Monday, March 14, 2011

Quick Hit Theater Review: Mother of God!

Mother of God!
New Perspective Theatre Company
Richard Shepard Theatre
309 East 26th St., NYC
Writer: Michele A. Miller
Director: Melody Brooks

Summary:
A sort-of vaudeville, three-stooges perspective on what might have been the "real" story behind the Nativity. Miriam (Keona Welch), you'll know her by the name Mary, is betrothed to the much older, righteous-obsessed Joseph (Charles E. Gerber) when she is filled with excitement and fire by a stranger wearing a mask and claiming that he has been sent from heaven. Whether he is Apollo or a Roman soldier masquerading as God isn't clear, but either way, Miriam is sure that the child she has conceived is divine because in her mind, she's never been touched by man. Her guilt-trip-laying mother Hannah (Marisa Petsakos) is less thrilled than the pious Joseph, but Miriam's cousin Elizabeth (Karin de la Penta) cooks up a plan to make people think the child might be the Messiah. Meanwhile, Caspar (Keith Walker), Balthasar (Erwin Falcon) and Melchior (Ray Rodriguez), three bumbling travelers, follow a star in the east.

Highlights:
• The cast tries hard and Welch has a lovely presence on stage
• I liked Walker's British wise man
• Falcon's Ninja-like stance when he argues with Melchior is funny
• Rodriguez' trip over the set and fall in front of Mary as she was giving birth was pretty funny (although I'm not certain it was scripted.)

TheLowlights:
• It's not funny. I love a good parody, even about religious topics, but this is more than two hours of jokes falling flat.
• Drum rolls, whistles and other kooky sound effects after every joke, although sometimes they are helpful, because you wouldn't have known the line was supposed to be funny otherwise.
• Cardboard scenery that says "traveling show to schools" rather than "farce."

Tickets $18 ($15 students and seniors) available at http://www.theatermania.com/ or by phone at 866-811-4111.

Christians might also like to know:
• Not the Nativity story as you know it....(but it isn't supposed to be, so don't be offended)
• Mary says that Jupiter, Apollo and the Hebrew God are all one in the same.
• Language
• The Lord's name is used in the phrase, "Oh, my god!" when Hannah is exclaiming about Mary's pregnancy, but it could be interpreted that she's truly crying ot to him.

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Gracewell Prodiuctions

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Our reviews are professional reviews written without a religious bias. At the end of them, you can find a listing of language, content or theological issues that Christians might want to know about when deciding which shows to see.

** Mature indicates that the show has posted an advisory because of content. Usually this means I would recommend no one under the age of 16 attend.

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

My Bio

Lauren Yarger has written, directed and produced numerous shows and special events for both secular and Christian audiences. She co-wrote a Christian musical version of “A Christmas Carol” which played to sold-out audiences of over 3,000 in Vermont and was awarded the Vermont Bessie (theater and film awards) for “People’s Choice for Theatre.” She also has written two other dinner theaters, sketches for church services and devotions for Christian artists. Her play concept, "From Reel to Real: The Jennifer O'Neill Story" was presented as part of the League of professional Theatre Women's Julia's reading Room Series in New York. Shifting from reviewing to producing, Yarger owns Gracewell Productions, which produced the Table Reading Series at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, CT. She trained for three years in the Broadway League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Intensive and other training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway run. She was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She wrote reviews of Broadway and Off-Broadway theater (the only ones you can find in the US with an added Christian perspective) at http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/.

She is editor of The Connecticut Arts Connection (http://ctarts.blogspot.com), an award-winning website featuring theater and arts news for the state. She was a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com. She previously served as theater reviewer for the Manchester Journal-Inquirer, Connecticut theater editor for CurtainUp.com and as Connecticut and New York reviewer for American Theater Web.

She is a Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter of the League of Professional Theatre Women. She is a former vice president and voting member of The Drama Desk.

She is a freelance writer and playwright (member Dramatists Guild of America). She is a member if the The Outer Critics Circle (producer of the annual awards ceremony) and a member of The League of Professional Theatre Women, serving as Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter. Yarger was a book reviewer for Publishers Weekly A former newspaper editor and graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Yarger also worked in arts management for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and served for nine years as the Executive Director of Masterwork Productions, Inc. She lives with her husband in West Granby, CT. They have two adult children.

Copyright

All material is copyright 2008- 2024 by Lauren Yarger. Reviews and articles may not be reprinted without permission. Contact reflectionsinthelight@gmail.com

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Key to Content Notes:

God's name taken in vain -- means God or Jesus is used in dialogue without speaking directly to or about them.

Language -- means some curse words are used. "Minor" usually means the words are not too strong or that it only occurs once or twice throughout the show.

Strong Language -- means some of the more heavy duty curse words are used.

Nudity -- means a man or woman's backside, a man's lower front or a woman's front are revealed.

Scantily clad -- means actors' private areas are technically covered, but I can see a lot of them.

Sexual Language -- means the dialogue contains sexually explicit language but there's no action.

Sexual Activity -- means a man and woman are performing sexual acts.

Adultery -- Means a married man or woman is involved sexually with someone besides their spouse. If this is depicted with sexual acts on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Sex Outside of Marriage -- means a man and woman are involved sexually without being married. If this is depicted sexually on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Homosexuality -- means this is in the show, but not physically depicted.

Homosexual activity -- means two persons of the same sex are embracing/kissing. If they do more than that, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Cross Dresser -- Means someone is dressing as the opposite sex. If they do more than that on stage the listing would include the corresponding "sexual activity" and/or "homosexual activity" as well.

Cross Gender -- A man is playing a female part or a woman is playing a man's part.

Suggestive Dancing -- means dancing contains sexually suggestive moves.

Derogatory (category added Fall 2012) Language or circumstances where women or people of a certain race are referred to or treated in a negative and demeaning manner.

Other content matters such as torture, suicide, or rape will be noted, with details revealed only as necessary in the review itself.

The term "throughout" added to any of the above means it happens many times throughout the show.

Reviewing Policy

I receive free seats to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows made available to all voting members of the Outer Critics Circle. Journalistically, I provide an unbiased review and am under no obligation to make positive statements. Sometimes shows do not make tickets available to reviewers. If these are shows my readers want to know about I will purchase a ticket. If a personal friend is involved in a production, I'll let you know, but it won't influence a review. If I feel there is a conflict, I won't review their portion of the production.

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