Erik Ehns "The Saint Plays" at Muhlenbergs Studio Theatre this past weekend is a challenging and, at times disturbing, take on saints and religious figures.
Made up of short plays from the more than 100 Ehn has written loosely based on the lives of saints and biblical characters, Muhlenberg Theatre & Dance took on Joan of Arc, Judas Iscariot, the Virgin Mary, Maximilian Kolbe and St. George for "the Saint Plays."
The environment set the foreboding tone, with a dark two-story set by Travis Martinez that is dystopian with tattered laundry hanging on lines and chain link fencing. Adding to the unease is the original music by Zach Montenegro that creates a disjointed soundscape.
First up is "Wholly Joans" featuring a mesmerizing other-worldly performance by Maereg Gebretekle as Joan of Arc. Directed by Ashley Hilary, "Wholly Joans" features Nicole Gardner, Desiree Oliver and Lucie Hopkins as angels/attendants who seems to fluidly flow around the set and provide unsettling whispers that represent the voices Joan hears.
"Incide," directed by James Peck, presents both a traditional and alternative end for Judas Iscariot after the disciple betrays Christ for 30 pieces of silver.
Caitlyn Murray is a palpably tortured Judas, no matter what the timeline. In one scenario the pieces of silver become stars shining down on the guilty and in another Judas becomes a farmer, although nothing he sows ever grows.
In "Tree of Hope, Keep Firm," we meet the Virgin Mary, played with hesitant acceptance by Ava Pirie, all the while accompanied by herself at a younger age, played with confident freedom by Amanda Clark. She struggles as she is told by Gabriel (Dahlia Bernstein) that she will bear the son of God and ultimately becomes a literal sculpture of the Annunciation.
Most challenging is "16670," directed by Savannah Hastings, and dealing with the story of Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish Catholic priest who volunteered to die in place of a stranger in the German death camp of Auschwitz, during World War II. He was canonized in 1982.
The play moves between different times and different perspectives as Kolbe sacrifices himself and is left with nine other prisoners to slowly starves to death in the concentration camp. This entry is the most nightmarish of the plays and leaves one feeling disquieted.
"The Freak" directed by Katie Keller, goes in a different direction as it presents Gunna, a child born with sings in 1957 Stockholm. CJ McDonalds winged Gunna is filled with light and goodness until she goes back in time and meets St. George, played with a cool sense of opportunism by Sullivan Grace. He cruelly cuts off her wings to become a saint and dishonestly solidify his reputation as the knight who slew a dragon.
The show ends on a more positive note with an intricately harmonized musical piece performed by the full company bringing it all together.