Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night. [Credit not to Bette Davis in All About Eve but to Joseph Manckiewicz; we don’t give Olivier credit for “Alas, poor Yorick,” do we?]
But it is going to be a bumpy night at Mustard Seed Theatre for those who go see The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. It’s fast-paced, lines firing off so quickly that the laughter hasn’t passed when the next one comes, a full-on time warp of divine proportion, plenty of bad language, some excellent acting and a script that, while uneven, touches on some interesting things to think about.
It takes place in Purgatory, where Mr. Iscariot (Chris Ware), as he’s styled by some, is up for sentencing to hell. The judge (Chandler Spradling) seems, pardon the phrase, hell-bent to get through his docket – Iscariot is only one among many – and go on to other things. Up springs Cunningham (Courtney Bailey-Parker) to defend Judas. She says she has a writ to delay things. The judge is having absolutely none of it, despite her demands. El-Fayoumy (Carl Overly, Jr.) roars in, announcing he’s going to argue the prosecution side.
This is not going to be simple. We meet everyone from Judas’ mother (Carmen Garcia) to Sigmund Freud, including appearances from St. Monica (Rae Davis), the head of the Sanhedrin (Ariella Rovinsky), Mother Theresa (Rachel Tibbetts), Satan himself (Eric Dean White), whom the judge familiarly addresses as “Lu”, and more.
There’s a lot of multiple casting that crosses all kinds of lines, and in the context of considering great themes in theological terms, it makes considerable sense. If, in the words of the old Christian hymn, “In Christ, there is no East or West,” then there probably is no ethnicity or gender discrimination, so seeing Carmen Garcia playing Pontius Pilate, for instance, seems perfectly reasonable on several levels. The dialogue is full of cultural jokes from all sorts of sources.
Yes, definitely some excellent acting. Bailey-Parker has the most underplayed role and does well with it, not easy considering what’s going on around her, especially Overly’s ripping and roaring and caroming across the stage, showcasing his gift for physical comedy. Garcia’s magnificent, whether as the grieving mother – Judas Iscariot, you may recall, hanged himself – or as Pontius Pilate, where she seems to physically morph. Iscariot himself, Chris Ware, is pretty much catatonic for much of the play; Ware makes him believable despite that. Chelsea Krenning is, among other things, the long-suffering bailiff, and covers a lot of distance without breaking a sweat. The Saint Monica created by Rae Davis is clearly bringing it, and taking no prisoners. Not only is a nicely Parkinsonian Mother Theresa brought to us by Rachel Tibbetts, her Saint Thomas – you remember, Doubting Thomas? – is almost ethereal. White’s Satan is never oily, just coated in silicon. The timing needs a little work because of the laughter; it’s a shame to waste some of these lines.
Adam Flores orchestrated this collection of folks and directed the script from Stephen Adley Guirgis. Dunsi Dai’s set works extremely well, Michael Sullivan’s lighting slides our attention to and fro seamlessly and Zoe Sullivan’s sound is wonderfully done, smooth and often very discreet.
Guirgis’ second act goes on too long, unfortunately, including one of those points where the audience is left wondering, “Was that the end of the play?” It turns out not to be, the “not to be” changing the mood entirely and in serious need of trimming. He’s obviously used a lot of sources – I was immediately grabbed by something that may have been purloined from Haile Selassie speaking to Rose Kennedy in November of 1963 – and the intellectual workout he gives us is nevertheless worthwhile. An enjoyable, challenging evening, even with imperfections.
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot
through October 28
Mustard Seed Theatre
Fontbonne University
6800 Wydown Blvd (enter off Big Bend)
314-719-8060