Corpus Christi

by Terrence McNally

The New Yorker has called Terrence McNally "one of our most original and audacious dramatists and one of our funniest." He is the author of such critically acclaimed plays as Love! Valour! Compassion!, Master Class, The Lisbon Traviata, and Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune. In Corpus Christi, McNally gives us his own unique view of the story of Christ, and in doing so provides us with one of the most vivid and moving passion plays written. McNally's controversial new play is an affirmation of faith and a drama of such power and scope that it has been called blasphemy by the religious right and hailed by audiences and critics alike as one of his best and most poignant works to date.

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Drama, LGBT, Queer, Fiction, Religion

128 pages, Paperback

First published March 8, 1999

About the author

Terrence McNally was an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. Described as "the bard of American theater" and "one of the greatest contemporary playwrights the theater world has yet produced," McNally was the recipient of five Tony Awards. He won the Tony Award for Best Play for Love! Valour!

Reviews

[Stevie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"His diary. No one knew he kept one."
"I did."
-
"I did love you, you know."
"Not the way I wanted."

Head in my hands head in my hands head in my hands

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's probably unfair to put this as a book I've read since I'm in a production of it, but heck, I sure have read it....I've got it memorized even.

Having dated many guys (and perhaps having been one at times) who cannot wrap their heads around how religion and sexuality can overlap, I appreciate how McNally's play challenges the relationship between the two. While far from a perfect play, "Corpus Christi" makes a beautiful statement about love, sacrifice, and brotherhood of man.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a bizarre Christian, I have always found the things that are supposed to piss us off more spiritually challenging (and thus engaging) than offensive. I actually didn't think this was all that bad, I thought it was well written and thought provoking.

[Dusty Myers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here, McNally reimagines Jesus Christ as a gay man, and brings the story of his life up to date. Judas is written as his lover, moody, brooding, choosing to betray Jesus just for a spot in history. McNally's point in this exercise is to argue for a theology of inclusion:

Judas: What is His crime?

High Priest: Blasphemy.

Judas: Because He says He's the son of God?

High Priest: No, because He says you're the son of God as well.

Judas: We're all the son of God.

High Priest: Unless you're looking for trouble, I would keep that to myself. The son of God is a cocksucker? I don't think so. We need sinners. (65)

Something about the casting—all the roles except for Jesus and Judas are played varyingly by a "choir" of eleven other men—prevents the play from transcending beyond its central conceit. In other words, there are no real characters here we can attach ourselves to, just re-presentations of mythic figures. Kushner's approach at negotiating gay people within Judeo-Christian belief seems, perhaps only in its epic scope, a greater success.

[gemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alan Ginsberg once said, "everything is holy! everybody is holy! the bum's as holy as the seraphim!" Terrence McNally seems to agree - he wrote a whole play about it.

A gay man in rural America is just as divine as Jesus Christ. We kill both of them, and then claim to be Christian. McNally was brave enough to call us on it, and he did so in a beautifully written way. This play is incredible; it's no wonder at all that it got so much backlash.

[Tatiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw the revival in 2008 and when the play ended the actor playing Joshua could not stop crying for full minutes.

[Zoey · Rating 5 out of 5]

After The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, I was fiending for more content, and Corpus Christi was that. The dynamic between Joshua and Judas begins as a very human one, before Joshua has come to terms with who he truly is. Afterward, Joshua continues to love Judas endlessly, but he is wary too because he is afraid of pain and betrayal. As much as he was full of love as the son of God, he was also just a man that wanted to live. That made it all the more devastating. Not to mention, the scene where Joshua lies in Judas’ lap and Judas strokes his hair to help him sleep made me want to drink battery acid.

[sara mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

everything about this is so queer, and i don't even mean the explicit judas/jesus love. the humour, the references, the overall vibe - sometimes the jokes translated a bit poorly into not being acted out but read, but that's just me. still have to let this one set for a little while and can see myself rating 5/5 in a few days. i really recommend!

[Thérèse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joshua: What? I couldn't hear You.

God: All men are divine.

Joshua: Why are You whispering?

God: That is the secret You will teach them.

Joshua: What if I don't want to share this secret with My fellow men?

God: You won't be able to keep it.

One of the best plays ever. The preface alone deserves 10000 stars, but 5 will have to do.

