The Last Days of Judas Iscariot

by: Stephen Adly Guirgis

I love this play. I can't say enough good things about this gem of a play. It has all the right ingredients to make it a star. I wish so much that I could do it here at Sanctuary some time. I would love to either direct or be in it. Which character? I don't know. Maybe Judas, maybe Satan, maybe Jesus.

This play, simply, is a "philosophical meditation on the conflict between divine mercy and human free will that takes a close look at the eternal damnation of the Bible's most notorious sinner." It takes place in a courtroom setting in purgatory with lawyers and history fighting over an appeal signed by saint Peter for Judas Iscariot.

The dialogue is unbelievably clever. The characters are very well drawn. The only thing I have a bit of an issue with is the language in some places. For the most part, the language he chooses to use is appropriate, however there are some places where he goes off the deep end and I, personally, don't feel that it fits. That's probably the only negative thing I have to say about this. I also love the picture it paints of Jesus. Probably the best portrayal of Jesus ever in modern and post-modern culture.

~10/10~

Marriage Play

Edward Albee's Marriage Play is another fantastic piece of theatre by one of my favorite playwrights of all time. He has a way with dysfunctional relationships. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf...?, Three Tall Women, The American Dream, I mean the list just goes on. He is amazing in each of those plays as well. And while I love his work, something about the dysfunctional marriage theme is starting to drag on. I enjoyed it thoroughly in Virginia Woolf...?, and most of the others. However in Marriage Play, I find it a little more tired than usual. The end is fantastic and exactly the way it should end, however the character dynamics leave much to be desired, at least for me.

~7/10~