A gay and a lesbian are holding court this spring and tackling one of the best-selling books of all time.
The Bible is explored with the team that originally brought theater audiences the very successful An Iliad in 2012. The people behind the world premiere of The Good Book hopes for another big hit after recently opening on the South Side of Chicago at Court Theatre.
Brooklyn actor Denis O'Hare has a lengthy theater career from a Tony-winning performance in Take Me Out to an Obie Award playing The Poet in An Iliad. His film projects have included Milk, The Normal Heart, and Dallas Buyers Club. Recent memorable television work includes American Horror Story, True Blood, The Good Wife, and the upcoming FX series The Comedians.
Lisa Peterson is a theater director with a varied career of shows including The Fourth Sister, The Poor Itch, and Ridiculous Fraud. She won an Obie Award for An Iliad, and a Light Shining in Buckinghamshire.
Windy City Times: First off, where did you two meet?
Denis O'Hare: We met here in Chicago doing a play for Remains Theatre Ensemble. That troupe is no longer around.
Lisa Peterson: With William Petersen and Amy Morton. I know they are both at Steppenwolf Theatre, but this was before.
O'Hare: It was at the Theatre Building on Belmont, right down from Ann Sather. It was a one-act by Richard Greenberg called The Author's Voice.
WCT: I was in the show in college. What part did you play?
O'Hare: I played the troll! After that play, I ended up coming here at Court where I did three plays in a row. I would sleep in the back of the theater between rehearsals and shows because I didn't have time to go home.
WCT: You have paid your dues. What was the big break for you?
O'Hare: Not so much as a big break, but I have had some milestones. The first was here with Hauptmann, written by John Logan, where it was eventually transferred to New York. I never came home.
I made my Broadway debut in 1994, but made my biggest splash with Take Me Out.
WCT: Were you both always in theater?
O'Hare: Lisa was on the other side of the table with casting.
Peterson: That was just my day job. I got out of college wanting to direct. I've always been a theater nerd.
WCT: How is it working together again?
Peterson: We are back at Court Theatre again because of Iliad. We made it to do together as a solo version of the Iliad. We started writing it in 2005. I wanted to write with an actor instead of a writer and it turned out to really work. Court did a version of An Iliad when we were doing our version in New York. It was very successful for them, and they did a revival of it.
O'Hare: I went out to lunch with Charles Newell, who is the artistic director, and he wanted to know what I was doing next. I said if I was going to write something it would be about the Bible.
Peterson: Because Denis is obsessed with the Bible.
O'Hare: Like all good ex-Catholics! He said that it would be amazing, with the Chicago Divinity School being right here on campus.
Peterson: Denis is a history buff and has a great memory. He knows a lot about the history of the Jewish people. He had been studying the Bible and watching history lectures. I pretty much knew nothing. We starting educating ourselves and reading.
We knew right away this play would not be a solo and Denis knew he did not want to be an actor in it. Unlike An Iliad, with Denis in it, this would be a play. We did storyboarding, fast partner writing, improvisation and recorded it.
There is a scene in The Good Book using Skype that was inspired by our real-life writing relationship. We spend a lot of time on Skype since are never in the same city. It is a main way that we work.
WCT: Are you expecting controversy with this show?
Peterson: We think there might be.
O'Hare: We have been living in a bubble, so our skin is not toughened up. We did a reading of it at Sundance and it was really well-received there. The Divinity School comes here, and they love it. We are still waiting for the negative backlash but, oddly enough, the more you know about the Bible the more you will enjoy it. The less you know the more you will have an opinion and maybe decide to be offended. Those that want to be offended will be offended.
Peterson: Our character holds the Bible in her hands in the first scene and explains that this is the most dangerous text in American culture and we should find out what is in it.
O'Hare: For every quote in the Bible, someone can come back with something completely contradictory. The Bible does not mean one thing. You shouldn't base your religion on John 3:16. One quote cannot encapsulate everything in its entirety. To reduce it to one meaning is ridiculous.
There are seven verses in the Bible that deal with homosexuality. The Bible is mainly concerned with idolatry, not stealing, not divorcing, property, sacrifice, and how to transfer slave's ownership when they are a baby. There is so little about men sleeping with men that it is not a concern. The biggest thing in the Bible is about not worshipping idols. If you decide that those seven verses are the most important verses then you are misreading the document. If you read the entire document those words are swallowed up in a sea of words.
The Good Book currently turns the pages at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave., until April 19. Visit www.CourtTheatre.org or call 773-753-4472 for ticket information.
