THRONE: A Musical

My musical “Throne” is a story about the triumph of the creative will over the forces of destruction. It explores the psychological tension between the weight of a vision, and the actualization of that vision. It is based on the true story of the artist James Hampton who created the “Throne of the 3rd Heaven for the Nations Millennium” with scrap furniture, light bulbs, jars wrapped in foil from cigarette packages, wine bottles, gum wrappers, and candy wrappers. It is approximately 17 feet tall and 19 feet wide. It is permanently and prominently displayed in the Smithsonian’s Museum of American Art.
Hampton worked as a janitor by day and constructed the “Throne” over 14 years working on it from midnight until dawn. Hampton believed he was creating the Throne where Christ would sit for His 1,000 year rein on earth–the millennial kingdom. Each night Hampton believed that Moses, Adam, or the Virgin Mary would appear and give him encouragement and instructions for working on the throne for the night. He wrote down mysterious messages in notebooks in a cryptic script. The Throne has been called by art critic Robert Hughes, “Possibly one of the greatest examples of religious art ever done by an American.”


THE FOLLOWING ARE DETAIL PHOTOS OF THE 17X19 FOOT “THRONE.”