Fringe Review

With a sitcom style that fits comfortably between “Seinfield” and “Always Sunny in Philadelphia”, “Jerry Christ” takes an apocryphal look at a well known chapter in the life of Jesus Christ, with some FCC like revisions made by his later disciples. While editing the Gospel of Mary Magdeline, John (of the self same gospel) comes across the full account of what happened on the miraculous day of the Fish and Loaves, in which there was a conflict with Jesus and his often forgotten titular brother, Jerry.

Played with a definite younger brother energy by Christopher Martin, Jerry is a witty, aimless soul who dreams of being an artist, but also faces the pressure of living under the shadow with a prodigious sibling. His sardonic observations are what endear him to his clever partner Mary Magdeline (Grace Enochs), but lead to some tensions/sibling rivalry between him and his altruistic brother, played by Brent Custer. While Jerry does not want to pursue his brother’s passions, they do push each other (as siblings often do) to make bolder, bigger decisions, some that will have an impact of Jesus (and the whole world) soon enough.

We also have the delightful combination of Mary and Joe, played by Emily Michelle Walton and Michael Dredge respectively, whose domestic bliss is on the rocks as Mary operates Jesus’ ministry like a business, and a retired carpenter Joseph feels left out;  unappreciated and seeking new ways to spice up their relationship. Played like the prototype of the long suffering (but equally flirtatious) married couple in a sitcom, Emily and Michael bring a modern sensibility to these archaic times, as well as increasingly functional chairs.

Divided into 5 hilarious segments that covers an entire day in the life of the Christ family, the play goes at a great pace, has a self-awareness of both its biblical history, and the history of situational comedy. In the end, Jerry Christ never feels preachy, but delivers a outrageously fun take into a sliver of the life of Jesus and his siblings, who did in fact, exist (although they almost certainly would not have been Jerry). I truly enjoyed this humorous, if slightly heretical, show, and hope you will too.