Tuesdays, Wednesday, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 7:30pmīuy Tickets at For more reviews and information on Chicago theatre, visit Theatre in Chicago. Running Time: Ninety minutes with no intermissionĪt Victory Gardens Theatre, 2433 N. They may insist ‘this isn’t the way it happened.’ And I would counter with, ‘says who?’ Conservatives may be shocked and offended at this depiction of Jesus’ life. She voices a definite opinion but lets there be ambiguity too. Mary is a cynic but she also admits she didn’t know if the jugs had water or wine in them at Cana. Yet, I appreciated Toibin’s care in leaving room for doubt and faith. He is shaking up Virgin Mary stereotypes and questioning the implausible. The Gospel according to Toibin shoots holes in well-known parables.
The story is not easily digested and certainly a conversation starter. People will react to THE TESTAMENT OF MARY. Knowing this is his mother sharing her living nightmare makes it gut-wrenching too. The imagery is heart-wrenching if told by a stranger. And she recounts how he resisted when they wanted to do his other one. Reiter tells the graphic details of pounding a spike into a wrist. In all those portrayals, Jesus’ human reaction is usually a plea to his heavenly father followed by acceptance. Reiter describing the crucifixion is mentally scarring. Indeed, I only read it because it was on the Man. I have generally not enjoyed Tibn's work and this was no exception. WWJD? Well, according to his mother, Jesus didn’t always do what she thought he should. The latest addition to my website is Colm Tibn's The Testament of Mary. It’s like a mother of a celebrity superstar suggesting her kid isn’t ‘all that.’ At one point, she talks about quarreling with her son and not speaking to him through dinner. And suspiciously hints at where he got them. She describes seeing her son in a room wearing robes that suggest royalty. Her superb storytelling skills put us in the moment. She believes her son was unnecessarily sacrificed for a cause that isn’t necessarily hers. This Mary is a human being in unimaginable agony. This isn’t the statuesque Virgin Mary adorning a nook in a Cathedral. And admits she is unable to refer to her son by name. She explains an empty seat as a memorial.
The initial tranquility is shattered quickly as the angry Reiter tells of her loss, first a husband and then a son. On the candlelit stage, the ambiance is mellow almost spa-like. The show starts with her rising from a submerged pool. Under the direction of Dennis Zacek, Reiter is mesmerizing. In the one woman show, Linda Reiter (Mary) tells the familiar stories of the wedding at Cana, Lazarus’ rising from the dead and the crucifixion but from a mother’s perspective.
THE TESTAMENT OF MARY was a 2013 Tony Award nominee for Best Play. Playwright Colm Toibin answers that question with stories told from Mary’s perspective. I often consider WWJD? Yet, I’ve never considered What Would Mary Do? I have fifteen and half years of Catholic education. Victory Gardens presents the Midwest Premiere of THE TESTAMENT OF MARY.