20.05.12

Playwright John-Michael Tebelak, then hard at work at his master’s thesis, was harassed by a policeman as he attended a service at Saint Paul’s Cathedral. The irony was clear. Society preaches Christian charity, yet a kid can get stopped and patted down merely for wearing overalls and long hair. Casting aside his existing thesis project, Tebelak set about to write a play that would, in effect, reclaim the gospels for a generation disillusioned with authority. His concept was simple. A group of modern city dwellers exchange their street clothes for motley garb and mime-like makeup. Using found objects, they become Jesus and his disciples, and act out parables from the New Testament. Totalitarian forces intervene. Jesus is betrayed and persecuted, but his message is carried forward by his followers.

Biblical text, freed from the usual encumbrances of clerical dogma or Hollywood spectacle, resonated with young theatergoers. Later, Trabalek teamed up with composer Stephen Schwartz (also a Carnegie Mellon alum) who drew from a rich palette of influences including rock, folk, gospel and vaudeville. The score was, and remains a triumph: varied in tone and tempo, thoughtful without being pretentious, sensitive but never sentimental.

Source: California Literary Review