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating take on the Passion. The transparent theatrical structure was a really interesting device. I found the first part to be a little confusing, but the finale (the miracles, the Last Supper, the betrayals, and the crucifixion) chilled me. Looking forward to seeing the documentary.

[Gren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm gutted like a fish.

[Kaileen Rooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

gorgina

[osa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needs more gay angst

[Bansari · Rating 3 out of 5]

“My Father, why have you forsaken me?”

My obsession with Christian literature is growing and the complicated relationship between Jesus and Judas and especially the forgiveness of Judas and also the inking question of was Jesus ever lonely? Was he loved like he loved? Was it lonely talking to someone who did not answer back? Is this weird for an 18 year old atheist who was not even born a Christian? Yes. Anyways.

JESUS AS A GAY MAN? THE ULTIMATE SINNER. Nailed on the cross for simply being. It’s a metaphorical masterpiece.

Terrance McNally talks of the play as something that is not a story to be told but a story to be told correctly.

“The play is more a religious ritual than a play. A play teaches us a new insight into the human condition. A ritual is an action we perform over and over because we have to.”

It is a beautiful ritual to perform. To tell a story again and again and again knowing the ending will be the same. Knowing the boulder will roll off the hill and knowing you’ll have to roll it back up.

I think for a lot of the literature on this particular story Jesus behaves as though he is free of all humanity. As through he is not half human. As though that is not what makes his sacrifice greater. That he was scared and he still did it. He was scared and he still let it happen to him and that makes all the difference.

“Joshua- Why must I die for them? They don't deserve what You ask of Me. Will it hurt? I asked You a question: Will it hurt when the nails pierce the palms of My hands?
Silence.
Why don't You answer Me?
Silence.
Take Me to You soon.
JOSHUA goes to where JUDAS has been waiting for Him.
Judas- Did He tell You He loved You?
Joshua- No. He didn't say anything. I'm ready.”

“Joshua- You said I will suffer?
God- Terribly. But You will know great joy as well.
Joshua- Why must I suffer?
God- Why not?
Joshua- Why Me?
God- Why not You?”

“Joshua And God so loved the world He gave His only son to it.
Jimmy And He chose You?
Joshua I don't want to be different, Jimmy. I want to be like everyone else. I want to be happy.
Jimmy Sure You do.
Joshua I want to love someone.
Jimmy I know, I know.
Joshua I want someone to love Me. I want My life to matter.
Jimmy Come here.”

It was this humanity I think that made following him so easy.

“Peter- We adored Him. We would have followed Him to the ends of the earth. He was our leader.”


The best part to me though was Judas and Joshua’s relationship.

“Joshua- I did love you, you know.
Judas- Not the way I wanted.”

“Bartholomew- His diary. No one knew He kept one.
JUDAS is sitting on one of the benches, staying apart from the others.
Judas- I did.”


“Joshua- That was cruel.
Judas- She'll get over it. Besides, maybe it's my nature.
Joshua- I don't believe that. That's no one's nature.
Judas- What's Your nature, Joshua?
Joshua- I don't know. Kindness, I hope. Love. Respect for others.
Judas- I believe You.
JUDAS pulls JOSHUA toward him.
Joshua- You can come no closer to Me than My body. Everything else you will never touch. Everything important is hidden from you.”

Joshua says that last line once again at the end of the play. This time to Simon. I wonder if it means his loneliness. I wonder if he means they will lay with him but never know his pain because he was the one chosen to bear the pain. I wonder if he’s lonely in his pain.

Some miscellaneous amazing writing:

“Joshua- I hear hammering.
Patricia- When? Right now? That's the surf.
Joshua- All My life I've heard hammering. Like someone is building something and they never stop. Something for Me.
And they're waiting for Me to what? I don't know.”

Also this play funny asf

“Judas- Judas Iscariot, Scorpio. November sixth. You figure the year. I'm smart. I like to read. I like music. Good music. I like the theater. Good theater. I like some sports. I like violence. I take good care of myself. Weak bodies disgust me. I've got a big dick.”

Would recommend for any fellow explorer if religious trauma and queerness in christianity. Beautiful.

[dia · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Jesus Christ belongs to all of us because He is all of us."

"People can't stand the truth. They want their Joshua, seen through their eyes, told through their lies. Truth is brutal. It scalds, it stings."

