The Gospel according to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens and Count Leo Tolstoy:
DISCORD
We’ve all heard it before… When you meet someone new at a
party, never talk about religion, money or politics. Fireworks may start, and
the budding relationship might possibly crash and burn before it ever got off
the ground. If you’re a notable fellow, though, like, let’s say, Thomas
Jefferson or Charles Dickens or Leo Tolstoy, these three topics are engrained
in your legacy. One cannot help but talk about God’s motives, the class system,
or the proper way for a man to deal with revenge when discussing these
great men, because their stories are riddled with each of these topics. Scott
Carter’s world premiere play “The Gospel according to Thomas Jefferson, Charles
Dickens and Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord” explores the idea of putting these
three distinguished men into one room, and letting them butt heads due to their
ideological differences.
At the start, “Discord” seems like a playful exercise of
wits. The plot consists of these three men trapped in a bare room, with only
each other and three chairs and a table to accompany them. And if you know
anything about these men’s minds, you know that an entertaining
linguistic battle inevitably ensues. Although they don’t necessarily get along
with each other, they must work together to figure out why they are now in this
purgatory of sorts (they’ve all died the moment before entering this room), and
why their physical forms are from the height of their lives (rather than the
moment before their deaths).
As “Discord” adeptly moves forward through its fifteen scenes, we
discover the common thread of these three men’s lives: they each wrote their own
version of the gospel, a story of the life and death (and in Dickens’ case the
resurrection) of Jesus Christ. And each is wildly different, the three man
picking his favorite moments from the first four books of the New Testament.
Dickens, for example, enjoys the magical wonder of Jesus, and he has a
conviction in his belief of the miracles and teachings of the true Son of God, and His
resurrection. Jefferson, rather, uses logic and reason to pick his favorite
verses, mostly factual teachings and parables to illustrate such ideas, and he
removes anything following the death of Jesus. Tolstoy, fueled by a justifiable
paranoia of the Catholic Church’s hold on the Russian government, focuses solely
on Jesus’ words regarding actual daily life, fixating his mind on Jesus’
teaching of “Resist not evil.”
Obviously, Jefferson, Dickens and Tolstoy cannot agree on
how to tell the story of Jesus’ life, their ideological differences are just
too great. And as they begin to argue and resent one another, the truth of
their lives come out: no matter how strongly they believed in the positive ways
of living that was set forth by Jesus, each made terrible mistakes. They begin
to confess, pushed by the two others in the room, to tell the stories of the
tale end of their lives. Each man goes on to tell a very sad and disturbing
story whilst sitting in a chair facing the “mirror” of a fourth wall, looking
into their selves. And as the play draws to a close, they begin to journal
their ignominious acts, using this form of written therapy to grow, confess,
repent and be ready to move onto the afterlife.
It’s easy to say that this show is tremendous due to its
lofty subjects and perfectly executed characters. Larry Cedar’s Jefferson and
Armin Shimerman’s Tolstoy, were amazing, well-rounded characters that engaged
me throughout the story. And Devid Melville’s Dickens was extraordinary, being
both ridiculous and endearingly histrionic. His dialogue was smart and his
timing so utterly specific, that he kept the audience laughing. The three
talented men, expertly guided by Matt August’s clean direction, created a
masterpiece of theater. The beautiful, trippy and haunting design elements,
especially that of the Lighting Design by Luke Moyer and the Sound Design of
Cricket S. Myers, add that extra layer of perfection, making this production
one of the best I’ve ever seen.
This is a show that sticks with you… It’s been several days
since I sat in the audience, and I am still considering “Discord’s” comments on
what Jesus’ life meant, and what his teachings ultimately mean for my
day-to-day life. Its message to the audience: strive to be a better person, and
the only way to properly do that, is to recognize the previous wrongs you’ve
done. It is at that moment that these great men, whose forms were not presented
at the moment of their deaths, but in the moment of the height of their
personal and professional lives, actually have an option to change, to live the rest of
their lives in a better, more positive way.
"The Gospel according to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens and Count Leo Tolstoy: DISCORD" written by Scott Carter,
runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm
and Sundays at 3:00 pm
through February 23
at The NoHo Arts Center, 11136 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood.
For more information and to buy tickets online, check out http://www.thenohoartscenter.com.
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