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Furnace Festival: GOSPEL OF THE MARYS

  • Balcony Theater 165 W 86th Street New York, NY 10024 (map)
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GOSPEL OF THE MARYS dares to explore one iteration of a possible truth while probing with in-depth research and unflinchingly examining details time has eroded. What if everything, all we know as gospel, is built on one desperate lie? At the core of this story is not the gilded, pale mother we’ve grown accustomed to. Rather we have Mary the Middle Eastern teenager, Mary the Jew, Mary the liar. This play is an exploration of the real people behind the story - people lost to time, lost to translation. As Mary’s lie grows bigger than her, bigger than history, the play spirals and disintegrates, branching into thousands of iterations of translations. What is left of the truth when a lie becomes belief? Whether she was the Mother of the Son of God, the Mother of the Prophet, or just a young girl who made something up in her greatest hour of need, one thing can be agreed upon: Mary was - is - a powerful woman.

Written and Directed by Molly Houlahan

Produced by Taylor Norton and Chelsea Fryer in Association with Hannah Lang and Joyce Lee

CAST
MARY: Chelsea Fryer
OTHER MARY: Natasha Hakata
ELIZABETH/VARIOUS: Jillian Geurts
JOSEPH: Paul Hinkes
VARIOUS: Neysa Lozano
VARIOUS: Ania Upstill

CREATIVE
Director: Molly Houlahan
Physical Deviser: Ania Upstill
Dramaturg: Hannah Lang
Sound Designer: Renee Yeong
Composer: Benji Goldsmith
Lighting Designer: Kyle Rosenberg
Production Stage Managers: Deidre Works and Laura Hirschberg
Assistant Stage Manager: TaTyana Smith

Earlier Event: August 3
Furnace Festival: GOSPEL OF THE MARYS
Later Event: August 10
Furnace Festival: THE COUSINHOOD