Published in the Weekly Volcano, June 16, 2016
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| from left: Rebecca Rogers, Vanessa Postil, and Lauren O’Neill. Photos courtesy Theater Artists Olympia. |
If you are easily offended by irreverent humor, steer
clear of The Bible: The Complete Word of
God (Abridged) at the Midnight Sun. They don’t make them any more
irreverent. Produced by Theater Artists Olympia and written by Adam Long, Reed
Martin, and Austin Tichenor for The Reduced Shakespeare Company, the same folks
who brought you The Complete Works of
William Shakespeare (Abridged), this Pythonesque retelling of the Bible
follows the formula established by RSC’s evisceration of Shakespeare. They
loosely reinterpret and retell the familiar (and not so familiar) stories of
the Bible. There are groaner puns (the ax of the apostles), a skewering of The
Almighty’s destructive vengeance and misogyny, Vaudeville-style jokes and
song-and-dance routines, and a smattering of topical references mixed in with
historical/Biblical tales (the apostles Paul and John, but not George and Ringo).
This satire is directed by Mark Alford and stars Lauren
O’Neill, Vanessa Postil, and Rebecca Rogers as themselves telling the tales of
the Bible and acting out the parts of God, Jesus, Moses, Sampson, Joseph and
Mary and the whole cast of characters from both the old and the new testaments.
These are three of the funniest women in the South Sound. O’Neill, also known
as Hattie Hotpants, emcee of Tush! Burlesque, and as Dr. Lauren (could that
possible be a takeoff on Dr. Laura?), is a veteran of many plays with TAO.
Postil performs with Lady Town Improv troupe and
was a huge hit in TAO’s The Head That
Wouldn’t Die. Rogers is a relative newcomer to South Sound stages, but comes
to the area with more than 20 years’ experience performing and teaching improv
all over the country and recently in Paris, France.
Oddly enough, despite great actors throwing themselves
with abandon into routines that are clever, biting, and ludicrous, I found
myself not laughing out loud throughout much of this play. I enjoyed it, but
not to the extent that I enjoyed more than one production of its predecessor,
the Shakespeare treatment. Some of the jokes came across as juvenile, and much
of the humor was of a type that I appreciate but don’t necessarily react to;
and I don’t think that was what the writers or the director intended. There
were some bits, on the other hand, that were funny enough to make tears of
laughter roll down cheeks, a prime example being the audience-participation
retelling of the story of Noah’s ark as a song, “Old MacNoah had an ark.” Brave
audience members made weird animal noises onstage, and many were sprayed with
water. You have now been warned.
Some of the more clever bits included the mark of Cain
(no spoiler here, you’ll have to see it for yourself) and a musical explanation
of how to tell Elijah from Elisha or the Josephs from the old and new
testaments.
The costumes were purposefully bad, as were fake beards
and big wigs, and the props were silly: a giant blow-up whale for Jonah and a
tiny plastic ark that Rogers claimed she carved out of wood.
No other South Sound theatrical group is as edgy, brave
or outlandish as TAO, so it is fitting and not at all surprising that they’re
the first to bring this satirical romp to Olympia.
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| Lauren O'Neill |
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| Rebecca Rogers |
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| Vanessa Postil |
The Bible: The Complete Word of God (Abridged), Thursday, March 31 at
8 p.m. and Fri.-Sat. at 8 p.m. through June 26, pay what you can June 16, The
Midnight Sun, 113 N. Columbia St. Tickets: $12-$15, Available
at door night of show or online at http://olytheater.com/.
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