CORPUS CHRISTI

A friend saw Terrence McNally's play recently and since we were discussing it, I found my original review from 1998:

WHAT IF GOD WAS ONE OF US

As you enter the Manhattan Theater Club to see CORPUS CHRISTI, Prince’s “What If God Was One Of Us” tells you exactly what multi-Tony winning playwright Terrence McNally has on his mind. The ‘us’ he is referring to here is the gay community. Mr. McNally’s message may be aimed straight at the souls of gays, but it is so powerful that it’s reverberations are shaking the foundations of straight society as well.

After having to pass through metal detectors and airport style security just to enter the theater, one finds that ‘dramatic irony’ is a recurring theme here. As the characters learn what dramatic irony is within the play, so do we in more ways than one. For a show that tells the gay community that it desperately needs to return to spirituality and religion, the irony is that outside there are religious organizations protesting and threatening to bomb the theater.

What if God was one of us? Theoretically, he was, through His only begotten son, Jesus. Jesus died to save all of us from our sins. God didn’t discriminate against race, creed, color, or sexual orientation. God didn’t have a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy!

“This is a true story that has been told many times in many ways, but bears repeating.” It has been adapted by every social/ethnic/religious group and modified to fit their own needs, and now keeping with the current trend on Broadway, it’s gay time.

CORPUS CHRISTI follows the life of the Son of God, who here was born in Corpus Christi, Texas and named Joshua (his mother wanted to name him Jesus, but his father said “This is Texas, Jesus sounds too Mexican!”) What makes CORPUS CHRISTI so poignant is in it’s perspective. It is about Joshua’s spiritual journey for the love of his fellow man. It is NOT about Joshua and his Disciples being gay, they just happen to be gay here.

If one can be open minded enough to imagine that a man could be the Son of God, then how much further do you have to open up to just say ‘How would this play out if He was gay?’ Aye, there’s the rub, hatred and bigotry run very, very deep in our society. “Men are violent and reject love. It is our mission to teach them how to love” Joshua tells His Disciples. Unfortunately, many people will never allow themselves to hear this message because they are so filled with prejudice and fear. Mr. McNally dramatizes this in the final scene when Pontius Pilate and other ‘fag-bashers’ crucify Joshua. “The Son of God a cock-sucker, I don’t think so.” They brutally pound the metal stakes into Joshua’s hands and feet as He writhes in pain. The cross is lifted, and He’s left hanging to die, still asking His Father to “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.” What frightening irony is it that Matthew Shepard was recently brutally beaten by fag-bashers and tied to a fence post and left hanging to die?

The evening is kept very fluid under the delicate direction of Joe Mantello. The action shifts seamlessly between 1998 Texas and Jerusalem B.C.-A.D. Mr. Mantello handles the fragile material so honestly that it’s simplicity is it’s power. In one scene, Joshua is picked up by a HIV+ street hustler who is looking for sex devoid of any feelings. When all Joshua has to offer him is love, he doesn’t know how to respond. Joshua attempts to show him the way of love by making him one of His Disciples. This scene, and probably the entire show, could come off as pure blasphemy, but it is handled with such love one wonders how anyone could be anything but awe-struck at the shows beauty.

The cast, which consists of 13 young men, play all the varying male and female roles with ease, but sometimes it seems a little too nonchalant. The messages here are too important. Our hearts and minds are opened, they could and should use this rare opportunity to indelibly print their humanity on our psyche.

Critics have called CORPUS CHRISTI “a minor work from a major playwright.” Well, if the amount of hatred and prejudice in today’s society is minor, then there truly is no hope for love and peace. But Mr. McNally is not yet that jaded. He believes that love can and will triumph in the end, but only if we allow ourselves to face our problems and fears. With CORPUS CHRISTI we are one step closer . Mr. McNally’s play is a beautiful portrayal of the basis of all religious teachings - love. We could all use a return to a little innocence.

Oct. 1998