Theater
Mass Appeal, Presented by Nashville Theatre Works
July 6 & 8 at Christ Church Cathedral
In his book of essays God on the Gymnasium Floor, published in 1971, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times drama critic Walter Kerr examined the link between the theater’s rise and its roots in religious ceremony. Indeed, preachers and clergy are showmen of a kind—just turn on the television or attend some Sunday morning services in Nashville if you have any doubt. Which helps to explain why Bill C. Davis’ Mass Appeal, even at the ripe old age of 25, is still a play of interest. Better yet, the new Nashville Theatre Works production takes place inside Christ Church Cathedral, one of Music City’s grander religious structures.
Mass Appeal may be more at home in a church than it is on a stage, though it has been presented in both settings with success. In 1984, it was made into a film (starring Jack Lemmon) that expanded the two-character drama to include ancillary characters and broader settings. Ultimately, the live performance of this work—concerning a beloved parish priest who delivers cozy, audience-friendly sermons, then faces uncomfortable modern realities—can only benefit an authentic pulpit.
Through its Sacred Space for the City Arts Series, Christ Church Cathedral has become a home for musical and theatrical celebrations. The ambience is beatific, though the acoustics are a tad cavernous—theatergoers should be prepared to focus in and listen, lest some dialogue disappear up into the belfry unheard. Mass Appeal is certainly a piece that requires that kind of attention.
When Davis wrote the script, the issue of priests as pedophiles had yet to become prominent in the public consciousness. But homosexuality in the priesthood was already a hot topic, as was the changing role of women in the church. Though the play’s clerical trappings are expressly Catholic, its presentation here in an Episcopalian cathedral—with that denomination’s current debates about female and homosexual clergy—gives the work a particularly timely resonance.
Like the best plays, Mass Appeal draws most of its strength from its characters. Father Tim Farley is middle-aged, loves his work, drives a Mercedes, enjoys what it means to be a popular priest and drinks his wine freely, even when he’s not saying Mass. Into his life comes Mark Dolson, a young seminarian with a passion for preaching, a knack for outspokenness and controversy, and a potentially dangerous idealistic streak. The young man is placed under Farley’s charge to learn the priestly ropes, but Dolson challenges his mentor’s “go along to get along” philosophy, and his combative sermonizing ruffles parochial feathers.
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When rumors of homosexuality in the seminary threaten to implicate Mark and destroy his career before it’s even begun, Farley—who by then has forged a personal bond with his erstwhile protégé—lends him practical advice and understanding. Along the way, Farley questions some of his own methods and beliefs, reflects on aspects of his own family life, and gains greater awareness of what it means to minister in the contemporary world.
Veteran actor Bill Shick is well cast as Farley. He offers an intelligent reading of the role, laced with the kind of relaxed humor and confidence that a savvy, self-satisfied clergyman might have. His more emotional scenes—he gets tipsy, later comes to brief blows with Mark, then delivers a homily in Mark’s defense—are handled with a similar control. Some of that subtlety could have been exchanged for a slightly more emotive course. Nevertheless, it’s a steady, believable performance.
On the show’s opening weekend, the role of Mark was played by John Early, a recent University School of Nashville grad who’s heading to NYU in the fall for dramatic studies. He successfully conveys his character’s youthful passion and understandable confusion about big-picture priesthood politics. Another recent USN grad with theatrical ambitions, Andrew Swanson, will perform the role in the show’s upcoming closing weekend.
Director Catherine Coke infuses the production with a gentle but consistent pulse—honest laughter is balanced neatly with more serious moments—and it plays out seamlessly in 90 engaging minutes without intermission. A few references have been updated to place the play in the here and now (Condoleezza Rice pops up, for example); otherwise, the Davis script remains surprisingly au courant.
The production utilizes incidental musical selections—The Beatles’ “Help!” and “Let It Be” and Joe Cocker’s version of the Fab Four’s “With a Little Help From My Friends”—that well predate even the play’s ’80s origins, not to mention how far removed they are from 2006. Possibly they’re designed to provide a link to Farley’s own youth. Regardless, they sound slightly out of place in a real live cathedral.
Its punning title is almost too clever, but Mass Appeal remains a rewarding theater piece that deserves an attentive audience, especially in a churchgoing town like Nashville. That this entertaining version is set within the walls of Christ Church’s impressive architecture only enhances the experience.