UMKC "Last Days of Judas Iscariot" review by Piddums

Dazzling Production of a So-So Play

Rating: 4

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot
UMKC Theatre

I left "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot" feeling thoroughly entertained, but wondering vaguely what the point was. The play by Stephen Adly Guirgis, the author of "The Mother______ In The Hat", is ostensibly about the trial of Judas Iscariot, in a section of Purgatory called Hope (get it?). However, the Judge doesn't want to hear it and the defendant has been catatonic for centuries, so it's up to a dedicated prosecutor, Fabiana Aziza Cunningham (played to a razor's precision by 1st year MFA Courtney Salvage)with a personal writ signed by God, to get the trial going. And the rest of the play involves the trial, as apostles and theologians, Romans and Jews and Jesus Christ and Satan testify about their encounters with Judas.

The production and acting are first rate. Maverick director Barry Kyle has loaded UMKC's room 116 Theater with lights, platforms, and projectors and put the audience on rolling office chairs in order to use every inch of the small space to its fullest potential. As the scenes change from courtroom to barroom to cloister, the audience moves to create the physical space of each scene. I might also add that, as a longtime audience member, these chairs were far and away the most comfortable I've seen in this house.

Acting-wise, the performances ranged from generally fine to some of the best I've seen this year. The show was cast using a nice mixture of very fine undergraduates and most of the first year MFA acting class, with a couple of ringers thrown in. Standout performances came from Laura Jacobs, Frank Lillig, and Danny Fleming among the undergrads, with Fleming in particular highly amusing as Simon the Zealot. Of the grad students, I thought the aforementioned Courtney Salvage and Janae Mitchell, as an aggressive St. Monica were particularly fine. Former student Mateusz Lewczenko also stands out as a Jury member with a story to tell.

On top of this, there were two truly superlative performances to note. Zachary Andrews, as Satan, gives one of the best performances of the year. An actor gifted with a strong presence and a phenomenal voice graduated last year from UMKC's MFA program. Andrews is seamless as a powerful deity with little to lose. He plays him like a mid level Mafiosi, all charm and no fear.

The second performance was by first year grad student Thomas E. Tucker. Through most of the play, we see him as the gentle bailiff and in this role the actor seems to be channeling Mantan Moreland. Then, in a scene in act II, the actor appears as Pontius Pilate and completely owns the production as a prelate outraged to be called to task for his judgment.

Still, the play ends up being entertaining, but not edifying. A scene between Judas and Jesus fails to bring closure and the ending, where a juror discusses his own betrayal of another, while acted very well, seems tacked on by the playwright.
When a playwright does not want to decide for an audience, he often falls into the trap of failing to provide a point of view, which is what I believe happened here. I enjoyed the performances, but never bought into any arguments of the play. And I have to wonder what the point was.