Performances: Wednesday-Saturday 8:00 pm; Please note that Actors Express has committed to five-day work weeks. Gender: Male. Pulitzer Prize-winner Stephen Adly Guirgis (Between Riverside and Crazy) begins his Residency at Signature with a new production of his darkly comic meditation on redemption and faith, Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train, directed by Obie Award-winner Mark Brokaw.Angel Cruz is a 30-year-old bicycle messenger awaiting trial for the death of the leader of a religious cult. "the Black Plague," works out furiously in the cage next to Angel. Lucius has found God and been reborn. Its the reason I keep coming back to Collective Consciousness. Doubt. Lucius. Willis design are deceptively simple. Angel Cruz and Lucius Jenkins face murder charges. Equitys contracts prohibit discrimination. It is as vital now as it was at the turn of the millennium. Oct. 23, 2017. Jesus Hopped The A Train . It allows Lucius evangelism to soar Spoken in Riggins hoarse yet commanding drawl, modulating his speed and timbre with the dexterity of a blues guitarist, its the kind of moment when a play hits a perfect bulls-eye. Although he takes responsibility for his actions, he still fears execution. Jeff. Rehearsals and performances held indoors at Actors Express. Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter: Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train reveals a young playwright's awkwardness with its overwritten passages and reliance on expository monologues.But it also displays . Angel Cruz, played by Richard Nguyen Sloniker is a Puerto Rican awaiting trial for justifiable attempted murder. . Photograph by Teresa Wood. is a lot of reason to like him or at least be impressed by him. . One of the most striking things about Soulpepper's Jesus Hopped The 'A' Train is how multi-dimensional its main characters are. When the cult leader dies during surgery, Angel suddenly finds himself facing murder charges. Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train. In one particularly impressive monologue, Adjepong's Lucius exercises whilst addressing his religious beliefs; the actor's energy doesn't falter once as he performs . We hear a story of how her Sure, it tells a story of addiction and cyclical abuse a narrative we've grown to expect about those who go behind bars. Lucius is also a serial killer, a self-described paranoid schizophrenic who employs his charms on . Ben Brantley reviews Labyrinth Theater Company production of Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman, at East 13th Street Theater; photo (M) Lucius Jenkins is a serial killer, . A lot of what we hear from the lawyer is in the form of direct address, and these monologues lack the poetry (brute or not) of the rest. . Jesus Hopped the A Train is a . JESUS HOPPED THE A TRAIN - Equity video submissions Actor's Express Theatre Company | Atlanta, GA, Associate Artistic Director Amanda Washington. Elysium Theatre deserve much credit for bringing Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train to Manchester for the first time. Hes a violent, racist jerk and not much else, although casting Hall in the role does give it some interesting subtext. [12][13] However, Pamela Renner reviewed the premiere unfavorably in Variety, with most praise reserved for Ron Cephas Jones. Start your review of Jesus Hopped the A Train. Jesus Hopped the A Train characters breakdowns including full descriptions with standard casting requirements and expert analysis. Review: Its Law vs. Order in Jesus Hopped the A Train, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/23/theater/jesus-hopped-the-a-train-review.html, Sean Carvajal, left, and Ricardo Chavira in Jesus Hopped the A Train.. Kate Hewitts production and Magda Reverend Kim, a Lexus-driving cult leader who's sucked in Angel's childhood friend, Joey. Runs to February 23 at The Young Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto's Historic Distillery District in the Michael Young Theatre, 50 Tank House Lane. The play was produced in London at the Donmar Warehouse in 2002. "Our Father, who art in . Inside Rikers Island, a terrified Angel is befriended by a charismatic serial . Jesus Hopped first opened off-Broadway in November of 2000. Mirrors, not cages, provide the true path to justice and peace. But when performed, as it is here, by a cast that can recreate its rapture as well as its moral gravity, it achieves the doubleness of great art, burrowing deeper the higher it flies. Nor does Angel, at least initially. Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train is at the Young Vic until . We are committed to principles of ethical and diverse representation in our casting. If it reached no further, the breakneck drama, originally produced by the Labyrinth Theater Company in 2000, would be a worthy enough stunt, a jukebox of Mamet-scaled vulgarity. Lucius has done terrible things but now he has found God. At the opening of the play, he is in his second night of incarceration, awaiting trial for shooting the leader of that cult in the "ass." He is on his knees, alone and terrified, trying to say a prayer he no . The performance by Frankham was another highlight for me; the development of the character though her interactions with Angel and her later monologues was subtle, yet well conveyed. Search the history of over 797 billion . Publication date 2002 Topics . Review | Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train | Young Vic | 5 Stars | Kate Hewitt's production of Stephen Adly Guirgis' 'Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train' is bold and. Gain full access to show