Get thee to the Temple.
You do not want to miss Arizona Theatre Companyโs production of Scott Carterโs โThe Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens and Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord,โ which opened at the Temple of Music and Art Friday.
The play is sort of like beef Wellington โ a juicy hunk of meat wrapped up in a fluffy pastry crust.
We are lulled into thinking this will be a light comedy as, just before the actors take the stage, the cartoonish image of our title characters on the back screen tilts, shatters and then dissolves.
And it is a comedy. Carter, a one-time Tucsonan and now executive producer of HBOโs โReal Time with Bill Maher,โ has a knack for penning dialogue that dances with rich, smart humor.
But itโs more than that.
Part of that is due to this cast and director. Larry Cedarโs elegant Jefferson, Armin Shimermanโs angry Tolstoy, and Mark Gagliardiโs overly-dramatic Dickens make sure that laughs come so quickly that we do not realize that ideas are being implanted until after the curtain comes down. And director Matt August infused the word-happy piece with witty visuals, a rhythmic pace and clarity.
But Carter gets the bulk of the credit for crafting a piece that wonโt let us go.
He has brought togehter Jefferson, Dickens and Tolstoy in a nearly-bare room. It is painfully bright, with a metal table in the center and three metal chairs. It is a form of hell just to sit in that room, we imagine.
They are all dead, trapped in this space waiting for whatever comes next.
They decide they are together for some purpose.
Maybe itโs to collaborate on a bible they can all agree on.
Carter has done his research and the play is packed with fascinating tidbits, and the fact that all three wrote their own versions of the New Testament is central to the story.
They decide to each tell their perspective and perhaps a bible with common agreement will emerge.
Not a chance. These three men are arrogant, used to being in charge, and the fact that they disagree with each other about what should and shouldnโt be in that bible is a given. โIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God,โ Dickens writes, assuming they can at least agree with that. And Tolstoy and Jefferson object. That translation is all wrong. โIn the beginning was Spiritโ is correct, says Tolstoy. โI prefer Reason,โ says Jefferson.
And so it goes. Though they each have a bible theyโve created from the existing King James version, the end results greatly differ. Jeffersonโs bible, โLife and Morals of Jesus Christ,โ cut out all the elements that reason says are impossible. So no walking on water for him.
Dickens, who penned โThe Life of Our Lordโ for his children, is a devout Christian who has no interest in questioning the tales told in the New Testament. He doesnโt care that it was written centuries after the crucifixion by mere mortals. The traditional stories suit him just fine.
Tolstoy โ his version was โThe Gospel in Briefโ โ gave his bible an anarchist bent. Like Jefferson, he doesnโt have much use for miracles. But he does have faith, even if it defies logic. โ... Lifeโs meaning is revealed through faith if only we surrender our reason,โ he says.
They argue, they pout, they try to compromise (OK, these arenโt really compromising kind of guys).
The biblical exercise leads to some truth-telling โ each has some deep shame at the hypocrisy in their lives: Jefferson owned slaves even while he feared such practice could threaten the country he helped form; Dickens, who claimed to be an ideal family man, was cruel and heartless to his wife, and Tolstoy denounced the life of a count, slept and lived with the peasants, but still had servants.
Finally, they reflect. Sure, they sinned, were dishonest, unfaithful, but, asks Jefferson, โWas the world better for our having lived?โ
Of course, the audience tends to mull over the theological issues. But โDiscordโ prompts us to ask ourselves the same question. Thatโs the real meaty part.
The play is grand fun. But be careful; itโll make you reflect, too. Still, isnโt that what one should do at a temple?