[John Vanderslice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This seems to be a play that people either embrace wholeheartedly or have profound issues with; and based on the prefatory comments by McNally that are included in this text, it seems clear the playwright anticipated just such a reaction. The opening mini-speeches by each of the apostle characters, too, almost seem to act as advance apologies to the audience, the message of "Just stick with this, please, even if it's going to surprise you." I heard about the play, and its controversial opening, all the way back in the late nineties, and have been curious about it ever since. Because I'm always curious about new and alternative versions of familiar religious figures. Well, this one certainly was different! But, really, twenty years later, not so shocking. What struck me more than anything about the play was how personal--indeed, autobiographical--it must have been to the playwright. Not autobiographical in the strict sense, but autobiographical in the sense that it, even while it quickly encapsulates the life story of Jesus, it suggests--and even explicitly mentions--what must be the major tempestuous periods in McNally's lifespan, starting from the experience of being a not-so-subtly gay male high schooler in conservative 1950s Corpus Christi, Texas up to the revived anti-gay persecutions of the late 1990s, when the play was produced (especially the brutal 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard). Early in the play, there are lots of references to 50s movie and music stars--Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, James Dean--while not too much later we pass through the 70s disco era and then onto the terror of the 80s and early 90s AIDs epidemic. Like I said, the play seems extremely personal to McNally, even while it offers a rendition of a historical/religious figure from two thousand years earlier. Much of it is ingenious, and while I've never seen a production, I bet it would be very striking to watch on stage. My only problem with the play is that McNally attempts to keep the idea of Roman occupation and Roman rule even while the play is quite obviously set in modern day America. This idea of Roman presence is simply a fiction the reader has to accept. But it also seems kind of clumsy and unnecessary. Why not just transpose all the power and pitilessness of the Roman authorities, and the unfortunate actions of certain, obviously threatened, Jewish religious authorities, on to modern day figures, thus making the contemporary setting seamless? This is a very small bone to pick with what is otherwise a successful play. I'm sure as experienced a playwright as McNally is must have considered this option before proceeding as he did. I'd be curious to hear his reasons.

[Christy Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew I would love this play when they had Jesus singing Rodgers and Hammerstein. My other favorite moments were Judas doing poppers, the gay wedding, and the line “I am going to write the president of the United States telling him that if there is any place in this country where nuclear bomb testing should be allowed, it's Corpus Christi, Texas.”
Now for the nitpicks: McNally does a fantastic job characterizing Joshua as a high schooler, and his first scene with Judas was amazing. However, when Joshua comes back from the desert, he doesn’t really feel like the same character. The scene in the desert works for explaining why he’d accept being the son of god, but it isn’t sufficient to explain why he talks and acts like a totally different person. The relationship between Joshua and Mary could’ve been fleshed out more. Also, the opening and closing with the actors playing the apostles talking to us doesn’t quite work for me. Maybe it would if I saw it in a theater (I would LOVE to see this play in a theater, but I just feel like there’s a better framing device he could’ve used.
The main reason I gave this three stars was that I am not Christian and I don’t like Christianity. I don’t know why I keep reading plays about the Bible, I never like them. But this one was fun!

[Talitha · Rating 2 out of 5]

There wasn't anything particularly special about this retelling of the New Testament. I particularly disliked the change from Mary and Joseph being good, honest people in the bible to them being scummy white trash in this version, because it didn't make all that much sense or that much of a difference in the story. It's like they just had a bit about Joseph beating Mary for the sake of it. And maybe it's because I'm just really tired right now, but after a certain point the entire thing was written just like it was in the bible. The modern setting, the fact that they were gay, etc was all basically for nothing because it all ended on the cross. I just don't really understand why this play was written. It had some good quotes here and there, but all in all it felt like I was there for no reason other than to repeat the same story for the thousandth time, except worse. If I ever find myself wanting to read a "modern" take on Jesus and the apostles, I'll just stick with The Last Days of Judas Iscariot.

