Review: Jeesus hyppää metroon

STEPHEN ALDY GUIRGIS

Tell us about the play Jesus Jumps on the Subway. What does it tell us?

A young Latino, Angel Cruz, is accused of murdering a cult priest and is imprisoned for trial. There he meets a converted serial killer, Lucius Jenkins, who is awaiting execution of his death sentence. In a way, the play focuses on the struggle between Lucius Jenkins and Angel’s lawyer, Mary Jane, for Angel’s soul. Is Angel, who accidentally killed the leader of a religious cult while trying to save his friend, as guilty as the man who has killed eight people?

What made you write the play?

There are many reasons for that… I saw on TV how David Berkowitz (a legendary psychopath murderer in New York) was interviewed. He told of how he had opened his heart to God and found forgiveness. At the time, I thought that this is complete bullshit; I have to write about this! On top of that, a good friend of mine had previously fallen in love with a religious cult. When he was in the cult, I tried to help him out of it, to no avail. It left a lot of hatred smoldering, a lot of feelings towards that type of religious organization. So that was also something I wanted to write about. In addition, I had just turned 30, I had a Catholic upbringing, and so on. I think I needed to look for answers to certain spiritual questions. In addition, I have worked in prisons, e.g. Riker’s Island. When all these reasons are put together, Jesus was born jumping on the subway. And let’s not forget that our theatre company wanted me to write something for them, even though I wouldn’t necessarily have wanted to do it myself at the time.

A question that writers hate: what is the biggest question you ask the audience in your play?

Well, I don’t really know if it’s a direct question at all… I wish the audience would ask themselves that question when they leave the theater… About one’s own faith, one’s own understanding of good and evil, right and wrong. Lucius says in the play: “Eight people, eight people. Everything always says the same thing. I killed eight people, so I’m bad. You didn’t kill eight people, so you must be good.” Hopefully, the play will raise questions about faith and personal understanding of truth.

In the play, Angel has a monologue about how he played on the subway tracks with a friend. Has this happened to you?

Not quite. The metro was never going to kill us, but when I was younger, I did some pretty stupid things. We walked on the tracks and so on. Angel tries to convince herself that there is no higher power to respond to, but she remembers how something saved her life, and it bothers her. Lucius talks about how he found God, about that feeling, and about how he had felt the same feeling before, but had not recognized it as God, but thought that the feeling was born from drugs. I think that a lot of people sometimes get this feeling. For some, it can be a daunting thought to accept it as it is. It’s easier to just attribute it to someone else, so that you can continue to be exactly who you want to be.

How much of your own experiences did you put into the play in addition to working in prison?

This is a fictional play. I wrote it largely from my own thoughts, not so much from experiences. The fact that the play takes place in a prison, for example, and has a lot of dynamic and in a certain way flawed characters, is much more interesting to me than, for example, watching the two of us talking in this café.

Did you ever consider another name for the play?

It was called “Question of Faith” at one point, because that’s what Angel’s decision boils down to, but I thought it was a bit of a boring name, so then I grabbed the name Jesus Jumps on the Subway from Angel’s monologue. It’s a pretty nice name, because it’s not very literary.

Did you do any other research for the play than you worked in prison?

Actually, I don’t. I first wrote a play and then investigated whether I had written anything wrong.

The themes of the play are very dark and serious, but the language is very comical. How did you come to that decision?

I started by writing comedies and… who said it, “Make them laugh and when their mouths are open, you can put something else in there,” I wonder if it was Herb Garder? There are an incredible number of virtues in laughter… It prevents people from falling asleep, getting bored and resisting. There may be a really dark, evil character in the play, but if he makes you laugh, a part of you will like him and he will become closer. In my opinion, comedy is a way to draw the audience into the play.

The prison guard Valdez is a very interesting character. Did he have a real role model?

Not really. He represents the law in this play. I feel great empathy for Angel, and even Lucius. The good thing about Valdez is that he reminds the audience of what’s going on. Lucius seduces anyone so easily, and that’s when Valdez has to come and remind him, “No, you killed eight people.” The work of a prison guard is hard. In America, they are at the top of the suicide and alcoholism statistics when it comes to professions. So you have to stay tough. In fact, I saw one documentary about a prison in Washington, D.C. In it, one prison guard had a really strong delivery, so he is perhaps closest to Valdez’s role model.

Has anyone been angry about the play, either because of the themes or the use of language?

