Synopsis: | As Rome exerts its grip over Judea, Martha of Bethany manages an estate, is a fabulous cook, is skeptical, practical, and has a wry sense of humor. This play focuses on Martha and the other women who were Joshua’s (Christ's) followers and who supported his mission with their purses and their presence. But the story is not what you expect it to be. It emphasizes Joshua’s goals and his words and not the theology created later, counters the anti-Semitic tone of the New Testament, proposes the idea that when the Jewish disciples said “king,” they meant “king," and poses an ultimate question, What do we know about the Judeo-Christian story and why do we know it? It also suggests that the theology that developed in Christ’s wake, the “I’ve got my salvation and you don’t,” has influenced the way we think about our responsibilities to each other. But this is ultimately a story about how people understand and respond to miracles.
The 3-act play is rendered simply with actors (except the principals) playing multiple roles and no set − only folding chairs on the stage. We know the story; the pictures are in our minds − or are they?
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