BRATTLEBORO-Jesus Wept is an existential comedy by Brattleboro-based playwright Steve Wangh. The play is sponsored by the Centre Congregational Church, where Scott Couper is pastor and teacher.
The play opens with a vision of Mary and God responding to the prayers of humans who are facing both serious and absurd life crises. But when Jesus joins the scene, the strain of coping with centuries of human foibles threatens to unravel the Holy Family entirely. Sacred and profane disagreements among the divinities grow into a wild exploration of the cosmic - and comic - dimensions of the Human and the Heavenly Condition, culminating in a joyous musical epiphany.
Wangh is the author of 20 plays and was one of the writers of the Emmy-nominated play The Laramie Project. He taught acting for 40 years at Emerson College, Naropa University, and New York University, where he is Arts Professor Emeritus.
The production is directed by John Hadden, who has directed at New England Youth Theatre and was a founding member of Shakespeare and Company. Actors include Emmadora Boutcher, Elizabeth Bunker, Scott Couper, Michelle Dussault, Steve Eldredge, Sean Fitzharris, James Gelter, Maureen McElligott, and David Zee.
Performances at Centre Congregational Church, 193 Main St., are Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, Feb. 19, 20, and 21, at 7 p.m., and Saturday, Feb. 22, at 4 and 7 p.m. Audiences are invited to talk with "God" and his crew after the Feb. 19 and 20 shows.
Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online at jesuswept.eventbrite.com, at the church office weekdays from 8 a.m. to noon, or at the door. Proceeds above production cost will go to scholarships at Luz Mundo in El Salvador.
This Arts item was submitted to The Commons.