The Art of Interpretation
Thousands of little girls are currently polishing their vocal pipes and their visionary dreams as they audition to be the next “Annie.” The musical will once again grace the Great White Way with a return to Broadway in the fall of 2012. Annie is an adaptation of a comic strip, Little Orphan Annie, which was written by Harold Gray and ran from 1924 until just last year. Gray often used the comic strip to voice his political views, namely that he was not a fan of organized labor, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, or Roosevelt’s New Deal. Gray’s “Daddy” Warbucks, for example, was portrayed as the ideal capitalist, a tuxedoed millionaire who made a fortune creating munitions for World War I.
But, Warbucks, FDR, and the story of little orphan Annie were reinterpreted when a man named Thomas Meehan adapted the comic strip for Broadway in 1977. In Meehan’s version, “Daddy” Warbucks was a friend to FDR, and in fact, it was FDR who eventually saved Annie from the orphanage enabling Warbucks to adopt her. The musical ends with everyone singing “A New Deal for Christmas,” exalting the plan that the original comic strip writer so criticized.
As the above example illustrates, art often depends on the interpretations of the author, the author’s particular opinions and beliefs, as well as the circumstances and the context of the time in which they live. The art of liturgy is no different. Our liturgical texts have been reinterpreted and changed throughout history, and they are about to change again. Our current prayer-book is based on a loose interpretation of the original Latin translation. The prayer-book which we will begin using on November 27th is based on a closer interpretation of the original Latin translation. Let us pray that this new translation will inspire a “new deal” of peace and justice for the Church and the world.
O Lord, may the words of our prayer lead to action. AMEN
