Who: Paul DeBoy, Kersti Bryan, John FitzGibbon, Mark Boyett, Fletcher McTaggart, Jamil A. C. Mangan, Max McLean
What: Virtual dramatic reunion reading from Fellowship for Performing Arts
Where: Online link sent day before event
When: Sunday, August 2, free with RSVP, 4:00
Why: In December 2016, Fellowship for Performing Arts presented Martin Luther on Trial at the Pearl Theatre, in honor of the five hundredth anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Now, during the pandemic lockdown, FPA, which approaches theater from a Christian perspective — other works include The Screwtape Letters, Paradise Lost, and A Man for All Seasons — is bringing back the original cast for Martin Luther on Trial: A Virtual Presentation, a live reunion reading on August 2 at 4:00. In a program note from the Pearl production, cowriter and FPA artistic director Max McLean explained, “In 1517, a young Augustinian monk nailed 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. This act launched the Protestant Reformation, or Revolt, depending on your point of view. Regardless of where you come down, few will disagree that Martin Luther left an indelible imprint on Western Civilization. That imprint — from Justification by Faith alone, to the scandal of a splintered Christianity, and his role in the German-Jewish question — is still with us today.” The returning ensemble features Paul DeBoy as the Devil, Kersti Bryan as Katie Von Bora, John FitzGibbon as St. Peter, Mark Boyett as Hitler, St. Paul, Josel, Freud, Hans Luther, and Pope Francis, Fletcher McTaggart as Martin Luther, and Jamil A. C. Mangan as Tetzel, Confessor, Martin Luther King Jr., Philip Melanchthon, the Holy Roman Emperor, and Michael the Archangel. Set in the afterlife as Lucifer makes his case for Luther’s soul, the play, originally directed by Michael Parva onstage, was written by Chris Cragin-Day and McLean. The free reading will be followed by a live Q&A moderated by McLean.