Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Two timely, hard-hitting prison dramas open Off-Broadway: JESUS HOPPED THE ‘A’ TRAIN and OEDIPUS EL REY

• By drediman
• October 25, 2017
• No Comments

This week, two intensely staged, hard-hitting prison dramas opened Off-Broadway in high-profile productions: Stephen Adly Guirgis’s Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train at the Signature Theatre and Luis Alfaro’s Oedipus El Rey at the Public Theater. Unfortunately, both dramas are as timely as ever.

Stephen Adly Guirgis’s “Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train” at the Signature Theatre.

At the Signature, Mr. Guirgis’s Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train (RECOMMENDED) is receiving a fine revival under the astute direction of Mark Brokaw. The 2000 play, which put Mr. Guirgus on the map, depicts two Rikers Island inmates of color – Angel, a defensive and defenseless youth; and Lucius Jenkins, a mentally unstable yet extremely charming serial killer. Mr. Guirgus is a master of painting portraits of characters that surprise and fascinate in ways that make sense in hindsight, and these two creations are no exceptions. As powerfully acted by the nervy Sean Carvajal and the deliciously slithery Edi Gathegi, Angel and Lucius are deeper than what you see onstage. Even if Mr. Gurigis’s writingisn’t as shocking as it once was, Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train‘s core arguments regarding crime and morality – implicitly vis-à-vis racial and social-economic realities – still ring true.

Luis Alfaro’s “Oedipus El Rey” at the Public Theater.

Down at the Public, Mr. Alfaro’s Oedipus El Rey (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) is a gorgeous yet harrowing experience. I had seen the play at Washington D.C.’s Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in 2011, and recall finding it an interesting exercise in adaptation, yet ultimately lacking in a reason for being. What a difference a production can make. Chay Yew’s urgent, poetically staged production, passionately acted by his cast, makes an exquisite case for Mr. Alfaro’s play – not just as a first rate adaptation of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, but also as a commentary on the inescapability of incarceration for certain populations. Mr. Alfaro is experienced at transposing Greek tragedy onto Latin American culture; indeed, his riveting Electricided, which I saw at Chicago’s venerated Goodman Theatre 13 years ago (man, I’m old), was a gritty modern adaptation of Elektra, also via Sophocles. I would love to see these two play in repertory one day. Perhaps a season at the Signature?

JESUS HOPPED THE ‘A’ TRAIN
Off-Broadway, Theatre
Signature Theatre
2 hours, 15 minutes (with one intermission)
Through November 26

OEDIPUS EL REY
Off-Broadway, Theatre
The Public Theatre
1 hour, 30 minutes (with no intermission)
Through December 3