Notes from Forum Theatre

Dear “Father Jim”…

Forgive my familiarity, but in a way I feel  I know you through your writing, and have traveled a remarkable journey with your work A Jesuit Off-Broadway over these past few weeks. My name is Jason McCool, and I’m an actor in Washington, DC about to appear as Judas in the DC premiere of that same play that you worked so diligently and lovingly to co-create those few years ago.  Directed by acclaimed DC veteran John Vreeke, this production is being mounted by the young, super-dedicated and talent-rich company Forum Theatre. Along with others in our cast and creative team, I’ve been reading your book during our rehearsal process, and it’s been fascinating to watch our work unfold alongside your recounting of the original production. In many cases we have been informed and influenced by your thoughts and the processes of the original cast, creating what Emerson (one of my spiritual influences) might have called “a game of circles.”

Like your production, ours has been shaped by the impulses for spirituality inherent to all of us, and we’ve enjoyed discussing with great urgency the perplexing questions your friend Guirgis brings up. Also similar, at times the ordinary flow of our technical rehearsals become interrupted by some vexing, intractable theological concerns which somehow must be addressed before we move forward, and this is so interesting  for everyone involved.  One of the great things about the piece is its flexibility – not forcing anyone to “take a side,” but demanding in a way that we bring our own personal narratives to the table. I particularly enjoyed this element of your book as well, and we’ve done much of the same work during rehearsals – sharing personal stories about our relationship to God and the Church, or in many cases discussing how amorphous this relationship can be.

In an odd way I’d locate myself in this latter category – my relationship to organized Church-going begins with the story of my father, Joseph McCool, officially a “former” Catholic priest ordained at St. Peter’s, who studied with Bernard Lonergan at the Jesuit-run Gregorian University in Rome during the exact years of Vatican II. Coming from this tradition, my father, now a marriage counselor, “left” the Catholic Church, unable after the vitality of those years to reconcile with the orthodoxy and conservatism he experienced upon returning to his parish in Rhode Island. (Our classic story is that when he had decided to leave, he posed the question to a higher-up “What could be better than spending one’s life asking questions?” to which the older priest responded “Having the answers!” As you will remember, this story rather directly mirrors the ending of Guirgis’s scene with Mother Teresa!) My father left the priesthood and married my mother Mary Jane, who also came from a traditional Catholic background, and proceeded to raise two sons in relative secular seclusion. We only went to Church once or twice a year, and I experienced practically none of the traditional rituals associated with “growing up Catholic.” (Save perhaps for my first theatrical performance, which was an innkeeper bellowing “No room!” to Joseph and Mary in a local Nativity play!) In recent years, however, my 60-something parents have rediscovered their roots in Catholicism, banding together with various groups of like-minded “former” priests (almost all of whom became therapists – go figure!) and their wives in Massachusetts (known as Corpus, Voice of the Faithful, etc.) and forming their own deeply intellectual, unabashedly liberal (!) community of celebration. I affectionately refer to them as “The Church for Aging Hippies!” I’ve been to a few of their services, which usually max out capacity in someone’s living room, and always place a premium on individuals having a voice and speaking out. (My Dad visits Rome at least once a year, and his favorite piece of artwork brought back from one trip is from the Priscilla Catacombs – an image of a very early Christian community seated around a table as equals.) Personally, I think these services are a trip… except that I tease my Dad about the vanilla-bourgeois music they tend to use! In any case, my father still considers himself called to be a priest, and has reclaimed this role in his life irrespective of what the “official” Church tells him is correct.  He often officiates at services, and has incorporated Henrietta’s stark and moving opening monologue from Judas in his recent sermons, alongside the final image of Jesus washing the feet of Judas.  And finally, I have my father’s priesthood to thank for finding my girlfriend, who is the daughter of a former priest named Dan McCarthy (a remarkable 75-year old man currently making his annual 500 mile walk – the “Camino de Santiago” in Spain), who had served as deacon prefect on my Dad’s hall at Our Lady of Providence Seminary in Rhode Island over 40 years ago. File under: the Lord works in mysterious ways!

Anyway, I wanted not only to thank you for your stories and influence on a work that has and will continue to challenge theater artists and audiences, but also to extend to you an invitation (albeit on rather short notice!) to attend our production, which I humbly posit will be fantastic and moving. (Hey, the Washington Deluxe bus is only $35 round-trip, and I’m sure you get some kind of priest discount!) You’ve felt like such a kindred spirit during this process, and from a creative perspective I imagine you would enjoy seeing a work you know so well interpreted by completely new faces. As an actor who has seen numerous productions of plays I had previously worked on, I can vouch that this can be a rather mind-altering experience! Of course, I understand how busy you must be, but I thought it couldn’t hurt to drop you a line and a postcard. Or if you know anyone in the Washington, DC area who might be interested in this work, perhaps you could pass on one of the enclosed cards? All best to you and your work, Father Jim, and I look forward to keeping up with your writing and maybe even catching one of your sermons next time I’m in NYC. It must feel cool to be such a rock star in the theater community!

Peace,

Jason McCool