THE WAY OF THE CROSS Angelico Christian Theatrical Society (ACTS) Inc The Christian Family Centre Auditorium Until 23 Mar 2013 Review by Benjamin Orchard Easter is nearly upon us, and those Christians who wish to mark the occasion by seeing a dramatic representation of Christ’s passion will find much to savour in “The Way of the Cross”. This is a stage musical presentation of Jesus’ last days on earth, from his triumphal entry into Jerusalem and preaching at the temple, up to his death by crucifixion. These events are staged in a straightforward, traditional manner, without any of the postmodern creative embellishments of other biblically themed musicals, such as “Godspell” or “Jesus Christ Superstar”. The score is both tasteful and memorable, with several professional recording artists contributing their talents to the production free of charge, such as Jennifer Trijo (whom you may remember as Kim in the 2007-2008 National Tour of “Miss Saigon”). Unfortunately, despite the claims made in the show’s promotional material, this is not a piece that will appeal equally to believers and non-believers alike. Although I would not go so far as to say you have to be a Christian in order to fully enjoy “The Way of the Cross”, it certainly helps. Like many passion plays, the show cuts corners dramaturgically and has some overbearingly earnest moments which may test the patience of the less devout. The strongest aspect of the production is Kelly Nieto’s unusual score, which weaves together Middle Eastern folk idioms and ambient electronic textures in a manner highly reminiscent of Peter Gabriel’s soundtrack to “The Last Temptation of Christ”. This eerily suspenseful background music blends gracefully into a series of lushly orchestrated adult contemporary ballads, in which the characters open their hearts to the audience. Particularly memorable in this regard are Mary Magdalene’s plea “Jesus Remember Me” and Mary, Mother of Jesus’ lament “My Son”. All of the ensemble, professional and amateur alike, are blessed with soaring voices, ensuring that crowd numbers like “Hosanna” and “The Wood Of The Cross” command the audience’s attention. The acting of Trijo (as Mary Magdalene), Michael Green (as Peter) and Wendy Rayner (as Mary, Mother Of Jesus) is as affectingly candid as their singing. The same goes for Andrew Crispe, who brings exactly the right measure of strength, warmth and dignity to the role of Jesus, never coming across as pompous or condescending. Also notable are Marcus d’Assumpcao (as Judas) and Gil Costes (as Pilate), due to their refreshingly human depiction of characters so often played as cartoon villains. Sets are minimalist, but get the job done and the costumes are worthy of a Hollywood sword & sandals epic. Much of the violence is implied, rather than explicitly shown onstage, but the make-up used to depict Jesus’ wounds is chillingly convincing. Where the show falls down is in its spoken word passages. Much of the dialogue and voice-over narration feels dry and stilted, due to an overly literal use of scriptural passages. The narration sometimes glosses over dramatically potent events that would’ve been better dramatized at length onstage. As is, the show only runs 75 minutes, so it’s not like they were pressed for time. Things aren’t helped by the robotic narration of Peter Benn, who sounds terribly bored with the proceedings. Occasionally, Benn will urge the audience to join together in praising Jesus out loud. This is often an unwelcome intrusion that only serves to take the audience out of the drama, may make non-believers uncomfortable and generally comes across as laboured. Besides, even the most devout Christian would find it hard to muster up much enthusiasm when Benn puts his request to the audience in such an emotionally detached, perfunctory manner. Still, these flaws aren’t enough to completely derail the show, and for theatregoers looking to immerse themselves in the spirit of Easter, this’ll be just the ticket. NOTE: An earlier version of this review credited Gary Pinto for playing the role of Peter and Natasha Pinto for the role of Mary, Mother Of Jesus. Though originally slated to appear in these roles and credited in the program, they were unable to play those roles, and the parts were played by Michael Green and Wendy Rayner, respectively.