Lew Wallace was doubtful Ben-Hur would translate into a successful stage adaptation. He observed two problems in particular. First was dealing sensitively with the religious nature of the book and the problems with an actor portraying Jesus Christ. The second problem was how a chariot race could be accomplished in a theater, and without a chariot race, it would hardly be Ben-Hur. However, stage magnates Marc Klaw and Abraham Erlanger managed to convince Wallace otherwise. It was agreed that Jesus Christ would only be depicted as a beam of white light. The problem of the chariot race was solved by training eight horses, pulling two chariots, to run on treadmills installed in the floor of the stage. While the horses ran at full gallop on the stage, the background scenery was installed on a cyclorama and moved behind the racing chariots to complete the illusion that the chariots and horses were actually moving.