The only thing Queen Elizabeth I, Hitler and Ronald Reagan have in common is that they are all played by the same man in Sarah Ruhl's "Passion Play, a cycle."
Now until Oct. 16, Arena Stage runs the world premier of the play, which presents three separate productions of the Passion Play - a dramatization of Roman Catholic liturgy - over a 400-year period. Ruhl's dark comedy was commissioned by Arena as part of their play-reading series.
Each act represents a different time in history, ranging from Elizabethan England, Germany during the late 1930s and a Midwestern state during the times of drugs and the Vietnam War. Issues such as the flight of a Catholic priest, homosexuals in Hitler's army, drugs and post-traumatic stress disorder are intertwined throughout each act, yielding a thought-provoking and stimulating production.
The politics of each act and time period lead to an atmosphere where not just the Passion Play itself is affected, but also all the actors within the Passion. The cast of twelve takes on multiple roles to perform the Passion in each act and it is the relationships between the character actors that bring the audience to a higher level of understanding of the issues at hand.
Act One addresses the play's issues with dreams of dancing fish and naked queens, while the final act has dreams of ships blowing in the wind. Quick jokes, said with tongue firmly in cheek, and physical comedy add more amusing parts that don't overwhelm the serious political ideas of the play.
Each actor does a great job portraying each of his or her multiple roles, but Polly Noonan and Felix Solis stand out above the rest. Noonan's "Village Idiot" in Act One was one of the best-acted parts in the entire production, second only to Solis' portrayal of a Vietnam veteran suffering from hallucinations during Act Three.
Noonan's childlike performance steals scenes from the director and the other Passion actors as she continually talks to her Jack-in-the-box. She takes a child's innocence and imagination during the 1970s to relate to her father, who had an equally childlike imagination.
Solis had the best performances of the production as the jealous hunchback that falls in love with the Virgin Mary, a gay foot solider who falls for Christ and his interpretation of a mentally unstable Vietnam vet who has visions of Queen Elizabeth and Hitler and believes that he can control the wind.
Scott Bradley's set design is simple but serves its purpose well. A wooden stage lowers and rises to show changes in scenes as well as locations. Also, his use of only several wooden beams spaced around the stage as set furnishing allows for quick changes from ornate wooden buttresses to trees to a telephone line to show the passage of time and space.
While the overall production of "Passion Play, a cycle" was amazing, the play lasts just under four hours, making the intermission between the second and third acts the time to start yawning. Still, the best act is saved for last and will have no problem keeping audiences awake enough to appreciate the play.
This third act takes place in Spearfish, S.D., where the Passion has been performed every year since a German actor gave the original performance during the 1940s. Ronald Reagan appears on the campaign trail during Passion season to see the play. The controversial backdrop of drugs, sex and war captures how America looks at God and politics.
Unfortunately, the length of the play inhibits any other plans that usually go along with a show. Performances begin at 7 p.m., but after sitting for four hours, who wants to continue sitting to eat a meal or go out for a few drinks? Plus, traveling out to the Waterfront/Southeast University Metro stop on the green line during rush hour is not the most appealing idea. Neither is getting home again.
In the end, Ruhl's "Passion Play, a cycle" is a great show with exceptional acting, but patrons must remember to set aside at least five hours for travel and production time. After the play, they'll know it was worth it.
