“We are going to tell you an old and familiar story.” But from that point on, nothing feels quite familiar again. What follows is a story that parallels the New Testament’s, and its subject is nothing less than the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus. But McNally’s Christ figure is a character named Joshua, a young man born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas. Different from the other boys because he is homosexual, Joshua grows up in isolation and torment, an object of scorn. He flees Corpus Christi in search of a more accepting environment, gathering along the way a group of disciples who are bound to him by his message of love and tolerance. Joshua delivers his Sermon on the Mount, and officiates at a gay marriage ceremony, but, inevitably, his radical teachings – like Jesus' – will not deliver him from his fate. Stage Left Theater is proud to bring the late Terrence McNally's important play to life in a time when universal and unconditional love may seem distant.

“A serious, even reverent retelling of the Christ story in a modern idiom—quite close, in its way, to the original…If the point is to make Jesus’ teachings live for a contemporary audience, activist Christians should be hailing this play, not trying to suppress it…One of McNally’s best, most moving and personal works. His updating of the Christ story is witty, but not patronizing, as sober and cleansing as a dip in baptismal waters.” —Time Magazine. “CORPUS CHRISTI imagines the coming of a second messiah…References to contemporary gay culture collide with talk of Roman Centurions. The apostles spread the gospel by day, disco down at night…Yet the essential truth at the heart of the play cannot be dismissed: If today a gay man arrived bearing the same gifts Christ brought to the world, his journey might end just as terribly.” —Daily Variety. “To see CORPUS CHRISTI the day Matthew Shepard was crucified on a Wyoming fence merely for being gay is to experience a jolt of recognition…Yes, McNally’s Joshua/Jesus is gay; yes, the work is political and will offend some…McNally uses the Christ story to tell a contemporary tale of the fight against cruelty, division, hatred, and, above all, hypocrisy.” —BackStage.

THE INLAND NORTHWEST'S PREMIER PROGRESSIVE NON-PROFIT THEATER

Our Mission: To tell stories, build community, and pursue equity through the production of new and existing theatrical works.

Stage Left Theater is founded on the belief that live theater provides a mechanism for interpersonal interaction not provided by television and movies, that it should be a force for political, intellectual and social stimulation, and should be relevant to the daily lives of the audience and the players. We seek to broaden the involvement of the general population by engaging issues of topical value and stimulating the analysis and discussion of the structure and goals of society.