100 Minutes to Get Saved: The Reduced Shakespeare Company's The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged)
“Which religion will win?” a recent Atlantic cover story asked. Of course, the venerable 150-year old journal was being deliberately provocative by couching the question in those terms, but we’ll play along and say: Christianity for $500. Because of all the major religions of the world, the followers of Christ have the funniest sacred text . . .
. . . or so the Reduced Shakespeare Company, the storied gang of, well, six (performing in three-man teams) would have it. They’re satirizing the Good Book this month at the Lansburgh Theatre with their long-running touring show, The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged), in rep with The Complete History of America (abridged).
True Fact: Neither the Bible nor the Declaration of Independence were written by William Shakespeare. But when you’re efficient enough to whittle 3,800 lines and four hours of Hamlet into 20 minutes or so, as the RSC did in their first performances back in 1981, then even the mighty catalogue of the Glover’s Son of Avon can’t keep you occupied for long.
We know exactly what you’re thinking: Is RSC's The Bible funnier than "Simpsons Bible Stories", the great season-ten episode that starred Homer as King Solomon? No. Is it funnier than C.S. Lewis’s brilliant novel The Screwtape Letters, wherein a senior demon in Hell corresponds with his nephew while the latter sows his infernal oats in the World of Men? No. (But the Shakespeare Theatre is doing a stage adaptation of Screwtape next month.)
Okay: Is if funnier than the Kevin Smith movie, Dogma? Well, allow me to propose a more meaningful comparison. The Bible is about as funny, and in the same way, as a good episode of The Muppet Show. The tortured puns, the cra-a-a-zy musical numbers ("That's Armageddon!"), the cheap-ass props, they’re all here. Not every joke lands, but if you don’t like that one, there’ll be another along in – oh, there go four more. A test:
Q: Do you think the Bible should be taken literally?
A: Yes, I do. I literally took this Bible from our hotel room!
Bada-bing! If you didn't laugh, you needn't bother with The Bible. But if you at least smiled, there's plenty more where that came from in this 100-minute survey of the scriptures. But whether this is your loaf on unleavened bread or not, you've got to give it up for the three performers, Dominic Conti (wiry, gangly, goofy), Jerry Kernion (fireplug) and Autin Tichenor (the fast-talking realtor type). (These are not the three guys in the picture, by the way.) They hustle throughout but remain completely in sync with the audience and each other through irreverent reenactments of, for example, the Tower of Babel (wherein events get re-told with increasingly suspect language translations) and Noah's Ark (presented as an audience singalong that goes on way too long).
RSC previously staged The Bible at the Kennedy Center in 1995, but the show’s loose format allows for copious improvisation. In practice, this means lots of Eliot Spitzer and Nationals jokes. "That shalt not pander to the local crowd" is actually presented as one of the Commandments that didn't make the final cut of ten, and these three yuksters violate it early and often. Commandments mere made to be broken, no?
In truth, this thing would probably be funnier if it was even shorter. But then again, only you can know if jokes like these are a more-is-more or a less-is-more kind of commodity:
Jesus was a Jew?
Well, you know. Jew-ish.
Oy.
The Reduced Shakespeare Company’s The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged) is in repertory with The Complete History of America (abridged) at the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Lansburgh Theatre through April 13. Tickets are available here.