November 20, 2013
By John Olson
Imagine this—among the holiday/Christmas themed shows this season is a play about Christianity! But this world premiere production of Paulus, written in Hebrew by Motti Lerner and translated by Hillel Halkin, is no Christmas pageant. Rather, it's an intellectual consideration of the origins of Christianity as it was promulgated by the Apostle Paul in the years after Christ's crucifixion.
Lerner, a self-described atheist Jew, depicts occasions late in the life of Paul (called in the play by his Latin name, Paulus) after Paul had spread the Christian gospel to Gentiles around the northeastern Mediterranean region. Most of these events concern Paul's confrontations with authority figures among the Jewish religious leaders and the Roman governors, and Lerner shows how politics, power and religion were closely intertwined.
There are also frequent conversations with a 62-year-old Christ, in which the two debate the wisdom and morality of Paul's teachings. As scripture says that Christ first appeared to Paul in a vision, there's certain logic in Lerner's conceit that Christ may have continued to visit Paul after the crucifixion. Lerner shows Paul to be steadfast in his belief of a single, universal God—even as he debates Jesus, who preached his gospel mainly to the Jews. Lerner asks if the tribalism and sectarianism associated with some religious thinking is a barrier to achieving a better, more harmonious world. It's a thought-provoking theme set in a historical context that is likely new to many in the audience, as it was to me. It's all a very classy and thoughtful production that may offer its audiences a deeper understanding of religion in world history and spark some critical thinking about organized religion in today's society and politics. Audiences interested in including something like that in their holiday menu ought to pay it a visit.