Just more than 340 years later, Melissa and Nathan Ortega are carrying the torch proudly - that is, author John Bunyan's 1678 work "Pilgrim's Progress," adapted into movies and plays over the years.
Midway through the performances at the Stained Glass Theatre in Jefferson City, Melissa Ortega is still as excited as when she started casting actors.
"It's a classic that has endured and inspired many modern works today," she said.
"Pilgrim's Progress," directed by the husband and wife duo, is a play about a man, Pilgrim, who escapes the City of Destruction - a life he believes to be doomed for catastrophe - to search for the City of God. On his road to heaven, his travels take him through physical and mental challenges which he "stumbles through on grace," according to the theater's play description.
The play shows the audience just "how terrifying and exhilarating" the experience of being human is, but it also shows people they're not alone in the obstacles they face, Ortega said.
"The biggest message is 'Don't give up. The ending is worth fighting for,'" she said. "You think (Pilgrim is) going to give up, but he doesn't. He continues on. And I feel like people just need to know that."
While the play's message is sincere and heartfelt, it's also peppered with bouts of comedy Ortega said makes the old English language easier for the audience to relate to and understand.
It helps that Greg Barnes, who takes on the role of Pilgrim, brings the character to life, she said.
"Oh, he's fabulous. We call him our own personal Frodo," she said. "Ten minutes in, you're just rooting for him with your whole heart. It was a dream come true to cast him."
Although the play is more than two hours long, which Ortega said she almost hates for people to know, it's written as a dream and changing constantly, giving the audience something new to look at - in her words, "erratic."
"It's a very casual production. We're really playing up the humor, and we've encouraged the actors to roll with bloopers on stage," she said. "They almost like it when something goes wrong. There's a ton of audience interaction, and that atmosphere lets our actors relax and not have to worry about being so serious all the time."
The audience interaction has been crucial to the play's development each night.
One night, she said, the performance was temporarily paused because the actors and audience could not stop laughing.
"It's community theater, and the wonderful thing about live community theater is that it's something you do together with the actors," Ortega said.
And it's different every night. The last three showings this weekend promise a new experience, she said.
"I just think that that's fantastic. It's a unique kind of entertainment," Ortega said.
Although it's her first time directing a stage production at a local theater, she said they overcame obstacles - like not having a full cast until halfway through rehearsal, having to look up word pronunciation and her husband stepping in last minute for an actor - as they showed up.
Ortega's just glad to carry on the story.
"We're just thrilled to kind of be able to carry that torch," she said.
The play runs through Saturday with remaining shows at 7:30 p.m. today, 7:30 p.m. Friday and a 2 p.m. matinee Saturday. Tickets are $9, and parents are advised to use discretion when bringing young children, as the play contains some violent scenes of assault. To reserve a seat, call the theater at 573-634-5313.