[Losille · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ješua: Petře, zastrč meč. Kdo mečem zachází, mečem zahyne. Myslíš, že bych si nemohl pozvat stovku andělů, aby mě bránili, kdybych chtěl? (Přistoupí ke zraněnému vojákovi.) Tady.
voják: Táhni. (Ješua položí ruku na vojákovu hlavu a uzdraví mu ucho.)
Ješua: Bůh s tebou, bratře! (Vojákům.) Jsem připraven.
Jan: Ten muž velmi užasl.
voják: Tývole.
Jan: A my také. Než jsme se vzpamatovali, sebrali Ho. A už jsme Ho nikdy neviděli. Jen Petr. Byli jsme srabi. Utekli jsme. Skončilo to celé hodně rychle…
– – –
Knižnímu vydání holt chybí scénické provedení, nebo nejsem ten správný recipient (nebo obojí), ale kdovíjak mě to neoslovilo. Střídání rolí jednotlivých herců v průběhu hry mě mátlo v této podobě, nevím, jestli by to bylo lepší na divadle. Spíš si to moc nemyslím. Přinejmenším by to mělo větší (chce se mi říci “aspoň nějaký”) spád. Dovedu si ale představit, proč takový text někomu může ležet v žaludku.

[Luana_reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

People can't stand the truth. They want their Joshua, seen through their eyes, told through their lies. Truth is brutal. It scalds, it stings.

I read this on Easter Monday.
I would sacrifice my firstborn to see this play performed live.

From the author's preface:

All Corpus Christi asks of you is to "look what they did to Him. Look what they did to Him." At the same time it asks you to look at what they did to Joshua, it asks that we look at what they did one cold October night to a young man in Wyoming as well. Jesus Christ died again when Matthew Shepard did.
Look. Remember. Weep, if you will, but learn. And don't let it happen again.

[Okezie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a story about telling a story, so a lot of it relies on your familiarity with the world’s most popular religion. I really can’t imagine someone who’s never read the New Testament enjoying it as much as I did. There’s a lot of fun to be had in the opening and closing scenes where the actors address the fact that these are all characters in a very popular mythos. It’s missing something for me, I feel like it ends too abruptly, certain things towards the end aren’t built up to but happen simply because “you know how this ends.” Still four stars for me though I’d burst into tears if I ever saw this live.

[Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written just a year before the gruesome murder of Matthew Shepard, this play spurred some divisive critique.

Corpus Christi retells The Passion Play, positing the Christ figure, Joseph, as a gay man in the 50s living in the conservative Texas town of Corpus Christi. Despite his message of love, tolerance, and brotherhood, it isn’t enough to save Joseph, and he is betrayed by his love, Judas, and crucified.

This is just such a chilling, devastating, and fascinating take on queerness and the Christian faith.

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

2022 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge: book that takes place during your favorite season (liturgical season of Triduum)

"Corpus Christi" is a queer retelling of the Easter passion play. I've read it several times. I had to mark it down a star though because there's a scene where Joshua (the Jesus character) heals Phillip, presented as a hustler and gogo boy, from AIDS. It doesn't hold up well and it doesn't set well with me in 2022.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I did love you, you know?”
“Not in the way I wanted.”

OUCH. Getting that line right off the bat should’ve prepared me for how gutted the final few lines made me. Truly a beautiful and ever-relevant play. A wonderful blend of dark comedy and brutal realism. But what more could you expect from the legend that is Terrence McNally?

“He loved every one of us. That’s all He was about.”
“Look what they did to Him.”

[Book read via Internet Archive]

[Will White · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't often read plays as literature, but I ordered this when McNally died, and I thought it would make for an hour well-spent to read it on Easter. I was right!

This is a piece at once thought-provoking and lighthearted, traditional and irreverent. It plays with time and theatrical convention in all sorts of interesting ways. I'd gladly see it in the theater and will probably read it again!

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

three stars off for misogyny, racism, and ableism. however, i like the concept and staging. the translation of the disciples to (then) contemporary queer men was very compelling and well done. would be amazing if not written for a cast of white able bodied cis men, by a man who clearly has never met a woman in his life and also doesn’t respect disabled people.

[Margot DV · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah - a lot of great ideas and interesting interpretations and presentation but it just feels too short/doesn’t go enough into depth. Wish there was more about everything but specifically Judas (both his relationship to Joshua and his betrayal), and Joshua’s inner life and how that applies to a modern reality.

[Hedvig Wilhelmina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I imagine that this works much better on stage but in general the different sequences recreating bible scenes were very hit and miss. Some great hits, some great misses. I’d still recommend it to anyone else who might be interested in a modern reimagining of Jesus as a gay man in america.

[Joseph Crupper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Changed my life.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5