A Passion.

"A Passion" at the actors Episcopalian Church and under Dzieci, which utilizes humanistic psychology, indigenous ritual practices, and Eastern European spiritual disciplines, in a search for the sacred through the medium of theatre.

The Dziece was founded in 1997 from Jerry Grotowski's Polish Theatre Company. This year marks the 10th anniversary of "A Passion". Dziece tries to seek the essence of the Liturgy, it has also refined the text from the earliest existing translations, Aramaic, Peshitta, integrated with Hebrew song and chant, as well as element of Judaism, and set their revision in the shadow of the Warsaw Ghetto.

In a very interesting presentation, "A Passion" was well played by a pretty much good ensemble cast. In the fashion of Dzieci, the actors switch roles, they all play Jesus at one time or another throughout the play, which last about fifty minutes. The actors take turns playing most of the key roles all throughout.

"A Passion" is deep if you let it be so, it is moving at times and it should ingrahiate your soul, too. Starting with ritual chants and getting the audience to do so as well, you get the spiritual sense that this is not just another "Passion" play, but rather a spiritual one.

As the play begins, Jesus is in the final day of his life; what will become to be known as Good Friday is nearing. He is surrounded by his Disciples, and the people closest too him. He tells his followers that he will be betrayed and has each one questioning their own loyalty to the Messiah. It is not that Jesus is made, even dissapointed, as He knows the human weakness,and all that consumes them. Rather than being mad or angry, God forgave them all. The actors bring this out well during the performance. The cast brings out confusion amongst the people being questioned; that the deciples not knowingly will abandon the Savior in his hour of need. Yet the Grace of the Lord will forgive the weak and lift up their spirits as they do not know what the future will bring.

Without a proper program, it was difficult to tell which actor was which. The woman for the most part were strong throughout the performance. Many of the men were strong as well, it was that I noticed some deft performances by two women in particular.

I must that I am not at all framiliar with Dzieci, however, I thought the costume choices were a bit odd, some modern, some more in line with the Biblical times. The staging was done well and it seemed that the lighting never varied which was okay because it worked well with the mood of the performance.

In Matt Mitler's direction we get the hoge-poge of actors trading off roles and creating a middling to the story. Even though it is not conventional, it works to those paying attention. The choral direction by Jesse Hathaway too is unorthodox, but it works in this genre of theater. The choral in "A Passion" is equally important as the artistic direction.

The cast includes: Megan Bones, Ryan Castalia, Teresita Cuadrado, Jesse Hathaway, Matt Milter and Ella Peck.

"A Passion" is an interesting performance, but one that I think was well worth going to see. The actors all performed with perscission and passion. The way they performed the play went deeper than the average play because of the Dzieci method.

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"Shucked" was postponed on Good Friday because of "non Covid" sickness. I look forward to reviewing "Shucked", especially since the reviews for the most part were outstanding. It is a comedy that takes place in the corn fields of the midwest.

Next up on Broadway (or atleast what I can see as reviewing) is "Camelot, Prima Facie"," New York, New York". "Goodnight Oscar", "Summer of 1976" with Laura Linney and "Peter Pan Goes Wrong" are all coming in rapid fire succession. "Grey House" and "Back To The Future" will be in May and "Once Upon A One More Time" the Brittany Spears musical will be coming last in this action packed Spring season.

So far, this season has had some good shows... A Dolls House was intersting in that it had a modern spin to it. "Dancin', also a modern take was not as good as the original. "The Life of Pi" was well done by the shows lead and the scenic design was outstanding. "Bad Cinderella" was awful; bad story, bad direction killed this one.

Although I passed on "Fat Ham", the audience members seem to like it for the most part. The real killer this season is Sweeney Todd. This butcher is better than the 2004 version. With excellent acting and direction, "Sweeney" will be up for many Tony awards.

www.swmnimbus.org, www.nypost.com, Sweeney Todd, Jesse Ferguson, Broadway, Fat Ham, Laura Linney, Camelot, Bad Cinderella, Metropolitan Magazine, Mann About Town, Nimbus Magazine, The Life of Pi, "Six", Brittany Spears, Back To The Future, New York, New York, Easter, "The Passion", Jesus, Tony Awards, Summer of 1976, Goodnight, Oscar, Nathan Lane, Pictures From Home, Studio 54, Camelot, Lincoln Center, Actors Equity, Shucked, www.broadwayworld.com, www.timeoutny.com, Funny Girl, Leah Michelle, Hamilton, Peter Pan Goes Wrong.