by tony reverditto
ACT OF FAITH CORPUS CHRISTI
To call the subject matter in Terrence McNally’s work Corpus Christi controver-
sial, is to make a huge understatement. In his retelling of the Passion Play story, Jesus is portrayed as a gay man living with his apostles in 1950s Corpus Christi, Texas. Jesus officiates a gay marriage between two of the apostles and his betrayal by Judas is because of sexual jealousy. It originally opened at the Manhattan Theatre Club in 1998 to bomb threats and
protests and continued in various cities with pretty much the same reception. Its humble beginnings took place at the Metropolitan Community Church in the San Fernando Valley and the play’s resounding momentum continued with months of sold out audiences at the famed Los Angeles Zephyr Theatre. In 2007, the Edin- burgh Fringe Festival production was awarded the Intercultural Dialogue Award at the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival. McNally perfectly encapsulated his motivation for writing the script,“It is pretty
easy for gay people to feel alienated from any and all religions. The play is my at- tempt to lessen that feeling of alienation since we are told from birth what sinners we are. I was trying to imagine a world where gay men and women were spiritual heroes as well. Sometimes it felt like all the play accomplished was to reveal how deep and vicious the homophobia in our society really was.”
THE RAGE MONTHLY ASKED MANAGING DIRECTOR AND COFOUNDER
DAVID CARNEVALE WHAT COMPELLED THEATRE OUT TO TAKE ON THE CONTROVERSIAL PIECE: “Theatre Out has never been shy about presenting bold, thought-provoking
54 RAGE monthly | APRIL 2014 | APRIL 2014
Corpus Christi is playing fromFriday, April 25 through Saturday, May 17 at Theatre Out, 402 West 4th Street in Santa Ana. For tickets and more information call 714.220.7069 or go
totheatreout.com
works. In choosing Corpus Christi for our 2014 season, we saw an opportunity to share with Orange County a powerful message. This is truly a play that has evolved since it was first produced; many critics and skeptics initially saw it as merely aPas- sion Play with a gay Jesus. In the years since it was written, much has changed in the political and social landscape of this country. The play has transcended its own controversy and now shines bright with a message of love, hope, and acceptance.” Director Tito Covert-Ortiz’s response regarding the question about Terrance
McNally’s story not being for the closed-minded and the message he hoped audiences would take away was as follows, “There are themes in the play that may turn people off, but we hope that audiences take with them the understanding regarding what it is to be divine and ordinary at the same time. In this play, the two are one-and-the-same and that is what makes it so powerful. Yes, the fact that Jesus Christ and his Apostles are all depicted as gay men is something that cannot be overlooked;” McNally added, “another facet to this classic story by asking a very bold ‘what if’ question with very simple and powerful answers that have you thinking about the play’s theme for quite some time. There is also a message of equality and this play serves as a call to arms, to challenge us to take responsibility for one another as equals and as truly divine human beings.”
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