The Devil and Billy Markham

Shel Silverstein’s The Devil and Billy Markham, which first appeared as a six-part epic poem in the January 1979 edition of Playboy Magazine and subsequently as a one-act play at Lincoln Center in 1989, tells the story of Billy Markham, an unforgettable character who never met a bet he didn’t take, including that of his very own soul. Billy journeys from Nashville’s Music Row down into the fiery pits of hell and back again as he matches wits with God, the Devil and everyone in between.