of a poem by Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe and was simply called Faust (many people incorrectly believe this to
be Faustus’ first incarnation). This version of the story was later told
in the form of an Opera in 1858 written by Charles-François Gounod.
This version of Doctor Faustus is based on Christopher Marlow’s original
text. The story is almost exactly the same; the text has been altered to suit
a new audience although a fair portion of the original still exists.
Christopher Marlow’s story lent itself well to be written in to the form
of a musical. The result being a musical that offers everything the audience
could ask for. It has hope, it has tragedy, it has love, it has magic, it makes
you laugh, and with the tragic ending, may make some of the more emotional
of us cry. This combined with strong rock/blues music and striking costumes
and effects lend to a potentially excellent show. In fact just the name of
Doctor Faustus has the effect of invoking immediate excitement in people.
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