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A Good Way to Spend The Last Days
by Michael Bettencourt
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot reviewed January 14, 2010
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| Sebastian Cintron as El-Fayoumy |
| Photo Credit:Paul Newland |
| Wide Eyed Productions presents a competent production of Stephen Adly Guirgis' talky but clever The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, the purported narrative of a trial in present-day Purgatory about whether Judas should be forgiven for his betrayal of Jesus Christ.
The play opens in the midst of recent efforts to rehabilitate Judas, covered well in Joan Acocella's New Yorker article of August 3, 2009, where Judas is now seen as Jesus' best friend and a man deserving of the redemption and salvation offered by Jesus to all humans. This is certainly Guirgis' take: what we see of his Judas is a soul in torment, ready to recant his actions to save his friend, and, by the testimonies of others, such as Mary Magdalene (Brianne Mai), the man who kept Jesus honest and focused on his mission.
The trial, which has been authorized by God himself, pits prosecutor El-Fayoumy (Sebastian Cintron), a lavish-mouthed suck-up ready to flatter his way forward, against defense lawyer Fabiana Cunningham (Lisa Mamazza), whose failed life has landed her in Purgatory. It's never clear why the trial comes to pass, since Judas has not requested it (he is in a perpetual catatonic state in the deepest circle of Hell), but nevertheless it proceeds, with each side running through a roster of witnesses that includes Mother Teresa (Joshua David Bishop), Pontius Pilate (Okieriete Onaodowan), Caiaphas the Elder (Andrew Harriss), and even Satan himself (Jason Loverde).
The script mixes high purpose and low humor, careful research and camp (witness Johnny Beachamp's drag performance of St. Monica). The court procedural is ornamented with testimonials, jokes, personal reflections, and soulful recollections, many of them rendered in Guirgis' signature style of street-infused declamation and intelligent analysis (used to great effect in Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train and Our Lady of 121st Street).
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| Andrew Harriss (Judge) and Billy Dutton (Bailiff) |
| Photo Credit:Paul Newland |
| In the end, Judas is denied forgiveness and thus entrance into Heaven, which leaves the initial question unanswered: why is Judas' act of betrayal (if, indeed, it was betrayal at all) denied the amnesty that Jesus promised to all willing to confess their sins and follow him? The answer will have to come from each audience member's entanglement with the issues about compassion and tolerance that the play raises.
Director Rebecca Hengstenberg makes excellent use of the odd-angled space of the Richmond Shepard Theatre. The set (by Joshua David Bishop) is made up of segments of a smashed Roman-numeraled sundial, with various ruined-looking pediments and columns scattered about. Joe Novak's lighting design does a good job of shifting from a general wash to focused spots for the individual testimonies, and Jill Wetzel's costume design reflects the dingy, down-at-heel environs of Purgatory.
Though the entire cast does a fine job, several members stand out. Okieriete Onaodowan's steely Pontius Pilate gives one the feel of just how tough the Romans must have been. The smarmy aplomb of Jason Loverde's Satan parallels an equally practiced vicious streak, and Andrew Harriss as Caiaphas the Elder and Lincoln Hayes as Judas give affecting performances of unrepairable people who nonetheless face themselves squarely without flinching.
The Last Days is a big canvas covered with big ideas (it runs 2½ hours), a welcome respite from domesticated pieces about internalized self-struggling or snarling family gatherings. The questions raised by the play may not get answered in the play, but they linger in the mind as worth considering, as one will no doubt do on the walk home from the theater.
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Richmond Shepard Theatre
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Category: Comedy
Written by: Stephen Adly Guirgis
Directed by: Rebecca Hengstenberg
Produced by: Wide Eyed Productions
Opened: January 14, 2010
Closed: February 7, 2010
Running Time: 2½ hours
Theater: Richmond Shepard Theatre
Address: 309 E. 26th Street
New York, NY 10010
Yahoo! Maps Directions
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Tickets: $25.00
$20 for students
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Creative Team
Written by: Stephen Adly Guirgis
Directed by: Rebecca Hengstenberg
Produced by: Wide Eyes Productions (Kristin Skye Hoffman and Justin Ness)
Light Designer: Joe Novak
Sound Designer: Trevor Dallier
Set Designer: Joshua David Bishop
Costume Designer: Jill Wetzel
Assistant Director: Melissa Johnson
Assistant Costume Designer: Kelly Homan
Cast
Ali Gilbertson as Henrietta/Sister Glenna/Soldier 3
Lincoln Hayes as Judas Iscariot
Trevor Dallier as Mathias/Jesus
Andress Harriss as Judge Littlefield/Caiaphas the Elder
Billy Dutton as Bailiff/St. Peter
Johnny Beachamp as St. Monica
Mavis Martin as Gloria/Soldier 2
Sebastian Cintron as El-Fayoumy
Lisa Mamazza as Fabiana Cunningham
Colin McFadden as Butch Honeywell
Brianne Mai as Loretta/Mary Magdalene
Sage Seals as Simon the Zealot/Soldier 1
Okieriete Onaodowan as St. Matthew/Uncle Pino/Pontius Pilate
Joshua David Bishop as Mother Theresa/St. Thomas
Jason Loverde as Satan
Crew
Production Stage Manager: Sara Troficanto
Assistant Stage Manager: Chad Erickson
Construction Crew Head: Justin Ness
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