‘Jesus in India’ at NYC's St. Clement’s Theater (Ends March 10)

THE NEW YORK
By Rachel Saltz

NEW YORK---So, like, Jesus is a total stoner and sometimes, you know, kind of a jerk. But he’s totally cute, and totally good on guitar. Or so it goes in “Jesus in India,” Lloyd Suh’s playful if thin tale about the young Jesus. Here he is an 18-year-old runaway, a rebel who’s hit the road with his pal Abigail of Galilee. (She’s into him, but it’s Platonic.) Mr. Suh’s setting takes off from the persistent myths that account for some of Jesus’ “lost years” (ages 12 to 30) by placing him in India or Tibet where, legend would have it, he was exposed to Buddhist ideas. This Ma-Yi Theater Company production directed by Daniella Topol moves quickly and has imaginative touches, including Kris Stone’s sparsely evocative set, complete with a rolling wooden camel. But the energy can’t hide that Mr. Suh’s play still seems to be searching for meaning beyond its yuks. [link]

“Jesus in India” continues through March 10 at the Theater at St. Clement’s, 423 West 46th Street, Clinton; (212) 352-3101, ma-yitheatre.org.