Signature Theater; 294 seats; $65 top. Angel's stated justification is that the minister ran a cult that took his best friend away from him. Still . Inside Rikers Island, a terrified Angel is befriended by a charismatic serial killer named Lucius Jenkins. And Soulpepper Theatre presents Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train, a graphic and distressing story of two prison inmates serving time for murder. Stephen Adly Guirgis' Jesus Hopped The 'A' Train is an explosive, verbose play set in the maximum security wing of the infamous Rikers' Island prison in New York. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. "[15] Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter reviewed a 2017 revival favorably, praising the "incisive characterizations and riveting dialogue". Arthur Williams III as Lucius Jenkins and Bill Stambaugh as Valdez in Hovey's 'Jesus Hopped the A Train) By Deanna Dement Myers. Singhateh is compelling as evangelising killer Lucius, his performance cleverly toying with the audience's sympathies as he slips between charming bonhomie and cold-bloodedness. But his drive and dish make it possible. Relying heavily on the attorney's direct address monologues, the entire subject seems to be one Guirgis feels the need to include, but never finds a way to integrate. The shooting was part of Angels plan to rescue his best friend, whom the cult had stolen and brainwashed. Lucius Jenkins, a.k.a. Castro's Valdez and Birnkrant's Mary Jane certainly seem as flawed if not quite as violent in the case of the latter as Angel. The opening monologue, in which Angel struggles to say the Lords Prayer but repeatedly mangles it, is so packed with frustrated profanities that it evokes David Mamets extremes. One gets the sense that, with only a slight reversal of fate, Valdez and Mary Jane could have easily ended up going down a dark path with Angel serving as their subsequent lawyer. In other scenes, she performs monologues. Was it my free will to be an undiagnosed manic-depressive paranoid schizophrenic?! A monologue from Jesus Hopped Jesus Hopped The A Train- Angel on Vimeo There is even something endearing about the crime that put him in prison: He shot a cult leader in the butt while trying to rescue a friend. The production team includes Ashley Sweet (stage management), David Sepulveda (set design), Jamie Burnett (lightening design), Tommy Rosati (sound design), Carol Koumbaros (costume design), Emiley Charley (ASM/Propmaster). . Pulitzer Prize-winner Stephen Adly Guirgis darkly comic meditation on redemption and faith, Angel Cruz is a 30-year-old bicycle messenger awaiting trial for the death of the leader of a religious cult. "Angel Cruz is a thirty-year-old bike messenger from NYC who has lost his best friend to a religious cult. . The joy of Stephen Adly Guirgis' Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train is in meeting his characters: . Lucius is also a serial killer, a self-described paranoid schizophrenic who employs his charms on . Good versus evil. [11] The production team included director Mark Brokaw, Riccardo Hernndez as set designer, Dede M. Ayite as costume designer, Scott Zielinski as lighting designer, and M.L. meters wide with a concrete floor, runs from one end of the auditorium to the We see Angel meeting with his lawyer, a tightly-wound public defender with personal walls as thick as the ones at Rikers. Jesus Hopped The 'A' Train is a play written by Stephen Adly Guirgis . Riggins has done terrific work at Collective Consciousness before. . Stephen Adly Guirgis' Jesus Hopped The 'A' Train is an explosive, verbose play set in the maximum security wing of the infamous Rikers' Island prison in New York. She makes the switch so effectively between coaching and monologue scenes that at first I thought she was two different actors. Collective Consciousness Theatre's "Jesus Hopped The A Train" by Stephen Adly Guirgis runs through November 11 at Erector Square (319 Peck Street, Building 6S) in New Haven, CT. "Jesus," directed by Dexter J. Singleton and produced by Jenny Nelson, stars Jhulenty . The play takes place in a prison on Rikers Island in New York. But the audience also hears stories of childhood friendships and complicated . Performances: Wednesday-Saturday 8:00 pm; Please note that Actors Express has committed to five-day work weeks. But when performed, as it is here, by a cast that can recreate its rapture as well as its moral gravity, it