George  Weinberg-Harter

San Diego Arts

Romulus Linney's "Holy Ghosts" by the Sullivan Players

Geeks Bearing Snakes
By George  Weinberg-Harter
Posted on May 05 2008
Last updated May 10 2008

The canonical New Testament, edited and selected out of a welter of texts by the early church fathers during various synods of the fourth century, provides a sometimes contradictory account of Jesus and his teachings. Sensible Christians might discover and piece together from these versions of Jesus’s reported utterances, parables, and beatitudes a sane and compassionate essential message of shared human love and of a heaven that may lie within us. During the natural processes, however, of salutary schism and healthy heresy (countering the dangers of dogma, consolidation, and stagnation that large religious organizations are prey to) small sects sometimes rise to concentrate with astonishing fervor upon some minor and generally overlooked Biblical admonitions.

Such a sect appeared in the Appalachian region of America in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. Promulgated by charismatic preachers, it had grown by the 1920s into a Pentecostal church (or loose collection of congregations) whose central text came from the conclusion to the Gospel According to Mark, chapter 16, verses 17 and 18, where just prior to his ascension the risen Jesus tells the disciples:

"And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."

Obviously these inconvenient last-minute instructions of Christ (which some scholars think may be a later interpolation anyway) did not (with the exception of exorcism) become any regular part of church ritual over the intervening centuries. They were probably rationalized as meant to apply solely to certain apostles, such as Paul, during the initial growth period of Christianity.

But among a few charismatic congregations (who are literalist advocates of the King James Version) such emotionally wrought and dangerous practices – handling venomous snakes, speaking in incomprehensible tongues, faith healing, and drinking poisons to express their faith – persist at their frequent and fervent meetings to this day, from Appalachia to Western Canada.

Playwright Romulus Linney’s "Holy Ghosts" (1977), currently in a dynamic and exciting production by The Sullivan Players, weaves an interesting drama against the background of such a typically fraught church meeting. Linney’s well-structured play gradually inducts its audience into a working class Southern milieu where the need for so intense and dangerous a spiritual outlet eventually becomes understandable and even movingly sympathetic.

Under the sensitive direction of D.J. Sullivan, the drama’s employment of the techniques of a musical ensemble is well realized. Accumulation and crescendo are the operating principles – much as in Ravel’s "Bolero," where an initial solo instrument is then joined by another, and further voices gradually enter singly and in pairs or groups, climaxing in a rousing fortissimo tutti.

It all starts with a nasty marital squabble between Nancy (Melanie Sutherlin) and Coleman Shedman (Michael Barnett). It appears that the marriage got off to a rather bad start when Coleman ended up dysfunctionally drunk and unconscious on their wedding night (embarrassing details provided by the irate bride) and Nancy decamped (along with her husband’s money and property), to end up as fiancee (pending divorce) to the elderly minister, Obediah Buckhorn Sr. (Joe Nesnow), of the little charismatic church into which Coleman has just tracked her.

Barnett’s Coleman is a big scruffy loudmouth redneck jerk. He is also (in the playwright’s subtle plan) the intellectual representative of the audience. Yes – hypocrite reader! – that ruffianly and bibulous ignoramus Coleman Shedman is the very semblable and fellow-creature of ourselves, we sophisticated city-folk who sit in the audience chuckling at the naive antics of these credulous hicks. And along with Coleman we are led on a voyage of discovery that finishes for him with a conversion as drastic as Paul’s on the road to Damascus, and as touching and unexpected a change of heart as that of the brutal strongman Zampano (another abuser of women) in Fellini’s "La Strada."

Gradually, along with Coleman’s lawyer (Alan Lewis), a dozen other members or potential members of the congregation wander in – some carrying mysterious objects, such as a sealed glass jar full of clear liquid and a large closed wooden box, which are set in prominent positions. Could the jar contain strychnine and might the box harbor rattlesnakes? Good guess! Just wait and see.

Coleman manages to tangle with nearly everybody else who comes into the room. He mocks them and voices a highly reasonable skepticism about their religious practices. He may just be in a foul mood because their pastor is stealing away his bride, who herself has stolen his truck; but his reservations about snake-handling and poison-drinking are sensible positions with which the audience can themselves strongly identify.

