the crucifixion. He is a no-nonsense man who, in his own words, admits that "some of us have to be shallow so others can be deep." He has been played by Doug Wert to Matthew Modine. Emily Shapiro – the TV special's director who is, at the beginning of the play, unaware of the crucifixion. It is suggested that a relationship with Skip may have existed but when she finds out about the crucifixion, she is shocked and repulsed by Skip for even suggesting filming it. She then has a relationship with Felix whom she begs to call off the crucifixion. She is seen to be the voice of reason within the play and has been played by Gretchen Egolf to Jane Adams. Stanley – a disciple to the prisoner and is interrogated by Felix when he escapes. A self-proclaimed hippie, he addresses the approachability of 'Christ' saying that he himself in unsure whether he is Christ or not. He produces a lot of wit at the same time as introducing new ideas. He has been played by Douglas Rees to Peter McDonald. Other characters include the filming crew, an omnipresent military and the captain of the police who is respectful of Henri Schultz because of his wealth. Production history There was originally a reading that Jerry Zaks directed so that Miller could see what he had. The cast included Nathan Lane as Felix Barreaux, Bill Murray as Skip Cheeseboro, Julia-Louis Dreyfus as Emily, and Richard Libertini. World premiere in Minneapolis Resurrection Blues originally premiered August 9, 2002, at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, under the artistic direction of Joe Dowling. This world premiere was directed by Minnesota native David Esbjornson. The cast featured John Bedford Lloyd as General Felix Barreaux, Jeff Weiss, and Laila Robins. Arthur Miller chose the Guthrie Theater for the play's debut, citing the quality of its audiences and the outdatedness of premiering a play on Broadway. Miller continued to work on the script up until his death in 2005 although the Minneapolis production of the original script fared far better than the later production at the Old Vic in London. Philadelphia The East Coast premiere of Resurrection Blues debuted at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 2, 2003. The production was directed by Jiri Zizka. The cast featured Munson Hicks, Patrick Husted, Lindsay Smiling, Gretchen Egolf, Doug Wert, William Zielinski, Miriam A.