The Gospel According to James | IRT Review

“The Gospel According to James” | Indiana Repertory Theatre

Playing through April 10, 2011

Go to www.irtlive.com for schedule, ticket prices

What It’s About: “The Gospel According to James” by Charles Smith and directed by Chuck Smith graces the stage of the Indiana Repertory Theater (IRT) until April 10, 2011. The play examines the subjective recollections of James Cameron (Andre De Shields) and Marie/Mary Ball (Linda Kimbrough), and their connected past. The play is historical fiction, told more than 50 years after the 1930 Marion, Indiana, lynching of Abe Smith and Tommy Shipp, two young Black men charged with murdering Claude Deeter, a white man. James and Marie/Mary are the only remaining survivors of the lynching. James, the third intended victim life was spared, “When a voice from heaven spoke.”

That voice was Mary’s father, Hoot. He subsequently spent four years in jail for accessory for murder. He was later pardoned by Governor Evan Bayh. Mary moved away, changed her name to Marie and sealed off her memories about the events of that night. However, she has held tight to her love for Abe, whose child she bore and gave up for adoption following his lynching. Cameron and Marie/Mary share their versions the events leading to the lynching, the only memory not in dispute. The memories are subjective according to the teller. Marie accuses James of financially profiting off the deaths of her beloved Abe and Tommy. While James contends he is honoring the dead and the past by keeping their memory alive so folks will, “Never forget.”

Highlights: The play’s most powerful moments come as Marie/Mary demands that James stop telling his “lies.” He offers to stop telling his story if Marie/Mary will carry his burden and begin telling hers. Marie cannot, as she no longer knows what is real and what she has made up to comfort herself. James and Marie’s recollections are vividly bought to life in flashbacks by an outstanding cast. Stand-out performances are given by by Abe (Tyler Jacob Rollinson), Bea, Marie/Mary’s mother (Diane Kondrat), and Hoot, Marie/Mary’s Father (Christopher Jon Martin).

See it or Skip It? This is a definite must-see that doesn’t wrap up neatly. It leaves the audience knowing that the only undisputable fact is two young Black men were lynched. Somewhere between the differing viewpoints of the memories of James and Marie/Mary lies the truth.

by Nicole Kearney