These are the dichotomies that Stephen Adly Guirgis's Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train puts up against each other, whilst exploring the injustices and complexities of the American justice system. . Im juss a Black Plague! Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train reveals a young playwright's awkwardness with its overwritten passages and reliance on expository monologues. Jesus Hopped The 'A' Train is a play written by Stephen Adly Guirgis . Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train revels in these complexities. We see how his case becomes of a professional project Angel Cruz and Lucius Jenkins face murder charges. friend. Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train is playing through November 12 . A lot of what we hear from the lawyer is in the form of direct address, and these monologues lack the poetry (brute or not) of the rest. Reviews for Jesus Hopped the . . No memorization required. Perhaps the most stirring monologue of the play comes from . Making moments memorable are flashbacks some characters share. (Kevin Greene) Soulpepper Theatre presents Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train, a graphic and distressing story of two prison inmates serving time for murder. In one particularly impressive monologue, Adjepong's Lucius exercises whilst addressing his religious beliefs; the actor's energy doesn't falter once as he performs . Scotiabank Rising Teammates, Best of all is Velazcos touching recounting of a youthful near-death incident that satisfyingly clarifies the plays title as religious metaphor. The verbally fiery "Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train" is a bravura play: The dialogue can be ear-scaldingly profane, and the heaven-or-hell speeches soar like theological arias. He then mercilessly exploits that vulnerability by adding a contrasting pair of guards to the mix: one, named Charlie, a good-natured patsy; the other, Valdez, a by-the-rules sadist. Angel Cruz is a young Puerto Rican man incarcerated for shooting a cult leader after said person "stole" his best friend. But then, in a knife-edge final discussion before Lucius is sent to the electric chair, Angel extraordinarily finds that he too is turning towards the faith that he has so far shunned, thus jeopardising his own case against the born-agains. Equitys contracts prohibit discrimination. Jesus Hopped was fairly well received by critics and though it did not pick up any major awards in its US run, it was nominated for an Olivier Award in the UK in the category of Best New Play in 2003. He is a former co-artistic director of Labyrinth Theater Company. Lucius has been convicted of eight sadistic murders and is awaiting extradition to . More . The play is full of monologues that function to articulate each character's values, very much like back in Sophocles' day, and the directors' decision to stage the play in the round magnifies the standing and authority of each such magnificent speech. Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train begins and ends with the same image: a young prisoner, Angel, on his knees, praying in darkness. society, are remarkabl. He has a great, effective monologue at the end about the death of Lucius that is sublime. The new guard Valdez (Jason Hall) is cruel and curt. His play Between Riverside and Crazy won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. JESUS HOPPED THE 'A' TRAIN by Stephen Adly Guirgis . Terell W.J. The play is essentially a set of monologues stitched together at the edges, and showing signs of fraying. When the cult leader dies during surgery, Angel suddenly finds himself facing murder charges. Intermission is partnering with Soulpepper Theatre Company and theatre critic Robert Cushman to mentor this season's participants. More . Signature Theater presents a revival of 'Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train,' a 2000 drama by Stephen Adly Guirgis, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of 'Between Riverside and Crazy' and 'The Motherf . by Stephen Adly Guirgis. Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train. . You might even think that those first two scenes play just a little too broadly. Mary Jane Hanrahan - (late 20s/early 30s/White) She is Angels jaded and tired state appointed attorney. He projects a grooviness turned dry and brittle, making each. Playing Lucius Jenkins, a fellow inmate convicted of murdering eight people, Riggins delivers the kind of bravura performance that makes you lean in closer to not miss a single syllable. Furthermore, staging it in the round allows the guard Valdez (a smug and pitiable character played very well by Joplin Sibtain) to roam all levels of . . . and Lucius (D'Wayne Taylor) in Eclipse Theatre's production of "Jesus Hopped the A Train" by Stephen Adly Guirgis, directed by Anish Jethmalani. Search all monologues. Written by Stephen Adly Guirgis Good versus evil. We hear a story of how her But as Lucius works his sociopathic charm on Angel, he begins to open up little by little. Sure, it tells a story of addiction and cyclical abuse a narrative we've grown to expect about those who go behind bars. other. Lucius is a serial . What about my victimization? Start your review of Jesus Hopped the A Train. On his first night at Rikers Island, a terrified inmate named Angel Cruz tries to reconstruct the Lords Prayer from his broken memories. Directed by Kevin Mack. Lucius. Still, they're full of rhetorical fireworks. Lucius is a "celebrity" prisoner, an old-hat at the prison. As his name implies, Angel wrestles with questions of faith, and those questions come pouring out from Lucius during their side-by-side exercise sessions in the prison's outdoor cages. Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train Paper Elizabeth Taylor Class: Theatre 100-162W Professor: Christopher . the shock of the charismatic Lucius' descriptions of his own murders, and finally, the 'A' train itself. Intermission is thrilled to be hosting the inaugural theatre reviews of the Emerging Arts Critics Programme 2019/20 season. October 23, 2017. Monologues for Women; Comedic; . But in a series of monologues that pull further back from the action, Hanrahans reflections on the case, and on her own investment in it, dissipate the tension. Angel Cruz, played by Richard Nguyen Sloniker is a Puerto Rican awaiting trial for justifiable attempted murder. At the opening of the play, he is in his second night of incarceration, awaiting trial for shooting the leader of that cult in the "ass." He is on his knees, alone and terrified, trying to say a prayer he no . Off Broadway Review: 'Jesus Hopped the A Train'. . Yet, the five characters, their fraught interactions and the impact they have on each others lives sustain interest. Lucius Jenkins has found God, and Angel's life and the course of his trial will be changed forever. Describe the Night. Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train is skillfully structured so that the audience's sympathies see-saw back and forth between the silver-tongued Lucius and a seemingly sadistic guard named Valdez (the . The production received considerable acclaim from critics such as Ben Brantley of the New York Times and Michael Feingold of The Village Voice. But Lucius feels like a culmination of that journey, taking the charisma of his Martin Luther King, Jr. (in The Mountaintop), the passion of Kenyatta Shakur (in Sunset Baby), the world-weariness of Lincoln (in Topdog/Underdog) and, along with a streak of psychosis, funneling it into a wholly new and wholly lived-in performance. Other Characters From Jesus Hopped the A Train. Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train is a multi-layered discussion about morality in all its forms and how the artificiality of prison with its removal of humanity and, perhaps quaint, concept of punishment, challenges concepts of responsibility and redemption. Two contrasting prison guards, although convincingly portrayed by Quinn M. Johnson Charlie DAmico (good-guy, likable Charlie DAmico) and Justin Picado (strict, cruel Valdez), remain schematic. She makes the switch so effectively between coaching and monologue scenes that at first I thought she was two different actors. Jesus Hopped the A Train tells the story of several inmates of Rikers Prison who are awaiting charges for murder. A moment where things come into complete focus is a late monologue by a prison guard whose soft spot for Lucius cost him his job: with perfectly calibrated delivery, Gregory Prest delivers a . Guirgis tosses a lot of moral questions into the mix here, and while he avoids moralizing (as does Anish Jethmalani's crisp and high-octane production), he also doesn't seem to have fully decided whether he's writing a searing portrait of the dehumanization of the correctional system or a theological deconstruction of the rock of faith in a hard place. The opening monologue, in which Angel struggles to say the Lords Prayer but repeatedly mangles it, is so packed with frustrated profanities that it evokes David Mamets extremes. Jesus Hopped The A Trainquestions the legal and penal systems in the US and offers a stark reflection on how the law struggles to deal with the complexities of the human . The latter shot a Korean minister (apparently modeled after the Rev. His poetry has appeared in various literary publications in the United States and abroad. The play takes place in a prison on Rikers Island in New York. After that line, the play instantly becomes an obscenity oratorio in which vicious, muscular dialogue, appropriate to its setting, turns into gorgeous music. Mark Brokaw directs a cast made up of Edi Gathegi, Sean Carvajal, Ricardo Chavira, Erick Betancourt, and Stephanie DiMaggio. To see it in such an intimate black box in the middle of an energetic and well-thought-out production for $25 a ticket feels, in you pardon the joke, like a crime. Angel's desperate desire for assurance and forgiveness make him, in a weird way, immediately lovable. Please prepare one of the sides available at https://actors-express.com/get-involved/ . But Mark Brokaws staging on a simple set by Riccardo Hernandez, sensitively lit by Scott Zielinski, is otherwise evenhanded and clean, as if not wanting to leave any fingerprints. Director Chari Arespocachaga, who also staged Short North Stages 2020 area premiere of Guirgis The (Expletive) with the Hat, again knits together a well-paced production that scores with edgy insights and dark humor. Rather it is Mr. Guirgiss tip-off that what may look like a genre play a legal procedural is going to consider Gods justice as well as mans. Collective Consciousness Theatres Jesus Hopped The A Train by Stephen Adly Guirgis runs through November 11 at Erector Square (319 Peck Street, Building 6S) in New Haven, CT. Jesus, directed by Dexter J. Singleton and produced by Jenny Nelson, stars Jhulenty Delossantos (Angel), Rob Giardian (DAmico), Jason Hall (Valdez), Bridget McCarthy (Mary Jane Hanrahan) & Terrence Riggins (Lucius). Pursuant to Equity guidelines, proof of full vaccination no later than two weeks prior to in person work is a required condition of employment.
Jessica Hamby Missing Podcast, Articles J