I chose "Corpus Christi" written by Terrence McNally. It is a dramatized story about Jesus and the Apostles as gay men; it is a reclamation of the story of Christ's life for gay men, but in modern-day Texas.
It was written in 1997 and first staged in NY in 1998.On the opening night of the play, there were separate demonstrations that took place on either side of the outside of the theater.There were protesters pretending to to be declaring McNally's play was a lie and that homosexuality is a sin on one side, and the on the other side, there was a "silent march" organized by People for the American Way. They carried placards that contained quotes from different well-known people on the importance of freedom of expression. Hundred of officers from the NYPD and reporters gathered around the outdoor cast. All the audience members were forced to passed through a metal detector as a precautionary measure.
(http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/theatre_journal/summary/v051/51.2pr_mcnally.html)
It all starts when Mary is in labor with Joshua in a Corpus Christi motel. McNally does a great job at showing Joseph's sexual frustration when acknowledging Mary's virginity. I thought that was funny. As Joshua grows up, he knows that he is not the same as his schoolmates but there was no real answer for this phenomenon. His prom date ends up catching him kissing Judas. After the kiss happens, the lights fade and when the lights come back up, chilling and smoking cigarettes as if they had sex. Well it was supposed to show that they did, in fact, have sex. Joshua later married together two of his disciples and this is what pissed the audience off. The content was very controversial for them. McNally really wanted to show the hypocrisy of the Church's feelings toward the gay, but she also shows that there is love present at the same time.
P.S.
i found this cool staging of the play too. very physical thtr :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOF52wNiwd8
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