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Theater Review: 'Passion Play' At Odyssey Theatre Ensemble

Katie Buenneke |
February 7, 2014 | 3:27 p.m. PST

Theater Editor

Sarah Ruhl is a unique playwright. The writer of "Eurydice," "Dead Man's Cell Phone," and "In the Next Room (Or the Vibrator Play)," she tells her tales in a heightened, poetic language that can be a bit alienating at first. In a good production of one of her plays, though, the images become something more than carbon copies, and start to take life before the audience.

Unfortunately, Odyssey’s production of “Passion Play,” playing in Culver City through March 16, never quite achieves that sense of magical realism.

The three-part (and three-hour) play follows the casts and friends of three passion plays (works depicting the life and crucifixion of Jesus) throughout history, starting Elizabethan England, when they were staged by Catholics in spite of the Church of England. The woman playing Jesus’ mother (Dorie Barton) finds herself in love with the man playing Jesus (Daniel Bess), but impregnated by the actor who play Pontius Pilate (Christian Leffler), and she starts letting life imitate art. The story then moves to 1930s Germany, where Hitler (Shannon Holt) saw an anti-semitic version that fueled his hatred for the Jews—and in this cast, the actors playing Jesus and Pilate (a newly-minted SS officer) are in love with each other. Finally, the story fast forwards to South Dakota in the latter half of the 20th century, as the passion play becomes a tourist attraction, and Ronald Reagan (Holt) makes a visit on a campaign stop.

READ MORE: Theater Review: 'Eurydice' At A Noise Within

The cast, under the direction of Bart DeLorenzo (who so marvelously directed “Cymbeline” at A Noise Within last season) clearly struggles with the more archaic language of the 16th century portion, rendering that section somewhat difficult to watch. As the dialogue gets more modern, the cast seems better able to make sense of the story they are telling, and they take better ownership of the imagery.

Luckily, throughout the show, there are two breaths of fresh air, who effortlessly deal with the changing locations and eras. Brittany Slatter as the village idiot brings eerie comedy to her prescient role, and Amanda Troop as the actress playing Mary Magdalene in all three productions are charming and engaging, and tell some of the most compelling stories in the play.

The simple staging is fairly effective, and the props in particular bring the different worlds to life quite nicely.

Unfortunately, though, the positive aspects of “Passion Play” are not quite enough to elevate the show to the imaginary heights at which Ruhl’s words soar. She’s not an easy taskmistress, but it’s disappointing when productions of her works fall short.  

“Passion Play” plays at The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble (2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles) through March 16. Tickets are $25-$35. More information can be found at OdysseyTheatre.com.

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Reach Theater Editor Katie here; follow her on Twitter here.



 

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