EDITOR’S NOTE: This run has been extended through Dec. 31.
It’s not like Chris Boeckx, Seth Ciakowski and Eric Mather have been touched by God so much as … backhanded by the Big Guy.
These three gifted and high-spirited comedians bring plenty of groans and guffaws to the Avenue Theater’s paradoxically titled, irreverent regional premiere of “The Bible: The Complete Word of God (Abridged).”
They are also each oddly tall.
“The Bible” is brought to you by the Reduced Shakespeare Company, those addled loons who also offered up the “complete” works of Shakespeare and the history of America – in 90-minute increments. (Though “The Bible,” curiously, clocks in at 20 minutes longer. But that’s understandable. It is a good book, after all. Just long.)
Still, you say: “The Bible? In 110 minutes? No way!”
Yahweh!
So let’s just get this part out of the way: If you even have to ask whether “The Bible” might offend your religious sensibilities, then the answer is probably yes … because anyone who ever asks that question is generally the type that’s easily offended.
True, you can’t very well tell “The Greatest Story Ever Accepted as Fact” without pointing out some of its contradictions and hypocrisies. But if you’re secure in your faith – and actually in possession of a sense of humor (and a few demons wouldn’t hurt) – this is a Salem’s Lot of good, inconsequential and, in moderation, slightly heretical fun.
Director Nick Sugar’s production opens with revival music that has audiences clapping along before the lights even dim. Unfortunately, much of a clever but diction-challenging opening song gets drowned out by the sound system.
Our conceit couldn’t be simpler: This collegial trio (what, they’re wearing togas!) will reduce the Good Word to a precious few funny words, aided (and abetted) by lots of silly visuals, awful puns and a treasure trove of clever props.
What’s the Garden of Eden, after all, without Fruit (of the Looms)? There’s a fun song about “begatin” that comes with a visual aid (mind out of the gutter – you get Adam’s family tree as a handout!). You get the top 10 rejected commandments (“no peeing in the swimming pool”). Some jokes are localized and updated for current events – so Britney, O.J. and iPhones? Prepare for your 40 lashes.
You get most of the biggies like Abraham (the actor dresses like Lincoln) and Moses (a kid with abandonment issues). Luckily, the boys give (the O.T.) Joseph and his dreamcoat a pass – out of sheer antipathy for Andrew Lloyd Webber. Some scenes make no sense, but you’re giggling anyway.
What keeps the whole evening from being dumb as a stoning is how the writers manage to slip in some pretty fundamental theological questions. These are handled with mostly superficial good humor, such as the random incongruity of a vengeful and controlling O.T. God vs. a gentler N.T. God who seems to be out for a round of golf.
God also answers the age-old question, “Why circumcision?” with the age-old punchline, “I’m making a wallet.”
The second act is devoted (if that’s the right word, and it’s not) to the N.T., which means more of the same – controlled chaos in a carnival atmosphere. (Bet you didn’t know the Last Supper was attended by saints like Louis, Bernard and Pauli Girl!)
Thanks to the affability, chemistry and physical exertion of these hard-working comedians, it’s smiles from start to finish. They even manage to turn a potentially awful audience-participation rendition of “Old MacDonald” (for Noah’s Ark) into a highlight.
As we exited, one of a group of pleasant older, churchgoing women behind me said, “My mother would be shocked” – while giggling. Mine went to church every week for 72 years, and she would have laughed all the way through.
Theater critic John Moore can be reached at 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com.
“The Bible: The Complete Word of God (Abridged)” | *** RATING
COMEDY | Avenue Theater, 417 E. 17th Ave. | Originally produced by The Reduced Shakespeare Company | Directed by Nick Sugar | Starring Chris Boeckx, Seth Ciakowski, Eric Mather | THROUGH DEC. 31 | 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sept. 30 and Oct. 14 (no performances Oct. 11-13 for Denver Improv Festival) | 1 hour, 50 minutes | $20-$24 | 303-321-5925 or
