How much is too much love for Jesus? Many believers would argue you cannot love Christ enough, yet is there a correct or incorrect way to love? It is this question, loosely, which is explored against the backdrop of Peru’s chaotic end to the 20th century in this flamboyant, riotous and boomingly blasphemous new musical JEEZUS!
The production, billed deliberately as running at 69 minutes which should give you a clue as to its content, centres upon young Peruvian Jesús (Sergio Antonio Maggiolo, who also wrote the book), born to parents Maria and Jose (Mary and Joseph) who struggles to come to terms with his homosexuality in a fiercely Catholic Peru, complicated by his complex and increasingly erotic relationship with Christianity’s Jesus.
It is not a musical played with subtlety, with Maggiolo and co-creator Guido Garcia Lueches (who performs all other roles, ranging from Jesús’s mother to Christ himself) bawdly roaring through the short piece, bringing to the fore Jesús’s outrageous and outlandish sexual awakenings as well as his difficult relationship with military, and homophobic, father Jose.
Maggiolo is fun and bold as Jesús, curious about his developing body and sexuality and thriving in an exploratory innocence that evokes terrifically awkward moments of humour. Meanwhile, Garcia Lueches’s deft ability to multi-role encourages the musical’s pace and is good fun, especially as a sleazy priest, though there are also some moments of effective tenderness, such as between Jesús and his sweet, supportive mother.
Built over 12 chapters, the piece speeds through Jesús’s awakening to good effect. It does, at times, go a bit overboard with the humour, which, while to be expected, erodes some of the play’s message about acceptance and sexuality, and could do with letting the musical’s quieter moments breathe a little more, rather than rushing to another punchline.
That said, Laura Killeen’s direction does enable Jesús’s sweet story, albeit with some deliberately toe-curlingly cringe-inducing moments, to come to the fore. JEEZUS! is light on catchy numbers, but full of heart and warmth that earns repentance for some of its creative sins.