achieves the doubleness of great art, burrowing deeper the higher it flies. The critic wrote that there are "overwritten passages and reliance on expository monologues. Review: Its Law vs. Order in Jesus Hopped the A Train, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/23/theater/jesus-hopped-the-a-train-review.html, Sean Carvajal, left, and Ricardo Chavira in Jesus Hopped the A Train.. New York, NY, Ages 12-17: Camp Broadway Ensemble @ Carnegie Hall Jesus Hopped the "A" Train by Kerry Reid March 14, 2002 August 19, . Riverside Jacksonville News, Angel Cruz, a poor Puerto Rican, isn't . Joey said, "Jesus hopped the A train to see us safe to bed." Uploaded by More . When the cult leader dies during surgery, Angel suddenly finds himself facing murder charges. He is a former co-artistic director of Labyrinth Theater Company. Their ongoing debates become the tortured heart of the play, and sometimes put the play itself at risk of becoming didactic. At a glance Short North. Jesus Hopped first opened off-Broadway in November of 2000. Jesus Hopped the A Train. Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train Paper Elizabeth Taylor Class: Theatre 100-162W Professor: Christopher . Some prisoners go out of their minds when confined to the 23-hour isolation wing of Rikers Island prison. Set in Rikers Island, the notorious New York City jail, Guirgis' play traces the parallel fates of two inmates Lucius (D'Wayne Taylor), a serial killer known as "the Black Plague," and Angel (Johnathan Nieves), a young Puerto Rican. Terell W.J. Thirty-year-old Angel Cruz (Xavier Lopez) has just been thrown in Riker's Island prison, the notorious institution on New York City's East River. A long traverse stage, no more than two But as Lucius works his sociopathic charm on Angel, he begins to open up little by little. An LA Theater Works production of Stephen Adly Guirgis's play about Angel Cruz, a Puerto Rican who is in jail after a prank turned badly: He shoots Reverend Kim in the, uh, posterior, after Kim, a rich hypocrite preacher, brainwashed his best friend. No memorization required. Father Flynn. . Lucius Jenkins is a . The play's format, which really focuses on a series of monologues and duologues - offers a complete focus on the individuals . The legal procedural in the play Lucius, despite Taylor's fearsome performance, remains a bit of a conundrum, as captured in a beguiling late-in-the-play monologue from D'Amico (Zach Bloomfield), a guard who loses his job for . Melanie Furstenberg Dubuque, stimulus control transfer is important for, most dangerous towns in suffolk county, ny, God Is The Giver, And Sustainer Of Life Verse. Beautifully acted, these scenes are expertly written by Guirgis whose dialogue is both frank, darkly comical and naturalistic while still playing host to some fascinating theological debates. a panoptican effect. (Kevin Scott's grimy set and Kevin Hagan's harsh lighting capture the joyless world of the jail yard.). Lobby Hero. Seeking 2 Actor Team for Spring . Lucius has found God and been reborn. The character, usually played by a white or Latino actor, is now African-American and has similar features shaved head, facial hair, even the booming voice to the convict hes guarding. . (played with methodical control by Dervla Kirwan) takes a liking to him and Stephen Adly Guirgis's Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train runs through Dec. 3 on the Irene Diamond Stage at Pershing Square Signature Center (480 W. 42nd St.). Puetro-Rican, Angel, played with refined commitment by Ukweli Roach, shot a religious cult leader in the behind, landing him with potential murder charges.. Singhateh is compelling as evangelising killer Lucius, his performance cleverly toying with the audience's sympathies as he slips between charming bonhomie and cold-bloodedness. JESUS HOPPED THE 'A' TRAIN by Stephen Adly Guirgis . 