It’s not much of a spoiler to note that the Angel in Judgment Day gets the last laugh. In fact, we hear the Angel — also known as Sister Margaret from the lead character’s childhood — laugh at several different points in the new play, the script of which actually instructs the actor to cackle each time.
And with Patti LuPone cast in the role, rest assured you hear a cackle to end all cackles, one sounding almost diabolically possessed. Recorded last summer as a benefit for the Barrington Stage Company in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts and now streaming in an encore presentation through the Stellar Events platform, the virtual play reading even throws in a few amusing outtakes for good measure.
“Shit! Motherfucker,” LuPone is heard in one blooper, right after her landline phone rings while shooting a split-screen scene with Jason Alexander. With perfect timing, Alexander interjects, “Is that God, Sister?”
In this promising debut play from veteran TV comedy writer/producer Rob Ulins (CBS’s Young Sheldon, Hulu’s Ramy), Alexander portrays corrupt, morally bankrupt lawyer Sammy Campo, who sets out to redeem himself after a terrifying Angel threatens him with eternal damnation during a near-death encounter.
He forms an unlikely bond with a Catholic priest (Santino Fontana), setting the stage for debates over timeless questions about morality, faith, religion, and human behavior. “I wanna figure out the rock-bottom least amount of good I need to do to get into Heaven,” Sammy says early upon meeting the priest, who snaps back, “It doesn’t work that way.”
Judgment Day itself works very well under the deft direction of Matthew Penn, who helps the large cast shine — a virtual roster also including Michael McKean, Justina Machado, Julian Emie Lerner, Loretta Devine, Carol Mansell, Michael Mastro, Josh Jonston, Bianca LaVerne Jones, and Elizabeth Stanley.
The end result is a production with sharp performances adding enough subtle dimension and vitality to almost help it defy reality, often looking and feeling like more than the staged play reading over Zoom it ultimately is.
Judgment Day streams through Aug. 1 on Stellar Events as a benefit for Barrington Stage. Tickets are $11.99. Visit www.StellarTickets.com.
When I started reviewing theater for the Hill Rag in 1984, as a wide-eyed novice to the local performing arts scene, I remember thinking, "How much theater could there be to fill a weekly column?" A lot, it turned out.
I still mourn the loss of the companies I once frequented, among them Leslie Jacobson's Horizons and Bart Whiteman's Source, where the work was always challenging, insightful, and fueled by passion and purpose.
By the same token, I marveled at the slow but steady growth of companies like Woolly Mammoth, who went from performing in a church on G Street to operating their own gorgeous downtown space.
The wigs? On point. The lashes? On point. The costumes? On point. The plot? No point.
Fans of RuPaul's Drag Race might forgive the mess that is Drag: The Musical, but anyone else with an IQ higher than a mannequin with head trauma should sashay away from New World Stages where high-camp plateaus and not enough shade can be thrown.
Tomas Costanza, Justin Andrew Honard (Alaska Thunderfuck), and Ashley Gordon are responsible for the book, music, and lyrics, all of which are rehashed from material you've seen before and jokes that are about as funny as a calculus class.
Broadway has never had a shortage of leading ladies, but the fall season offers a surplus of divas who will no doubt be leaving indelible impressions long after the curtain falls.
Other recognizable A-listers from stage and screen will grace New York's Broadway and Off-Broadway houses as well in shows ranging from sturdy American classics to contemporary subjects of Artificial Intelligence.
Whether you're a local, a frequent visitor, or a tourist, these upcoming productions promise to be worth your time, money, and in some cases, all the gay gasps you can muster. Will they make good on such claims? Metro Weekly will be on the aisle to offer adulation, admonishment, or a combination of both.
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