Among the Olive Groves, AOG Productions, at Theatre Building Chicago. Paul of Tarsus was controversial, passionate, brilliant, and rigorously principled. But you’d never know it from this tepid, slow-moving account of his life.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Playwright-producer Mark Kollar focuses on the years Paul spent being transported to and detained in Rome prior to his trial for treason. It’s not hard to see why the latter part of Paul’s life would be attractive to a playwright, if only because Paul spent much of this time with Luke, who acted as his defense attorney. But sitting through this talky, reverential account, it’s hard not to wish the author had included some of the more dramatic episodes in Paul’s life: his persecution of Christians early on, his role in the death of the first Christian martyr, and his famous conversion on the road to Damascus. Touching on Paul’s still influential stands against the participation of women and homosexuals in the church might also have added a little spice to this bland stew.
