“No need for formality. Just call me Jesus.”

Review of The Return at The Red Barn Theatre

By Joanna Brady

With all the depressing headlines these days, I feel I need a good laugh, and find myself leaning to funny—not knee-slapping funny, just witty—good writing. The Return by Bob Bowersox, which runs from November 1 – 19 at the Red Barn Theater, more than fills the bill.

This is a world premiere, which means that it’s a new original play for TheatreXP, headed by Key West playwright Bob Bowersox, an all-around talent. He has not only written, directed, and produced this play, he has helped dress the set, and even plays one of the minor characters.

For anyone who has ever wondered what Jesus would think of the state of the world today, this piece is very thought-provoking. The premise of the play is reminiscent of the 1970s blockbuster, Network. An aging TV newscaster suffering from poor reviews, fading ratings, and disappearing advertisers goes rogue, to the embarrassment of the network. In Network, he goes ballistic and says he’s ‘mad as hell and won’t take it anymore’ throwing things out the window.

In The Return, the newsman, David Steele, played by Tony Konrath, calmly and serenely decides to reveal that he is Jesus Christ, returned to tell people what they really need to hear. He wants to report on real news like famine in East Africa, instead of fluff about beautiful people in Hollywood.

Steele’s producer and fellow journalist, brilliantly played by Karl M. Stahl and Tom Murtha, respectively, are appalled and arrange to get him off the air. Meanwhile, the Corporate powers-that-be decide to fire everyone and send Amanda Richards—a ‘nasty woman’ in Trump-speak—played believably by Melody G. Moore, to wield the hatchet.

But it’s too late. The message has already gone viral. The people have heard, and the show’s Neilsons go through the roof. Swarms of fans are clamoring for David/Jesus. Corporate changes its tune, deciding to rework the network around their now favorite newsman, even to changing the name from WNN to GOD—God on demand.

This is all beyond David’s intent. And his wife Patricia, played by Vanessa McCaffrey, wants no part of any of it. The rest of the play deals with how he reacts to his new popularity and how he deals with the network, proceeding to an amazing, miraculous ending.

I enjoyed The Return. It was well written, though I felt it was at its best when the lines were comedic. (“Christ,” cusses one of the characters. “No need for formality. Just call me Jesus.” “If there’s no wine, just bring me some water.”) I confess I got a little bogged down with the metaphysical exchange between David and the shrink/priest. Fortunately, there are enough funny lines to offset that. It’s well cast, well acted, and for the most part it moved at a good pace. A few too many trips to the whiskey bottles, I thought, but I can overlook that. The triple stage set worked well for this type of play. Definitely a thumbs up.

Tickets for The Return available now at redbarntheatre.com/tickets or by calling the box office, 305 296-9911.

Joanna Brady is a Key West writer, author of the historical novel, The Woman at the Light, published by St. Martin’s Press.

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