“Mary of Magdala” a thought-provoking musical

by Elysia Conner
Tuesday, November 17, 2009 4:54 PM MST

As the apostle Peter lowers his friend from the cross, he should show understanding and redemption, playwright James Olm said. No, director Richard Burk countered, the redemption shouldn’t come for another three days. A theological discussion ensues, with a few opinions from other collaborators.

It’s just another night of rehearsal for “Mary of Magdala,” written by Casper College music professor James Olm and New York actor Shad Olsen.

They aren’t just rehearsing for the performance; they are creating the piece in a developmental workshop.

The musical depicts the life of Mary Magdalene and Jesus based on the Gnostic Gospels found in Egypt in 1945, Olsen said.

In the 500s, Pope Gregory combined three different people in the Bible and Mary Magdalene was known from then on as a prostitute. However, the Catholic Church in 1968 renounced what Pope Gregory had stated, Olm said.

Olm and his former high school student, Olsen, started writing the play in 2002.

“He was the first one to tell me that Mary Magdalene wasn’t a prostitute,” Olsen said. Before the bestselling novel, “The Da Vinci Code,” the idea was little heard of.

“From a woman’s perspective,” said actor Sarah Matteucci, who plays Mary of Magdala, “it’s very exciting to be able to play a strong, powerful, flawed n yet wonderfully flawed n woman, particularly in a time period when that was not the norm for that society.”

“You know who he is but at the same time you’re sort of rediscovering him,” said Olsen, who plays Yeshua, the Aramaic name for Jesus.

“As a matter of fact,” Olm said, “the first question that we always ask after a read-through is …:”

“Do you want to go have a beer with this guy?” Olsen finished.

“The play has been through several revisions and few read-throughs in New York. Steven Schwartz, the famous musical theater lyricist and composer of “Wicked” fame and many others, attended a read-through in 2006 and has corresponded with Olm about the play.

The creators are interested to see how Casper audiences will react to the musical’s first-ever performance. A discussion with the audience will take place after each show. Olm’s goal is to self-produce it off-Broadway, and outside input about all aspects of it is valuable.

A rare educational experience

“What’s exciting is that everyone in this cast seems to be up to it,” Burk said about the mere three-week rehearsal time. Some sections were written while scenes changed, and they have kept up.

Allen Barber plays devoted apostle, Levi, a demon and a few other parts. Along with most of the actors in the cast of 14, he has adjusted to switching rapidly between very different roles.

“It feels really good to be part of the process,” Barber said, and the creators are open to actors’ ideas. “It’s nice to be able to help this play come to fruition and to perfect it.”

For the Casper College students in the cast, seeing the work ethic of the professional actors and how open they are to new things has been positive, Burk said. He switches roles too, appearing on stage as Pilatus in addition to directing the musical.

“It’s great because you get to learn how it works,” said Eli Stewart, who plays the Roman soldier who crucifies Jeshua. “Working so intensely with such a great group of actors has been a unique experience. It will be interesting to look back in 10 years.”

“It’s been such a learning and growing process,” Jenessa Dowe said. One thing she has learned is that “you really can just let go and still be in control, but almost like in another world.”

Many actors try too much to control a scene and aren’t as open to other possibilities, Stewart added. The spontaneity is important, they agreed.

Faith Engen, portraying the Holy Spirit, said she has enjoyed and benefited from working with the lead actors in the play and theater classes because she plans to be a professional performer.

Ryan Rammelt plays a demon and high priest Annas, and is staying in Casper a little longer to be in the production. Then he will move to back to Wisconsin to be with his fiancé, who happens to be Olm’s niece.

“We’re the first people who actually get to create our characters,” Rammelt said. “I think that’s something that’s incredible. I come into every rehearsal every day thinking I cannot get more excited, but every rehearsal I walk away more excited.”

Beliefs and questions

The play will be controversial, Olm predicted.

“I would just want audiences to come with an open mind and an open heart and be ready to think differently about things that you’ve thought for a long time,” Olsen said.

According to the lead actors, it’s a love story, a love through God’s love and through wisdom.

“It’s about unconditional love,” Susan Burk said, who plays the wise midwife who mentors Mary as a young woman and encourages her to follow her destiny.

It’s also a story about the patriarchal society and how unjust it was to women and how unjust it was to history.

“She almost lives in me now,” Olm said “She has suffered for 2,000 years unjustly, being unjustly portrayed.”

Some cast members experienced conflicting feelings about the play.

“The show is meant to inspire more so than it is to convert you to a certain way of believing,” Dowe said, adding that part of strong faith is questioning and reaffirming.

Engen said that the story does not agree with all of her beliefs, but feels that audiences coming with an open mind can find a connection with God in the story.

“I feel like God wanted me to be in this show,” she said. “There are so many good things in the show that suggest good lessons and good morals that it carries over a good lesson to teach people.”

Mostly, Engen said, “It’s going to make everybody think.”

If you go…

“Mary of Magdala” by James Olm

An original musical workshop performance

On Friday, Nov. 20 and Saturday, Nov. 21, at 7:30 p.m., at the Black Box Theatre at the Gertrude Krampert Theatre Complex at Casper College.

Seats are $5 at the door on a first-come, first-served basis. There are no advanced ticket sales.

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