Bible Schmible: Family Focus
January 25, 2012 by Hedonista · Leave a Comment
Time to get a little heavy here, dear hedonists. What is the Bible? What is its purpose? Why was it written and by whom?
There’s a new play in town – a world premiere, in fact – that addresses these questions and, in so doing, redefines what is the Bible, what is holy.
In short, it’s family.
That’s right family – pure and simple. The Bible is filled with stories about people – people and their families. Bill Cain certainly seems to think so, for both in interviews and in the play, he comments on how the Bible is not a rule book, but rather the story of a family.
I couldn’t agree more.
Left to right: Aaron Blakeley, Tyler Pierce, Linda Gehringer, and Leo Marks star in the world premiere of Bill Cain’s How to Write a New Book for the Bible at Seattle Repertory Theatre. Photo courtesy of kevinberne.co, provided by SRT and used with permission.
Right now, How to Write a New Book for the Bible is running at the Seattle Repertory Theatre (SRT) from January 13th until February 5th, 2012. (Your Hedonista attended as media last Sunday night; Snowmageddon – a word now defined by Wikipedia, by the way – caused the cancellation of the January 18th and 19th shows). Directed by Kent Nicholson and written by Bill Cain, this play portrays the playwright’s own nuclear family. Writing about what he knew – knew best, mind you – for this play was one of the best I’ve seen in a long time.
It has a four-member cast, each member of which possesses impressive credentials. The cast – Aaron Blakely as the older son/brother/soldier/teacher Paul, Linda Gehringer as the mother Mary, Leo Marks as the father Pete, and Tyler Pierce as the younger son/brother/writer/priest Bill (Bill Cain, that is, who is also a Jesuit priest in real life) – really kick it up several notches. They are, quite simply, brilliant. The characters they portray are genuine. Sincere. Kind. Courageous. Self-sacrificing. Honest. Real. What true reality entertainment should be. All this, when portrayed within the intimate setting of live theatre, makes audience members feel that they are witnessing something truly sacred.
And they are.
Heed your hedonist when I say that this play is an absolute must-see. I laughed, I cried. Hell, I laughed while I cried. This play uses average, ordinary characters who do average, ordinary things, both with and in their lives. However, it’s within the ordinary that we find the extraordinary: the dark, the light, and the life, complete with all of its actions and emotions – both tragic and comedic, good and bad – that create what is truly holy.
A dozen performances of this show remain, including tonight. Tickets range in price from $12 to $69: $12 for those aged 25 years and under, $22 for students over 25 years of age, and a range of $20 to $69 for the general public, depending on the date, time, and location of the seats.
(Go see it.)
