

ST. JOHN'S METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCH
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CORPUS CHRISTI |
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written by Terrence McNally
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FEATURING |
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Nathaniel Bush Jr. Desmond Leach |
Benaiah Adesoji Kat Cupp Naveed Moeed |
Philip Guadagno Alastair Motylinski |
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STAGE MANAGER |
DIRECTOR |
PRODUCER |
MUSIC DIRECTOR Philip Guadagno |
FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHER Mitchell Aaron Mulkey |
INTIMACY DIRECTOR Veronica Dress |
PROPS DESIGNER Mikki Marvel |
COSTUME DESIGNER Gray Nico |
SOUND DESIGNER Alex Riggs |
ACCESSIBILITY & CAPTIONS COORDINATOR Teal Lepley |
DRAMATURG Serayah Silver |
GRAPHIC DESIGNER Dustin Britt |
PHOTOGRAPHER Naveed Moeed |
DANCE CAPTAIN Xenon Winslow |
TECHNICAL ADVISOR Mike Gauss |
SCENIC ARTISTS | ||
Vance Haywood |
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Originally produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club on September 22, 1998. |
Follow Us:
After Thursday performances, we invite you to stay after the show for a brief Q&A with the cast and director.
Please silence all electronic devices. | Recording and photography of the performance is prohibited by law. |
The show runs approximately 2.5 hours, including a 10-minute intermission. | In case of an emergency, you may exit through the double doors (where you entered) or the single door behind the audience. |
Concessions are available in the lobby during intermission. | Gender-neutral bathrooms are located down the hallway behind the audience. |
Captions of the dialogue as well as descriptions of music and sound effects are viewable on the large TV screen behind the performance. | Feel free to step out of the room to relax in the lobby if you need to take a break during the show or to speak with a staff member. |
All performances of this play are relaxed, inclusive, and sensory-friendly. The house lights will remain on during the show, shifts in lighting will be limited, sound cues are kept at low levels, seats are cushioned, seating choice is open, and seats can be moved as needed. | If you need anything at all, please ask anyone in a St. John's MCC shirt. |
Dramaturg's Note
Serving as dramaturg (historian) for this production has invited me back (sometimes kicking and screaming) into the stories of my childhood. I forgot how much I knew about the stories referenced here. Jesus’ entire life, from Nativity to crucifixion, exists in the collective consciousness as perpetual iconography. We know what we have been told. Terrence McNally didn’t write Corpus Christi to question the validity of these stories, but rather as an act of reclamation, to revisit and reimagine the story for those who had been excluded from the meaning of the message: “All men* are divine.”
Underneath the redolent (and sometimes downright crude) surface of the work, this is hermetic text. This is a work written to remind humanity of its origin, of its purpose: to love and be loved, to regard the self and the other as product and progeny of The Most High. Released to much scrutiny and protest in 1998 (the same year Matthew Shephard and James Byrd, Jr. were killed in Texas for simply existing in the presence of those who did not believe the message), Corpus Christi is one of the most scandalous plays ever written on the subject of Christianity. Dubbed “The Gay Jesus Play” by those who would be too shocked by a summary to even read the script, at its heart Corpus Christi is a story about love, betrayal, and the acceptance of one’s own power and divine responsibility.
I write this now for the same reason I said yes to the project: to invite you to think differently about the stories you already (think you) know, and to venerate those who have been left nameless by state-sanctioned violence.
Who better to represent them all than the son of God?
Come with us, allow us to take you somewhere beautiful, somewhere strange and not so far away.
We are proud to present the Triangle premier and North Carolina revival of Terrence McNally’s Corpus Christi. Thank you for joining us, and remember: you too are divine.
*Terrence McNally was a white, cis, gay man whose perspective was clearly limited to the edge of his own nose. We have made artistic choices in this production that would challenge these limitations with intention to make this story even more accessible, even more relatable, and even more resonant to the time and community in which we are living. The Play was McNally’s response to the world in which he found himself -- this production is ours.
Serayah Silver, dramaturg
Content Warning
We recommend this play for audiences aged 18 and above.
The play shows theatrical depictions of physical and verbal violence against BIPOC and queer people, as well as moments of consensual sexual intimacy, drug use, and references to HIV. The characters sometimes use strong profanity to express themselves.
This play can bring up lots of emotions for audiences -- as it does for the actors. We have support staff at every performance to help any guests or artists that might need help processing the intellectual, physical, and emotional experience of Corpus Christi or who may need access to additional support services and resources -- whether religious or secular in nature.
If you need anything at all, please ask anyone in a St. John's MCC shirt or a member of the cast.
Cast
Cast
Creative Team
Dustin Britt
Rev. Vance E. Haywood, Jr.
Serayah Silver
Veronica Dress
Mikki Marvel
Alex Riggs
Gray Nico
Lynnette Paris Johnson
Teal Lepley
Philip Guadagno
Mitchell Aaron Mulkey
Xenon Winslow
Naveed Moeed
Mike Gauss
Jim Manchester
Meet the Company
Chris Acevedo

Benaiah Adesoji

Byron Ard

Nathaniel Bush, Jr.

Kat Cupp

Philip Guadagno

Desmond Leach

Naveed Moeed

Alastair Motylinski

Mitchell Aaron Mulkey

Nat M. Sherwood

Xenon Winslow

Stephanie Yu

Dustin Britt

Rev. Vance E. Haywood, Jr.

