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Jesus in Montana

nytheatre.com review by Eric Michael Kochmer
August 15, 2005

Jesus in Montana is about one man’s journey from growing up in Mississippi, making home movies to the chagrin of his grandmother, and living with his right-wing aunt and uncle who inform him on a regular basis that indeed he will be go to hell; to going to college, dropping out, and then finding his destiny—which happens to be, of course, a branch of Christianity that believes that Christ has been resurrected in Missoula, Montana as an 80-year-old man. Through a vast array of cleverly conceived visual aids, writer-performer Barry Smith tells us tales of hitchhiking, right-wing ideology, and the dream of the sweet apocalypse in this clever one-man show.Smith guides us through his story of discovery and growth, his humorist's voice mixed with paranoia and warmth that makes most in the audience fall into a laughing state. It is a tale of fall, redemption, fall, and awakening. Happily the awakening comes when Smith finally realizes that he has been worshiping a Jesus-wannabe who has been (most likely rightfully) convicted of child molestation, and that he has lost all of his worldly possessions in the process.Smith, is most definitely a traditional humorist in the same vein as David Sedaris or Garrison Keillor. Theirs is most assuredly not an easy task: they must go out there each night bearing their souls while seeming calm and relaxed about it, ready to poke fun at what is most embarrassing about themselves; but I believe that it is a certain therapy for them. I think that not only is this piece hilarious and a must-see piece of work, but I think that it is incredibly socially relevant to our political times. This piece depicts a man who is really trying to be passionate about something, finds his religion to be passionate about, and then blinds himself to the reality around him. He comes out of his trance and is able to laugh at himself and the Bible. If only we could be so lucky with the rest of this country.Jesus in Montana is directed by Lynn Aliya.