Equus (play) Tom Hulce replaced Firth during the Broadway run. The Broadway production ran for 1,209 performances. Marian Seldes appeared in every single performance of the Broadway run, first in the role of Hesther and then as Dora. Shaffer also adapted his play for a 1977 film of the same name. Numerous other issues inform the narrative. Most important are religious and ritual sacrifice themes, and the manner in which character Alan Strang constructs a personal theology involving the horses and the supreme godhead, "Equus". Alan sees the horses as representative of God and confuses his adoration of his "God" with sexual
Vernon S. Shaffer Vernon S. Shaffer Vernon Spitler Shaffer (February 20, 1884 – May 3, 1958) was an American farmer and Republican politician who represented Shenandoah County part-time in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1950 until his death in 1958. Shaffer was born in Page County, Virginia and educated in its public schools. He married Mary Leah Stover (1885–1973) and they lived in Maurertown, Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley region. They had at least two sons: William Robert Shaffer (1916-pre-2001) and John Vernon Shaffer (1924–2001). A chicken farmer and Republican, Shaffer was president of the Shenandoah Commercial Hatchery, Inc. He also served