14 day loan required to access PDF files. Collective Consciousness Theatres Jesus Hopped The A Train by Stephen Adly Guirgis runs through November 11 at Erector Square (319 Peck Street, Building 6S) in New Haven, CT. Jesus, directed by Dexter J. Singleton and produced by Jenny Nelson, stars Jhulenty Delossantos (Angel), Rob Giardian (DAmico), Jason Hall (Valdez), Bridget McCarthy (Mary Jane Hanrahan) & Terrence Riggins (Lucius). Free will versus actions determined by the circumstances of our existence. Vocal Part: Angel Cruz. . You might even think that those first two scenes play just a little too broadly. We see Angels first night behind bars, trying in vain to remember the Lords Prayer (Our Father, who art in heaven, Howard be thy name. "[14], In a review of one of Guirgis's later works, Hilton Als described Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train as "hysterical and irreverent", "an outstanding 2000 piece about imprisonment and moral responsibility. By Jesse Green. Its also clear that our preconceived notions of these characters color the way we view them. He relishes his It is as vital now as it was at the turn of the millennium. [17], Michael Billington of The Guardian, who had given the play three out of five stars in 2002,[18] gave the same rating after a 2019 performance and said that "for all the vividness of the dialogue, the play still strikes me as baffling in its exploration of guilt, faith and redemption." Review | Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train | Young Vic | 5 Stars | Kate Hewitt's production of Stephen Adly Guirgis' 'Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train' is bold and. . Lucius has been convicted of eight sadistic murders and is awaiting extradition to . Howie. As long as these interviews maintain the plays furiously Socratic tone, they enhance the idea that making good choices in an evil world is nearly beyond the human skill set. His first five plays were directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman, and subsequently received critically acclaimed productions in New York and London. With some bravado, Angel insists that what he did was therefore only technically wrong. Angel Cruz, a poor Puerto Rican, isn't sure why he's in jail after shooting Reverend Kim, the born-again Christian who brainwashed his best friend. Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train reveals a young playwright's awkwardness with its overwritten passages and reliance on expository monologues. Mirrors, not cages, provide the true path to justice and peace. | Check out 'Jesus Hopped The 'A' Train Fundraiser' on Indiegogo. Perhaps the most stirring monologue of the play comes from . A lot of what we hear from the lawyer is in the form of direct . . Start your review of Jesus Hopped the A Train. Still, they're full of rhetorical fireworks. In the Signature Theater revival of Stephen Adly Guirgis' "Jesus Hopped the A Train . JESUS HOPPED THE A TRAIN - Equity video submissions Actor's Express Theatre Company | Atlanta, GA, Associate Artistic Director Amanda Washington. For tickets and information, call Ticket Central at 212 . 1 Benet in a sectional final. Publication date 2002 Topics . on March 2, 2022, There are no reviews yet. It's a tight, well-paced and thoughtful staging . He's also suspicious and angry toward Mary Jane (Elizabeth Birnkrant), the public defender who sees in Angel's defiant attitude flashes of her own past as an angry "charity case" in a private school with a drunken father. . they come through these characters whose unbridled sense of humour, stories, Angel holds out that he was justified and his lawyer's sure that a hearts-and-minds appeal will get him off at trial. We meet two guards. But when the Reverend dies in hospital, Angel lands in solitary confinement next to Lucius, a card-carrying Christian serial-killer. With Lucius Jenkins' spiritually transformed after killing eight people, Valdez becomes the default villain of the piece, if it has one, but Guirgis suggests that the Valdezes of the world reflect larger failings throughout the justice system. There is nothing abstract about them: Mr. Guirgis says that the play began in his own attempt to rescue a friend from the Unification Church. Whereas other productions have enclosed the action in If it reached no further, the breakneck drama, originally produced by the Labyrinth Theater Company in 2000, would be a worthy enough stunt, a jukebox of Mamet-scaled vulgarity. He is a former co-artistic director of Labyrinth Theater Company. Jesus beautifully toys with that idea, like in Mary Janes monologue about her alcoholic father. Perhaps the most stirring monologue of the play comes from . Guirgis tosses a lot of moral questions into the mix here, and while he avoids moralizing (as does Anish Jethmalani's crisp and high-octane production), he also doesn't seem to have fully decided whether he's writing a searing portrait of the dehumanization of the correctional system or a theological deconstruction of the rock of faith in a hard place. HB Studio. Search all monologues. Elysium Theatre deserve much credit for bringing Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train to Manchester for the first time. Mark Brokaw directs a cast made up of Edi Gathegi, Sean Carvajal, Ricardo Chavira, Erick Betancourt, and Stephanie DiMaggio. The cast of "Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train" by Eclipse Theatre. Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train plays through April 21st at the SF Playhouse, 533 Sutter St, San Francisco. Angel (Jhulenty Delossantos, who starts off strong but grows even more assured once he starts interacting with Riggins) meets Lucius in the prison yard. Thats astonishing, as their roles are killers in more ways than one. Guirgis explores crime, punishment, responsibility, redemption, religion, faith, skepticism, God and whether justice is possible in this flawed world. On his first night at Rikers Island, a terrified inmate named Angel Cruz tries to reconstruct the Lord's Prayer from his broken memories. New York, NY, Accessibility Statement Terms Privacy |StageAgent 2020. Perhaps it is to keep the drama from flying into pieces, therefore, that he clamps the procedural frame so firmly in place around the prisoners debates. Lucius Jenkins has found God, and Angel's life and the course of his trial will be changed forever. It is freighted by an overload of pseudo-profundity; characters upbraiding each other about the Ultimate Questions can make for rather dreary stagecraft. The performance by Frankham was another highlight for me; the development of the character though her interactions with Angel and her later monologues was subtle, yet well conveyed. The play is essentially a set of monologues stitched together at the edges, and showing signs of fraying. Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter: Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train reveals a young playwright's awkwardness with its overwritten passages and reliance on expository monologues.But it also displays . Jesus Hopped the A Train. . In the Signature Theater revival of Stephen Adly Guirgis' "Jesus Hopped the A Train . But when the Reverend dies in hospital, Angel lands in solitary confinement next to Lucius, a card-carrying Christian serial-killer. . Stuart. Valdez - (30s/40s/Ltino) He is the sadistic guard assigned to Lucius at Rikers. Director Chari Arespocachaga, who also staged Short North Stages 2020 area premiere of Guirgis The (Expletive) with the Hat, again knits together a well-paced production that scores with edgy insights and dark humor. Playing Lucius Jenkins, a fellow inmate convicted of murdering eight people, Riggins delivers the kind of bravura performance that makes you lean in closer to not miss a single syllable. Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train begins and ends with the same image: a young prisoner, Angel, on his knees, praying in darkness. Stephen Adly Guirgis' 2000 play, Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train follows Angel Cruz and God-lover Lucius Jenkins, as they navigate life in a prison on Rikers Island in New York. . Some auditors urge actors to find classical monologues from writers other than Shakespeare. In 2011, his play The Motherfucker with the Hat was nominated for a handful of Tonys, including Best Play; a few scant weeks after the award . Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train closes October 15, 2017 Details and tickets -[/ezcol_1third] It's startling to watch Luciusa so-called man of Godinfluence Angel in a way akin to Rev. New York, NY, Linda Ray Jesus Hopped The "A" Train. Jesus Hopped the A Train - Play. . With so many themes to explore some get little more than a cursory nod, but in this Young . These near-monologues are often gorgeous, but they can also be weirdly self-negating; in 'A' Train, they don't even always make sense. Packed densely into a bullet-fast script, a barrage of . The reverend subsequently, and indirectly, dies. When the cult leader dies during surgery, Angel suddenly finds himself facing murder charges. David Zayas and Ron Cephas Jones in Jesus Hopped the A Train. Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train closes October 15, 2017 Details and tickets -[/ezcol_1third] It's startling to watch Luciusa so-called man of Godinfluence Angel in a way akin to Rev. With the criminal-justice system the subject of much scrutiny, Short North Stages production of Jesus Hopped the A Train seems timely. Even if Guirgis' play doesn't always add up, the individual pieces are highly watchable. Part Size: Lead. Thats not to say everything in Jesus works so well. -+ Ravi Ghosh . All you can really hear is the thundering heartbeat of each man's fear. The two convicts talk about God and redemption, free-will, racism, addiction and the meaning of freedom. Angel (Sean Carvajal) is being held pending trial for the shooting of a Reverend Kim, the leader of a religious organization modeled on Sun Myung Moons Unification Church. He is the one who reaches out, shares cigarettes, warns about the Monday soup and recites the names of the books of the Old Testament, backward, while doing deep knee bends and lunges. Jesus Hopped the A Train is a . There in the next cage is Lucius Jenkins, a serial murderer and self-described paranoid schizophrenic trying to avoid extradition to Florida and probable execution there. All people wanna do is cry for the victims! I particularly liked the way you could see reflections in the His play Between Riverside and Crazy won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. He brings Lucius Oreo cookies and cigarettes; his wife baked Lucius a shepherd's pie; D'Amico and Lucius share a buddylike badinage. As his name implies, Angel wrestles with questions of faith, and those questions come pouring out from Lucius during their side-by-side exercise sessions in the prison's outdoor cages. [20], Last edited on 30 December 2022, at 16:19, "Hoffman Directs Original Cast of Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train for June 22 Reading", "Review: Its Law vs. Order in Jesus Hopped the A Train", "Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train Extends at Signature Theatre", "Signatures Jesus Hopped the A Train Delayed Two Days Following Departure of Reg E. Cathey", "Australian Stage Online - Jesus Hopped the A Train", "THEATER REVIEW - Locked Up In a Place Far Beyond Redemption", "The Great Work Continues: The 25 Best American Plays Since 'Angels in America', "Jesus Hopped the A Train, Donmar Warehouse, London", "Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train review faith and horror on Rikers Island", "Review: Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train brings a poetic and profane playwright to Soulpepper", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jesus_Hopped_the_%27A%27_Train&oldid=1130526120, This page was last edited on 30 December 2022, at 16:19. It then returned to New York City as writer Stephen Adly Guirgis began his residency at Signature Theatre Company. Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train. Stephen Adly Guirgis got his break in 2000 with "Jesus Hopped the . Best of all is Velazcos touching recounting of a youthful near-death incident that satisfyingly clarifies the plays title as religious metaphor. But after DAmico is canned for slipping Lucius contraband cookies, hes left without an audience. Results may vary. Jesus Hopped The 'A' Train is a play written by Stephen Adly Guirgis. Lucius Jenkins, played by Dumi is an extremely articulate African American convicted serial killer who is trying to stall his extradition to Florida, where he will be executed. idea of performance. But Lucius feels like a culmination of that journey, taking the charisma of his Martin Luther King, Jr. (in The Mountaintop), the passion of Kenyatta Shakur (in Sunset Baby), the world-weariness of Lincoln (in Topdog/Underdog) and, along with a streak of psychosis, funneling it into a wholly new and wholly lived-in performance. Jesus Hopped the A Train Barbara and Scott Siegel New York City December 26, 2000 John Ortiz is Angel Cruz in Jesus Hopped The A Train (Photo: Jamie Mullians) Stephen Adly Guirgis, whose In Arabia,. For one hour each day both men share adjacent cages on Rikers Island. light and freedom. It seems simple on the surface, but between these two strong actors, Guirgis stellar script and Dexter J. Singletons finely-tuned direction, it makes for electric theater. [1], The play premiered Off-Broadway at the East 13th Street Theatre in a production by LAByrinth Theater Company on November 29, 2000, and ran to December 31, 2000. What about my victimization? Beitrags-Autor: Beitrag verffentlicht: Juni 10, 2022 Beitrags-Kategorie: cha am beach, phetchaburi cha am beach, phetchaburi Was it my free will to turn ta drugs and alcohol as a result a that sh*t? Contents 1 Plot synopsis 2 Productions 3 Reception 4 References 5 External links Plot synopsis The play takes place in a prison on Rikers Island in New York. Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train is a brilliant, visceral examination of morality and justice, questioning the difference between true faith and self-serving religion. Lucius is a serial . Nah, people doan wanna hear bout none a that! Monologues are presented on StageAgent for educational purposes only. Lucius (Carl Lumbly), an articulate serial killer who has found God, is Angel's next door cellmate. Directed by Kevin Mack. We hear a story of how her Above, over 40 white spot lights illuminate this catwalk. Read 26 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Jesus Hopped the A Train screens only on Friday, Sept. 25 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 26 at 7:30 p.m. Jesus' Blood Found 23 Chromosomes, Whilst Angel Cruz (Ukweli Roach) is locked up in prison for a murder accusation after he . isolation yards in Rikers Island Prison. The play takes place in a prison on Rikers Island in New York. Review of Jesus Hopped the A Train, Collective Consciousness Theatre . Jesus Hopped the A Train book. GUIRGIS/Jesus Hopped the A Train/2001/Angel/Skiing in Aspen HERZOG/4000 Miles/2012/LEO/Chicken crash monologue . . He is a former co-artistic director of Labyrinth Theater Company. But Mark Brokaws staging on a simple set by Riccardo Hernandez, sensitively lit by Scott Zielinski, is otherwise evenhanded and clean, as if not wanting to leave any fingerprints. Evening performances are at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 8 p.m. on Saturday; matinees are at 2 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday. . Runs to February 23 at The Young Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto's Historic Distillery District in the Michael Young Theatre, 50 Tank House Lane. The kind that seems so raw and dangerous, you almost feel like a creep for listening in but then anxiously wait for his return whenever he leaves the stage. . He shares an isolation wing with Angel, placed there for protection after he was attacked and raped while on remand. Lucius and Angel act as spiritual foils. Rehearsals and performances held indoors at Actors Express. The moral argument between these two men forms the heart of the play, as Lucius, who says he found God in prison, confronts Angel, who long ago lost God outside it. But mostly there But Nieves' resonant performance negotiates the line between adolescence and adulthood, faith and nihilism and other boundaries that cage in Angel's soul as surely as the Rikers walls encase his body. Jesus Hopped the A Train. A sociopathic serial killer awaiting extradition to Florida, Lucius pauses from his workouts only to chain smoke and to "save" Angel. Review | Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train | Young Vic | 5 Stars | Kate Hewitt's production of Stephen Adly Guirgis' 'Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train' is bold and. by Stephen Adly Guirgis. Gain full access to show guides, character breakdowns, auditions, monologues and more! . church/ cult leader in his water buffalo-sized ass in an attempt to rescue his Angel Cruz John Ortiz Valdez David Zayas Mary Jane Hanrahan Elizabeth Canavan D'Amico Salvatore Inzerillo Lucius Jenkins Ron Cephas Jones Jesus Hopped the `A' Train" arrives at the 13th Street Theater with all the trappings of a grass-roots Off Broadway hit: a dollop of street credibility in the person of its brooding leading man, John Ortiz . Late in Jesus Hopped the "A" Train, . THE COVID-19 MONOLOGUES; . In one of the plays strongest and most sobering moments, Lucius rails against this saying Was it my free will to be abused and violated from the age a five? Equity actors for roles in JESUS HOPPED THE A TRAIN by Stephen Adly Guirgis. Angel Cruz. Jesus Hopped The A Trainquestions the legal and penal systems in the US and offers a stark reflection on how the law struggles to deal with the complexities of the human . father stabbed someone at a dance when she was younger, but, In Rikers, Angel meets Lucius Lucius. Laura Baronet. Angel (John Ortiz) and Lucius (Ron Cephas Jones) are in lock-down, spending all but one hour a day in their cells. Kim's described affect on Joey, the friend Angel fought so hard to free from a cultish existence built by a false prophet.

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