Major Barbara is a 1905 three act play by G. Bernard Shaw that was first produced at the Royal Court Theatre in London. It was published in 1907. Major Barbara has been called the most controversial of Shaw's works. His seeming criticism of Christianity and The Salvation Army caused some to accuse him of blasphemy, while others defended what they saw as his realistic presentation of religion. 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... A stage play is a dramatic work intended for performance before a live audience, or a performance of such a work. ... George Bernard Shaw (July 26, 1856 – November 2, 1950) was an Irish playwright and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925. ... For other uses, see London (disambiguation). ... See also: 1906 in literature, other events of 1907, 1908 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life, teachings, and actions of Jesus, the Christ, as recounted in the New Testament. ... The Salvation Army is a Evangelist Christian denomination, a charity and a social services organization. ... Look up blasphemy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The play first opened on Broadway at the Playhouse Theatre December 9, 1915. There have been four Broadway revivals, 1928 at the Guild Theatre, 1956 at the Martin Beck Theatre and then the Morosco Theatre, 1980 at the Circle in the Square Theatre, and 2001 at the American Airlines Theatre. Broadway theatre is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... December 9 is the 343rd day (344th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX in Roman) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

The 1956 revival received the Tony Award for Best Stage Technician (Howard McDonald). It was nominated for Best Scenic Design (Donald Oenslager) and Best Costume Design (Dorothy Jenkins). 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... What is popularly called the Tony Award (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theater, including musical theater. ...

The 1980 revival received a Tony nomination for Reproduction (Play or Musical). (Theodore Mann: Artistic Director; Paul Libin: Managing Director). 1980 (MCMLXXX in Roman) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

The actor who played Andrew Undershaft in the 2001 revival, David Warner, received the Theatre World Award. This article does not cite its references or sources. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... David Warner David Warner (born July 29, 1941 in Manchester, Greater Manchester, England) is a British actor who often plays sinister characters. ...

The play was adapted into a 1941 film starring Wendy Hiller. Major Barbara is a 1941 British film starring Wendy Hiller as Barbara Undershaft, Rex Harrison as Adolphus Cusins, Robert Morley as Andrew Undershaft, Robert Newton as Bill Walker, and Sybil Thorndike as The General, with Marie Lohr as Lady Britomart, and Deborah Kerr as Jenny Hill. ... Wendy Hiller in I Know Where Im Going! (1945) Dame Wendy Hiller (August 15, 1912 – May 14, 2003) was a distinguished English film and stage actress. ...

Setting

• London
• Act I: Lady Britomart's house
• Act II: The Salvation Army Shelter
• Act III: Munitions Factory

Synopsis

The story is about an officer in The Salvation Army, Major Barbara Undershaft, who becomes disillusioned by social ills and the willingness of her Christian denomination to accept money from armament manufacturers, which includes her own father. An officer of The Salvation Army is a Salvationist who is an ordained minister of the Christian denomination, having been trained and commissioned to service and leadership and given a quasi-military rank. ... Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life, teachings, and actions of Jesus, the Christ, as recounted in the New Testament. ... A religious denomination, (also simply denomination) is a large, long-established subgroup within a religion that has existed for many years. ...

As the play opens, Lady Britomart, a woman from the British upper class, the daughter of an Earl, who is in her fifties, is discussing with her son, Stephen, some permanent source of income for her grown daughters, Sarah, who is engaged to Charles Lomax, and Barbara, who is engaged to Adolphous Cusins. Lady Britomart comes to the conclusion that the only solution to the present problem is to take monetary help from her estranged husband, Andrew Undershaft. The term upper class refers to a group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. ... An Earl or Jarl was an Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian title, meaning chieftain and it referred especially to chieftains set to rule a territory in a kings stead. ...

Mr. Undershaft is a very successful and wealthy businessman who has made millions of pounds from his munitions factory, which manufactures the world famous Undershaft guns, cannons, torpedoes, and submarines. When their children were small, the couple separated due to questions about his wealth and how it would be distributed. According to tradition, the heir to the Undershaft fortune must be an orphan who can be groomed to run the factory. Undershaft himself had been a poor young man, staying at The Salvation Army Shelter; he improved himself by working hard, and wants to give another young man the same kind of opportunity. Lady Britomart has managed to raise the children by herself. Because she has decided to seek help from her estranged husband, Stephen, Sarah, and Barbara are reintroduced with their father. A businessman (sometimes businesswoman, female; or businessperson, gender neutral) is a generic term for a wide range of people engaged in profit-oriented enterprises, generally the management of a company. ...

During their reunion, Undershaft learns that Barbara is a major in The Salvation Army and is employed at their shelter in West Ham, east London. Impressed, he pays her a visit there in order to see her at work. As he watches her handling various people with a great deal of patience, firmness, and sincerity, while she deals with the everyday issues of the Army's social services, he is impressed with her abilities. Undershaft decides that if anyone in his family is capable of managing his business, it is his idealistic and committed daughter. west ham r the worst team |Place= West Ham |Traditional= Essex |Constituency= West Ham |GLA= City and East London |PostTown= LONDON |PostCode= E13, E15 |DiallingCode= 020 |GridReference= TQ405837 |Borough= Newham }} West Ham is a place in the London Borough of Newham in east London. ... Social work is a helping profession focused on social change, problem solving in human relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being (IASSW & IFSW 2001). ...

Undershaft brings Barbara back to reality by revealing the darker side of The Salvation Army when he gives a sizable donation, which she wants to refuse because the source was weaponry, and it is eagerly accepted by the officer in charge of the shelter. Disillusioned, Major Barbara leaves the shelter in tears to go with her father to his ammunition factory. Her fiancé, Adolphous Cusins, also a member of The Salvation Army, a scholar and professor of the Greek language and Greek literature, who is also a hypocrite, as he joined The Salvation Army only because he is in love with Barbara, follows her. He is soon made the heir and head of the Undershaft Munitions Foundry, because he is a foundling. A scholar is either a student or someone who has achieved a mastery of some academic discipline. ... A professor (Latin: one who publicly professes to be an expert) (or prof for short) is a senior teacher, lecturer and researcher, usually in a college or university. ... Greek (Greek Ελληνικά, IPA — Hellenic) is an Indo-European language with a documented history of 3,500 years. ... At the moment this page contains a list of links. ... Look up Hypocrisy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Hypocrisy is the act of pretending to have morals or virtues that one does not truly possess or practice. ...

Barbara, whose idealism has been tempered with reality, has become disillusioned over the hypocrisy of The Salvation Army, because they eagerly took the donation from her father, and she resigns. After she marries Cusins, she plans for them to live in the countryside near the munitions factory, where she will continue her work and bring her message of salvation to the factory workers instead of just to people who are poor and starving.

External links

• Free Online Study Guide for Major Barbara from PinkMonkey.com
• Major Barbara at the Internet Broadway Database (1915)
• Major Barbara at the Internet Broadway Database (1928 revival)
• Major Barbara at the Internet Broadway Database (1956 revival)
• Major Barbara at the Internet Broadway Database (1980 revival)
• Major Barbara at the Internet Broadway Database (2001 revival)

The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. ... The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. ... The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. ... The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. ... The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. ...