By Erin Randolph erin@dmcityview.com

None of the three actors that will be featured in Theater ... For A Change's production of "The Bible: The Complete Word of God (Abridged)" consider themselves to be actors. Nor do they think themselves singer or dancers, which might pose a problem, considering they will be called upon to do just those things when the musical comedy opens in Grand View's Viking Theatre on Friday.

However, John Cisar (of Comedy XPeriment), Matt Hanify (of The Brink) and Thatcher Williams all consider themselves to be entertainers, which apparently makes them qualified enough to tackle the irreverent play, which will cover the Bible from creation all the way to Armageddon. "The Bible" opens the Theater ... For A Change season with Wednesday through Sunday performances through Dec. 18.

In less than two hours' time, the three actors will cover 66 books, 1,189 chapters, 31,101 verses and 783, 137 words of this best-selling book of all time. However, as the press release states, these actors will be putting "the 'fun' back in fundamentalism." "The Bible" is written by the same playwrights that penned "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)," which was a favorite at this past summer's Iowa Fringe Festival, and "The Complete History of America (Abridged)," which was staged in Des Moines a few years ago.

It was the history of success by these cheeky plays that led Williams, artistic producing director and actor in the play, to check out "The Bible."

"I didn't stop laughing from the time I opened the script to the time I closed it," he says. "What they've done is they've taken the key moments, the key stories you may remember from the Bible as well as snippets you may not, and basically do the complete Bible. It requires three actors running around like chickens with their heads cut off. The authors of this work did a very, very good job to make sure they weren't sacrilegious, but at the same time they do pick out things that do seem absurd to people of very strict faith."

And the delivery may seem absurd, as well. An example: the story of Noah's Ark is represented in the play by a re-imagined version of "Old MacDonald," and the finale is set up to the tune of "That's Entertainment." And hopefully the three stars of "The Bible" will have provided just that.

Stage notes

"Shear Madness," the murder-mystery whodunit being staged at the Temple for Performing Arts in conjunction with The Des Moines Playhouse, ends Dec. 4. Purchase tickets for one of the remaining performances by calling the Playhouse box office at 277-6261... "Shear Madness" will be followed at the Temple For Performing Arts by a Civic Center production of "Altar Boyz," a musical that tells the holy story of five small-town boys. The musical will open on Tuesday, Jan. 3, and will run through Sunday, Feb. 12. Tickets are $42.50-$47.50 and go on sale Monday at the Civic Center Ticket Office, all Ticketmaster locations and online at www.civiccenter.org... In other Civic Center news, tickets for "Hairspray" go on sale to the public on Monday through the Civic Center Ticket Office, all Ticketmaster locations or online. "Hairspray" will be at the Civic Center Tuesday, April 25, to Sunday, April 30... And in other Des Moines Playhouse news, "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" opens Dec. 9 and runs through 18. Call 277-6261. CV

Comment on this story | Return to top