Corpus Christi: A Play Book

The first time I heard of this play was when a production of Corpus Christi at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas was canceled on March 28, 2010 by college officials citing "safety and security concerns" after receiving threatening calls and e-mail messages. The Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst called the play "morally reprehensible to the majority of Americans." So of course I had to get my hands on it!

The passion play Corpus Christi is just as powerful in its message of G-d's love and acceptance for all people today as it was during its 1998 off-Broadway premiere at the Manhattan Theatre Club. In the same year, the murder of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming brought national and international attention to hate crime legislation at both the state and federal level.

Terrence McNally passed away recently from COVID-19 on March 24, 2020. I decided to buy another copy from Bookshop.org since I let my friend Preston borrow my copy from Amazon in 2011 and I never saw it again. The play is much funnier than I remembered. I wonder if I had purchased a counterfeit copy from Amazon in 2010 or if I am actually smarter now. I love the references to my hometown Corpus Christi, Texas. Corpus natives like Terrence McNally and me are always disparaging their beloved home. McNally refers to it as the "armpit of Western civilization."

Reading the dialogue can be a little confusing because of the multiple roles for the same thirteen actors (except Joshua and Judas). The stage directions also confused me sometimes because the setting is a bare raked stage with a small pool of water and a perpetual fire but later Joshua and Patricia are making out in a "parked car." I guess I would have to see it performed live, hopefully in Texas.