| The trial of the past two millenniums is taking place in Kendall: All of humanity against Judas Iscariot, the man history fingered for the death of Jesus Christ more than 2,000 years ago.
Ground Up and Rising, a theater company based out of the Miami-Dade College’s Kendall campus, is showing its edgy performance, "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot," an depth look at the life and death of the traitorous disciple.
The play takes place in a modern-day gritty subway station somewhere in Purgatory. Residents of the eternal dwelling created a makeshift courtroom for the trial of Judas to determine his final resting place in the afterlife.
Several characters acting as judge, defense and prosecuting attorneys and bailiff, battle each other, vouching for Judas’ innocence or guilt.
For those not familiar with the story, according to the Bible’s New Testament, Judas was one of the twelve original apostles of Jesus. Among the twelve, he was apparently designated to keep account of the "money bag."
He is probably most well known for betraying Jesus and handing him over to the Roman authorities.
Most modern Christians still consider Judas a traitor. However, some scholars have embraced alternative notions that Judas was merely the negotiator in a prearranged prisoner exchange that gave Jesus to the Roman authorities by mutual agreement or acted with Jesus’ knowledge and consent to ensure the reenactment of Biblical prophecy, and that his later portrayal as "traitor" was a historical distortion.
Others see Judas as a literary invention reflecting divisions among early Christians or an attempt by Biblical authors to distance themselves from Judaism after the first First Jewish-Roman War.
In this particular portrayal, Judas is played by Jose Antonio Paredes as a tortured soul who might not have been hugged enough as a kid, or maybe he always had a mean streak in him, but for whatever reason, he did something that carried with him and sealed his fate in Hell.
Paredes does an excellent job of portraying a man who is torn over a wrong decision, but feels there is no way he can ever be redeemed. Cradled in a cell in Hades, Judas spends his time with his hands shackled and head bowed, damning the day he was ever born.
But the theme of the play is redemption, even for the most unlovable characters, and there are many flawed individuals in this production.
Take kiss-up prosecuting attorney, El-Fayoumy, played by Carlos Alayeto, who is hell bent on making mince meat out of Judas for his own insecure purposes and Judas’ defense
attorney, Cunningham, played by Kameshia Duncan, who is bitter after having two abortions and being a rape victim.
And then there’s hypocritical Judge Littlefield, played by George Schiavone, who is best friends with Satan and only wants the court proceedings to hurry up so he can get on with his afterlife.
There are also several key deceased historical figures who are called up to the stand as witnesses, including Mother Teresa, Sigmund Freud and Pontius Pilate, the Roman dictator who gave the final authority for Jesus’ crucifixion.
Satan himself also makes an extremely funny appearance on the stand. Played well by Sheaun McKinney, who also portrays Jesus at the end of the performance, Satan flirts with the courtroom and the audience and aptly steals every scene he is in.
The play’s writer, Stephen Adly Guirgis, adheres to the scripture and accurately portrays events leading up to Jesus’ death. However, he takes great liberty in speculating on the life of Judas as a child and after the betrayal.
In one scene, Judas’ mother, Henrietta Iscariot, played by Lela Elam, recounts a tale when her son was younger and begrudgingly shared a toy top with another troubled boy.
St. Peter and St. Thomas both talk about how Judas was a loyal disciple and assisted him and the other twelve with performing miracles and casting out demons.
But this play isn’t for the conservative. The performance was purposely given an edgy, modern spin, and that is evidenced from the timberland boots and baggy jeans the disciples wear and the way the "F" Bomb is freely tossed around the stage.
And a drunken Judas has a smoke with Satan at a bar, while Pontius Pilate grabs at his balls and makes vulgar comments about females. However, that didn’t seem to bother the audience of nearly 50 theatergoers at a recent Sunday matinee showing. And a good portion of the crowd was over 55.
The only negative about the play is the last 20 minutes of irrelevant material that seems to drag on, which makes the performance’s two hour and 15 minute running time feel a little too lengthy.
Although the material covers sensitive religious issues, Guirgis and the play’s director, Arturo Fernandez, do a good job of presenting it to a broad audience--those knowledgeable about the history of Judas and those new to the story.
And in the end, everyone gets the blame for Jesus’ death; Jews, Romans, Gentiles and Satan, but ultimately was it free will from a perceived savior wanting to redeem man or was it the degradation of mankind that led to both Jesus and Judas’ destructive end?
All can relate to the underlying theme of redemption and that everyone, no matter how flawed, deserves a second-chance to undo a wrongdoing.
The play runs through August 31st at Miami-Dade Community College Kendall Campus, M Building, located at 11011 SW 104th Street in Kendall. Showtimes are Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. General admission is $20 and $15 for seniors and students. Call (305) 726-4359 for more information. |
