Review: Religion, Politics, Baseball - America's Favorite Pastimes Come Under the Microscope in Shaking the Tree's Gorgeous PASSION PLAY PART III

Just in case you only read the first paragraph of this review, here's the most important bit: you still have four chances to see all three parts of Sarah Ruhl's PASSION PLAY. Details here: http://www.shaking-the-tree.com/passion-play.html.

PASSION PLAY is an epic piece in which a troupe of actors stages the Passion of the Christ at three different politically charged points in history. Part I takes place in England in 1575, just before Elizabeth I banned the putting on of religious plays; Part II in Oberammergau, Bavaria, in 1934, just as Hitler is coming into power; and Part III in Spearfish, South Dakota, between 1969 and 1984 as the nation is reeling from the Vietnam War. The current PASSION PLAY is a collaboration between Shaking the Tree and Profile Theatre. Parts I and II were performed a few weeks ago in a festival format at Profile, and Part III is now running as a standalone play at Shaking the Tree.

PASSION PLAY PART III centers on a group of actors who have been performing the Passion together in small-town North Dakota for years. This isn't just a group of actors, it's a family. The actor who plays Pontius Pilate is both the husband of the actress who plays Mary and the brother of the actor who plays Jesus. And he's about to leave for the Vietnam War. The play holds up a microscope to the things we as a society hold most dear -- religion, politics, even baseball -- and asks us to consider the idea that they're all just theatre after all. It's profound, moving, and, in classic Sarah Ruhl style, often very funny.

All of the actors are excellent -- Foss Curtis as Mary, Matthew Kerrigan as the actor who plays Jesus, Diane Kondrat as Ronald Reagan (she's almost more Reagan than Reagan!) -- but I want to call out Garland Lyons in particular for his performance as a veteran who returns from the Vietnam War. Like so many soldiers, he comes back only to find that things that used to make sense no longer do, and he tries to make sense of his new reality by rewriting Pontius Pilate's role in Jesus's death. It is, of course, an exercise in futility, but Lyons plays the role with a terrifying intensity that will make you feel both sympathetic and incredibly uncomfortable.

PASSION PLAY is a great play, and under Samantha van der Merwe's direction, it comes to life in all its glory and all its horror. Overall, this is a beautiful production of a complex and beautiful work. I recommend it very highly.

PASSION PLAY PART III runs through October 24. For tickets, visit http://www.shaking-the-tree.com.

Photo credit: Lava Alapai

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