Serayah Silver

Veronica Dress

Mikki Marvel

Alex Riggs

Gray Nico

Lynnette Paris Johnson

Teal Lepley

Philip Guadagno
Mitchell Aaron Mulkey
Xenon Winslow
Naveed Moeed
Mike Gauss
Jim Manchester
Multimedia

The cast of Corpus Christi. Photo credit: Dustin Britt
Raleigh Church Celebrates Pride With Triangle Premiere Of Terrence McNally's CORPUS CHRISTI

St. John's Metropolitan Community Church will be presenting Corpus Christi, a queer passion play by Terrence McNally, during the first two weekends in June to honor Pride month and the church's accepting and affirming position regarding all types of people, including those who identify as LGBTQ+. This is the first NC production of the play in more than 20 years and its premier in the Triangle.
"In today's social and political climate people, often the most vulnerable people are the target of misinformation, demonization, hatred, persecution, violence and criminalization. However, the Christian testament makes it abundantly clear that they are exactly the people the church universal is called to welcome, embrace, support and defend," says Reverend Vance Haywood, Senior Pastor, St. John's MCC. "Terrence McNally's retelling of the Gospel narrative through the lenses of the queer, BIPOC, and disability communities' experiences can be eye-opening for people who may not understand the struggles and difficulties lived everyday by LGBTQ+ identifying individuals. Moreover, it provides queer people the opportunity to see themselves and their experiences as an integral part of Jesus' message of love for all the people of the world."
Corpus Christi was originally produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club on September 22, 1998. The play depicts the story of Jesus and the disciples as queer people living in Texas in the 20th century. Featured scenes include a campy Christmas play, an 80s high school dance between a Black Jesus and Judas, a ghostly encounter with James Dean, and the inevitably painful and shocking ending at Calvary.
The reimagined staging and direction of the St. John's MCC production is by Dustin Britt, Award-winning NC theatre maker. Britt is known for bold new interpretations of classic plays in immersive, fitting locations -- Timon of Athens in a queer night club, Our Town with an onstage audience, Marat/Sade in both a Friends meeting house and a Metropolitan Community Church, The Miracle Worker in a 19th century historic home, and ShakesBEER, a multi-year tour of NC breweries.
"St. John's MCC, one of the area's most beloved queer-affirming churches, is the perfect location for a staging of Corpus Christi," says Britt. "Originally written to be performed by 13 cisgender men, in this daring and unique production, I was intentional about having a cast, designer team, and production staff that consists entirely of queer creators, many of whom are taking to the stage or designing for the first time, and featuring the work of BIPOC, trans, nonbinary, and neurodivergent artists from across central North Carolina."
The play is being sponsored in part by the A.J. Fletcher Foundation. The church facility is wheelchair accessible with captions for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing projected around the space, and staged in a manner that is relaxed, inclusive, and sensory-friendly. Thursday-night performances will also include a post-show Q&A with the cast, director, and members of the production team.
CONTENT ADVISORY: because of its intense themes, representations of abuse, and use of profanity, this production is recommended for audiences aged 18 and above. On-site counselors are available to help guests that might need help processing the intellectual, physical, and emotional experience of Corpus Christi or who may need access to additional support services and resources.
Venue: St. John's Metropolitan Community Church
Address: 4 N. Blount St, Raleigh, NC 27601
Cost: Pay-What-You-Can (suggested $15 donation)
Tickets: Online via Eventbrite or at the door (cash or card). Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/corpus-christi-by-terrence-mcnally-tickets-620243835007
DATES & TIMES:
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Thursday, June 1 at 7:00 PM
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Friday, June 2 at 7:00 PM
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Saturday, June 3 at 7:00 PM
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Thursday, June 8 at 7:00 PM
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Friday, June 9 at 7:00 PM
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Saturday, June 10 at 7:00 PM
Lobby doors open to patrons at 6:00 PM. Theatre doors open at 6:30 PM.
Featuring performances by Chris Acevedo, Benaiah Adesoji, Byron Ard, Nathaniel Bush Jr, Kat Cupp, Philip Guadagno, Desmond Leach, Naveed Moeed, Alastair Motylinski, Mitchell Aaron Mulkey, Nat M. Sherwood, Xenon Winslow, and Stephanie Yu.
Directed by Dustin Britt and produced by Rev. Vance Haywood. Stage management and dramaturgy by Serayah Silver. Intimacy direction by Veronica Dress (Intimacy Directors and Coordinators), music direction by Philip Guadagno, and fight choreography by Mitchell Aaron Mulkey (Society of American Fight Directors). Costumes designed by Gray Nico, props designed by Mikki Marvel, scenic design by Paris Johnson, and sound design by Durham-based music producer and singer-songwriter Alex Riggs. Accessibility coordination by Teal Lepley. Graphic design by Dustin Britt.
Terrence McNally is the Tony and Emmy-Award winning author of the plays Love! Valour! Compassion!, Master Class, Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune, Lips Together Teeth Apart, Mothers and Sons, and the musicals Ragtime, The Full Monty, Catch Me if You Can, and Anastasia.
Sponsors
A.J. Fletcher Foundation | Beth Brody |
Jill Cromwell | Manifesting Magic |
Brian Westbrook |
Special Thanks
ABOUT ST. JOHN'S METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCH
OUR MISSION
Encouraging authenticity, transparency and inclusion in our relationship with God by actively engaging our faith journey.
OUR VISION
Being Community
Building Relationship
Spreading Love
OUR VALUES
Inclusion, Community, Spiritual Transformation, and Social Action
Learn more about St. John's and how to support our community work at stjohnsmcc.org