guides, character breakdowns, auditions, monologues and more! Our Father, who art in heaven, he stammers, Harold be thy name.. Angel Cruz is a young Puerto Rican man incarcerated for shooting a cult leader after said person "stole" his best friend. But Nieves' resonant performance negotiates the line between adolescence and adulthood, faith and nihilism and other boundaries that cage in Angel's soul as surely as the Rikers walls encase his body. We see Angels first night behind bars, trying in vain to remember the Lords Prayer (Our Father, who art in heaven, Howard be thy name. His first five plays were directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman, and subsequently received critically acclaimed productions in New York and London. Lucius has found God and been born again, and now, Angel's life and the course of his trial will be changed forever. Sean Carvajal stars in Stephen Adly Guirgis's Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train, directed by Mark Brokaw, at Signature Theatre. Other Characters From Jesus Hopped the A Train. Furthermore, staging That Lucius (Edi Gathegi) is generally sunny and witty despite having killed eight people plays with our loyalties. New York, NY, Linda Ray Riggins has done terrific work at Collective Consciousness before. In some productions of Stephen Aldy Guirgis play, that might be the case, but at Collective Consciousness Theatre the shows gravitational pull changes the second Terrence Riggins walks on stage. With so many themes to explore some get little more than a cursory nod, but in this Young . station23.cebu a panoptican effect. Howard?) amidst the cacophony of his incarcerated neighbors telling him, in no polite terms, to shut up. Terell W.J. It seems simple on the surface, but between these two strong actors, Guirgis stellar script and Dexter J. Singletons finely-tuned direction, it makes for electric theater. Short North Stage will stream Jesus Hopped the A Train through June 27.Tickets cost $15. The moral argument between these two men forms the heart of the play, as Lucius, who says he found God in prison, confronts Angel, who long ago lost God outside it. Review of Jesus Hopped the A Train, Collective Consciousness Theatre . Stephen Adly Guirgis' Pulitzer Prize-winning "Between Riverside and Crazy" gets its local debut at Steppenwolf in June. Email auditions@actorsexpress.com if you have questions. The play's format, which really focuses on a series of monologues and duologues - offers a complete focus on the individuals . Reviewed . Jesus Hopped the A Train tells the story of several inmates of Rikers Prison who are awaiting charges for murder. rikers island prison, new york, present day, Ages 12-17: Camp Broadway Ensemble @ Carnegie Hall. Thats not to say everything in Jesus works so well. Joey said, "Jesus hopped the A train to see us safe to bed." **** Mary Jane . jesus hopped the a train lucius monologue. Their scenes together alternate with ones in which Angels lawyer, Mary Jane Hanrahan, must break through his perverse resistance in order to prepare him for court. Inside Rikers Island, a terrified Angel is befriended by a charismatic serial killer named Lucius Jenkins. A moment where things come into complete focus is a late monologue by a prison guard whose soft spot for Lucius cost him his job: with perfectly calibrated delivery, Gregory Prest delivers a . The legal procedural in the play Some auditors urge actors to find classical monologues from writers other than Shakespeare. Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train begins and ends with the same image: a young prisoner, Angel, on his knees, praying in darkness. The two convicts talk about God and redemption, free-will, racism, addiction and the meaning of freedom. Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. Call 614-725-4042 or visitshortnorthstage.org. Angel is awaiting trial - his first. Angel Cruz and Lucius Jenkins face murder charges. No memorization required. Jesus Hopped the A Train. New York playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis' star has been firmly on the rise for the last 12 years or so. Angel Cruz is a young Puerto Rican man incarcerated for shooting a cult leader after said person "stole" his best friend. "fire-breathing[a] probing, intense portrait of . Moon) in the hindquarters and ends up facing a murder rap when the minister dies in surgery. But in a series of monologues that pull further back from the action, Hanrahans reflections on the case, and on her own investment in it, dissipate the tension. . While the sermonic Lucius speaks of redemption before God, of renouncing darkness and embracing salvation, the early interactions between client and lawyer feel underweight in comparison. He is a former co-artistic director of Labyrinth Theater Company. and Hanrahans monologues to gain an air of a courtroom. . The kind that opens up the scope of a script. Riverside Jacksonville News, It opened on the Pershing Square Signature Center's Irene Diamond Stage on October 23, 2017, and ran until November 26th, 2017. But his drive and dish make it possible. An . As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to submit. (Scott Dray). Added to the mix are Lucius Jenkins, a serial killer turned born-again Christian, and Valdez, a sadistic corrections officer. Hes angry, lonely, frustrated and struggling with his faith/spirituality. Lucius Jenkins. light and freedom. That is exactly where Mr. Guirgis, who won a 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Between Riverside and Crazy, wants us: in a confused crouch that renders us vulnerable to deeper questioning.