If so, at least no one has told me about it. It does provoke a lot of reactions. I don’t know if anyone has actually been angry, but people have been shocked. Some have not agreed with each other at all about what the play is telling them, which I think is a good thing. One woman told me that she really liked the play until the last scene where Angel prays. Some say that his life will be destroyed because he will be imprisoned for such a long time, but others think that he has a chance for some kind of salvation or self-awareness.

The reception in London has been good. The play premiered in New York in late 1999. How long did you perform it there?

Six weeks in our own theatre, six weeks in a bigger theatre off-Broadway and then five weeks at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. And now four weeks here in London (Later the performances were extended for nine weeks and the play will probably move back to New York). The Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago is doing it now… in fact, they have a premiere around this time. Then your Finnish production and one production in Texas, one in Miami and one in Latin America, I guess. And there is more to come.

Have you seen other versions of your play?

I’m going to see Steppenwolf’s performance in a few weeks.

Will you come to Finland to see our version?

Absolutely.

What would be the worst mistake you could make with your play?

I think every character in the play has a big heart, so every actor has to bring their own heart to this, and the same goes for the director. The biggest mistake would probably be to approach the play without having your heart involved. This has even been compared to Dostoyevsky, but this is not. This is not a brilliant intellectual play, but this works more through the heart than the intellect. The play is not stupid, but each person has their life at stake. In that way, it differs from many other plays; The stakes are really high all the time.

Tell us a little about your LAByrinth theatre.

It was originally a Latino-driven theater, the purpose of which was only for the actors to get together, do some scenes, rehearse. Little by little, it kind of opened up to others as well, it became multicultural and so on. In the beginning, our theatre was located in an old building that was doomed to be demolished, where homeless people and crack junkies lived… When you walked to the theatre, you had to step over the excrement every now and then… We still went there once or twice a week for a couple of years to practice for five to six hours at a time. And then we finally decided to start actually making plays. I believe that the fact that we are now successful is largely due to the closeness and bond that has been created between us. In addition, success is also affected by the fact that there are very different people in our theater, such as movie star Philip Seymour Hoffman (Twister, Happiness, Magnolia, among others) or someone else who makes a living from something other than acting: teachers, police officers… This is like a family. We encourage each other to try everything. I, for example, only started writing when I came to the LAByritnth Theatre.

Are you from New York?

Yes.

How many plays is your play Jesus Jumps on the Metro?

Fifth. The year before I wrote a play called In Arabia We’d All Be Kings and the year before that I wrote Race, Religion and Politics, in which Phil (Philip Seymour Hoffman, director of Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train) acted, and after that the idea of a collaboration was born. Before these, I wrote a few one-act plays.

Have you acted in or directed your own plays?

I haven’t directed yet, but I’ve acted in two plays I’ve written myself.

…

I haven’t been trained in writing, so I think the best way to learn to write and develop your text is to sit in the audience, listen and watch. Once you’re on stage, you can’t do it. So for the last couple of plays, I’ve just tried to focus on developing myself as a writer.

The play Jesus Jumps on the Metro would make a good movie. Are there any plans in that direction?

There has been quite a lot of interest, but I’ve been a bit reticent about it, because firstly, I would like the play to live on its own, first a little longer before it is made into a film, and secondly, it would mean writing an almost completely new text.

Have you written for TV or the big screen?

This year I started writing NBC’s new series U.C. – Under Cover. In addition, I have written e.g. the NYPD Blue series and the Sopranos series. I’ve been living in Los Angeles for the past eight months, which has been a completely new and different experience. You make money, you can afford health insurance, and all that… trying to be an adult…

What are you doing at the moment?

I’m writing a new version of one of my old plays, which actually started rehearsals in Los Angeles today.

You’re pretty global, so to speak. Today, the rehearsals of one text begin in Los Angeles and tomorrow the premiere is in London. Productions include: In Chicago and so on…

I try not to think about it too much. I am grateful for all this.

Why should Finnish people come to see Jesus jumping on the subway?

Well, I don’t know much about Finland. My first impression of a Finnish production was that five blond Vikings would play the roles… I think this play is worth watching, and what makes a play good in general is that it tells people something, regardless of the area. In addition to New York, we have done well in Edinburgh and London, so why not in Finland as well? We’ll see soon. I don’t think your audience is now going to burn down the theatre building or demand their money back. It’s good to see things from elsewhere. It brings us together.

Is there anything else you want to add?

I think it is great that you have decided to do this. I’m grateful for that and I’m looking forward to seeing it.

London, 12 March 2002