This engenders a series of heated dialogues in which most of the members of the ensemble are granted colorful participation. Besides Barnett and Sutherlin as the battling Shedmans – the two characters who go through the most changes – and Nesnow’s old Buckhorn Sr., whose heartfelt arguments in favor of snake-handling lend him an aura of almost Solomonic wisdom (despite his rather sordid track record of having worn out six or seven previous young wives), other standout performances include Shaun Farrell as Carl Specter, whose various interrupting anecdotes about his pet dog allow him to make a telling progress from comic yokel to tragic figure, and Harrison Myers whose largely taciturn performance nevertheless establishes a riveting grim presence in the role of Virgil Tides, warden of the fateful wooden box.

Kevin Six is suitably sepulchral and cheerful as the character greeted warmly only as Cancer Man – a cadaverous candidate for faith-healing whose life looks worth less than a three days’ lease. Adam Marcinowski makes a big and jumpy Buckhorn Junior. Kate Cruz is convincingly hedonistic as a roundheeled woman with a history, who demonstrates that there’s no conflict between a heightened sexuality and this torrid type of old-time religion – something already amply demonstrated by their pastor. In fact, there may even be some kind of linkage here. Further proof of the sect’s sexual openmindedness is provided by the male couple Orin Hart (Tom Walker) and Howard Rudd (Michael Bova), who give Coleman a rough little lesson in the difference between masculinity and sexual orientation. Miriam Neigus and Christopher Hickey, as Muriel and Billy Boggs, make a less contented young heterosexual pair of newlyweds. Lucy Ann Albert is full of wonder and delight as Lorena Cosburg, satisfied first time visitor to Pentecostalism. And Jo-Darlene Reardon, as Mrs. Wall, the church keyboardist, leads them all in hymns with intense concentration.

It is truly an ensemble effort, and each one has his or her moment to shine. As a group they radiate the real halo of a genuine church family, and like a family of actors they show true generosity to each other on stage. Director Sullivan has created apt and appealing stage pictures with so large and crowded cast in such a small stage space. Despite being hampered by cramped quarters, they are posed with the Grecian grace of marbles in a pediment. And, under the musical direction of Tom Walker, they do a nice job on the hymns, often so subdued as to just flow subliminally beneath the action.

After five years of producing some fourteen shows, Sullivan Players seems to have hit their full stride with this play. The simple proscenium stage setting is the joint work of Marie Miller, Jean Lievens, and Tim Simoneau. Marie Miller also provided the lighting design, in collaboration with Mark Valecko (who did the sound design as well). And Sheila Rosen designed the appropriately rural costumes.

DOWNLOAD PROGRAM PAGE ONE HERE

DOWNLOAD PROGRAM PAGE TWO HERE

DOWNLOAD PROGRAM PAGE THREE HERE

Venue :Swedenborgian Hall, 1531 Tyler Street, University Heights, San Diego

About the author: George Weinberg-Harter George Weinberg-Harter has been active in San Diego theatre since childhood, appearing in many local stage productions as well as doing graphic art for them. He has helped start theatre companies, authored and co-authored a number of plays produced locally and is a co-founder of the Fellow Calligraphers of San Diego. He is a member of the Actors Alliance of San Diego, the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle, and the San Diego Press Club, which has presented him with its 2007 First Place Excellence in Journalism Award for Drawing or Illustration.
More by this author.

Share this article

Subscribe to Arts

 · 

Comments

Posted by Sandy Hotchkiss Gullans	May 9, 2008
As one who attended the opening night of this production - I agree with you George on all accounts. This is a great production with a superb cast. Well done on all accounts and well worth seeing.

Posted by Carrie M	May 14, 2008
I love Micheal and I love DJ - I just wish I could be there for one of the shows. And this would have been right up my alley, too. Break a leg!

(1)sandiego.com, Inc. invites comments in which readers can respond freely and anonymously if they wish. Comments submitted by readers will be rejected that are deemed by the editors to be damaging to the future of this web site.
(2)Comparison is made from the IP Address identity of the computer placing the posts. Some networks share these addresses between users.