“The Gospel According to St. Mark”:
A One-Man Show by Michael Ellis-Tolaydo
Renowned stage performer Michael Ellis-Tolaydo will perform the one-man show, “The Gospel According to Saint Mark,” Saturday, Oct. 11, at 8 p.m. at Three Notch Theatre in Lexington Park.
“The Gospel According to Saint Mark” was originally conceived and performed by British stage and film actor Alec McCowan in 1976. Best known to U.S. audiences for roles in Martin Scorsese’s “Gangs of New York” and Alfred Hitchcock’s “Frenzy,” McCowan performed St. Mark’s Gospel for the White House in 1978, and toured England before landing on Broadway and garnering a Tony nomination for his performance.
Ellis-Tolaydo was hand-picked by McCowan to take over his show. First performing the show on the West End in London in 1979, Ellis-Tolaydo returned to the United States to begin an international 18-month run.
“The Gospel According to Saint Mark, is a story-telling performance of the entire Book of Mark from the King James’ version of the Bible. The story follows the life and death of Jesus, including many of the parables Jesus told and miracles he performed.
Invited in 2007 by the Washington (D.C.) Theater Alliance to revive St. Mark’s Gospel, Ellis-Tolaydo performed “The Gospel According to Saint Mark” for the first time in 29 years to rave reviews.
“Lodging a chunk of the Bible in his mind and serving it up for contemplative public consumption amounts to a kind of tour de force,” wrote The Washington Post theater critic, Nelson Pressley. “Tolaydo offers the material respectfully, on a stage that’s bare save for a table, three chairs, some drinking water. Figures come to life in their disbelief and smug cross-examinations, and it’s frequently in these passages that the intellectual quality of the lessons comes through.”
“It's just evocative enough to qualify as drama. Tolaydo (who speaks with a slight British accent) is cautious with characterization, donning particular voices and attitudes lightly and quickly, as if it would be vulgar to make too much of a show. Instead, he focuses on the tension and occasional wonder, the sense of argument as Jesus lives and teaches…”.
Ellis-Tolyado is professor of theater, film, and media studies at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. “The Gospel According to Saint Mark” was directed by freelance director and SMCM theater alumnus Paul Takacs.
Tickets are $15, $12 for Seniors, Students and Military. Newtowne Players’ member discounts will apply. Reservations are recommended for the single performance, and may be made by calling the theater box office at 301-737-5447, or by using the Newtowne Players' online box office.
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updated on October 1, 2008
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