Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Jesus in a Jumpsuit?!

Whille I was in Maine two weeks ago, I stumbled upon this amusing story in the July 25th edition of "The Boston Globe."

Irish comic/playwright Abie Philbin Bowman took it upon himself to write an off-the-wall one-man show entitled: "Jesus: The Guatanamo Years." The play which is currently being perfromed in Somerville, Mass., was a hit at last year's Edinburg (Scotland) Fringe Festival.

The play later went on to a sold-out success in London's West End. "Jesus" will be staged at Jimmy Tingle's Off Broadway Theatre in Mass., until Aug. 12..

According to the article by Louise Kennedy in "The Boston Globe," Philbin Bowman depicts J.C. as he is returning to earth as a bearded Palestinian stand-up comic who runs into problems with U.S. immigration.  

The Irish comic had his own problems with U.S. Immigration, not because of the show's moral challenge to the ultra-corrupt Bush-Cheney (Cheney-Bush) administration, but rather because of simple bureaucracy.

In the show, Jesus is detained after walking across the Atlantic Ocean, and is promptly sent to Guantanamo Bay, a place that former majority leader Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tn.) described as  a 'good facility.' Frist is no longer in office.

Philbin Bowman said it is 'the facility,' which is the prime focus of his performance:

"The real target is Guantanamo, something that is deeply un-Christian," the comic said. "I think telling jokes is not quite as blasphemous as torture, for example."

He continued by saying:

"If you really believe in Jesus, how can you live with this?"

Philbin Bowman told Kennedy that he is not a religious person himself, but he has a profound interest in the teachings of Jesus Christ. He jokingly added that he is thinking about starting a group called Atheists for Jesus.

Useful link:

http://www.jtoffbroadway.com

 

No comments: