jesus hopped the a train lucius monologue jesus hopped the a train lucius monologue

Lucius Jenkins - (40s/50s/Black) He is a charismatic, confident convicted serial killer but he has a strong Christian faith since being incarcerated. After that line, the play instantly becomes an obscenity oratorio in which vicious, muscular dialogue, appropriate to its setting, turns into gorgeous music. He is a former co-artistic director of Labyrinth Theater Company. Still, they're full of rhetorical fireworks. Collective Consciousness Theatre's "Jesus Hopped The A Train" by Stephen Adly Guirgis runs through November 11 at Erector Square (319 Peck Street, Building 6S) in New Haven, CT. "Jesus," directed by Dexter J. Singleton and produced by Jenny Nelson, stars Jhulenty . We see how his case becomes of a professional project Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train. More than most Zoom-style productions, this one unifies separately filmed characters through the actors expert timing and via the common scenic background of poster-stylized prison and protest. Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train is a brilliant, visceral examination of morality and justice, questioning the difference between true faith and self-serving religion. Pulitzer Prize-winner Stephen Adly Guirgis darkly comic meditation on redemption and faith, Angel Cruz is a 30-year-old bicycle messenger awaiting trial for the death of the leader of a religious cult. A monologue from the play Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train by Francesco Di MaioShot and Directed by Hitop Films. Part Size: Lead. Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train closes October 15, 2017 Details and tickets -[/ezcol_1third] It's startling to watch Luciusa so-called man of Godinfluence Angel in a way akin to Rev. Long story, which Guirgis tells well, but a bullet aimed at the cult leaders butt ricochets to later put Angels liberty at risk and puts him in the cell next to Lucius. The play's format, which really focuses on a series of monologues and duologues - offers a complete focus on the individuals . Particularly thought-provoking is a monologue by Matthew Douglas as Charlie, the guard before Valdez who was fired, whose initial amicable relationship with Lucius is clouded by his final visitation. the shock of the charismatic Lucius' descriptions of his own murders, and finally, the 'A' train itself. And these characters sure do perform! Joey said, "Jesus hopped the A train to see us safe to bed." Their scenes together alternate with ones in which Angels lawyer, Mary Jane Hanrahan, must break through his perverse resistance in order to prepare him for court. It's a tight, well-paced and thoughtful staging . Runs to February 23 at The Young Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto's Historic Distillery District in the Michael Young Theatre, 50 Tank House Lane. Monologues for Women; Comedic; . Pulitzer Prize-winner Stephen Adly Guirgis (Between Riverside and Crazy) begins his Residency at Signature with a new production of his darkly comic meditation on redemption and faith, Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train, directed by Obie Award-winner Mark Brokaw.Angel Cruz is a 30-year-old bicycle messenger awaiting trial for the death of the leader of a religious cult. Riverside Jacksonville News, Still, they're full of rhetorical fireworks. [17], Michael Billington of The Guardian, who had given the play three out of five stars in 2002,[18] gave the same rating after a 2019 performance and said that "for all the vividness of the dialogue, the play still strikes me as baffling in its exploration of guilt, faith and redemption." Jesus Hopped first opened off-Broadway in November of 2000. Much of it also seems unneeded and diverting. Marmions Trevon Roots wins battle with Burlington Centrals Drew Scharnowski for sectional title. church/ cult leader in his water buffalo-sized ass in an attempt to rescue his Stephen Adly Guirgis' Pulitzer Prize-winning "Between Riverside and Crazy" gets its local debut at Steppenwolf in June. Lucius; CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College THE 100. the shock of the charismatic Lucius' descriptions of his own murders, and finally, the 'A' train itself. Jesus hopped the 'A' train by Guirgis, Stephen Adly. An icon used to represent a menu that can be toggled by interacting with this icon. Valdez - (30s/40s/Ltino) He is the sadistic guard assigned to Lucius at Rikers. Dogg as sound designer. He has a great, effective monologue at the end about the death of Lucius that is sublime. New York, NY, Ages 12-17: Camp Broadway Ensemble @ Carnegie Hall In one particularly impressive monologue, Adjepong's Lucius exercises whilst addressing his religious beliefs; the actor's energy doesn't falter once as he performs . But they are also particular to our time and place, perhaps even more so now that the United States is the worlds largest jailer than they were in 2000. . Set in a US penitentiary - where Magda Willi's stage design could literally squeeze the life out of newly arrived prisoner Puerto Rican Angel Cruz - Kate Hewitt's production of Jesus Hopped The 'A' Train shines a new light on the religious debates that have come to define this critically acclaimed play.Angel is brought to Rikers Island pending a court case for shooting Rev Kim, a . T.Schreiber. Ben Brantley reviews Labyrinth Theater Company production of Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman, at East 13th Street Theater; photo (M) Lucius Jenkins is a serial killer, . Puetro-Rican, Angel, played with refined commitment by Ukweli Roach, shot a religious cult leader in the behind, landing him with potential murder charges.. Singhateh is compelling as evangelising killer Lucius, his performance cleverly toying with the audience's sympathies as he slips between charming bonhomie and cold-bloodedness. father stabbed someone at a dance when she was younger, but, In Rikers, Angel meets Lucius "Angel Cruz is a thirty-year-old bike messenger from NYC who has lost his best friend to a religious cult. . [1], The play premiered Off-Broadway at the East 13th Street Theatre in a production by LAByrinth Theater Company on November 29, 2000, and ran to December 31, 2000. On his first night at Rikers Island, a terrified inmate named Angel Cruz tries to reconstruct the Lord's Prayer from his broken memories. When the cult leader dies during surgery, Angel suddenly finds himself facing murder charges. Inside Rikers Island, a terrified Angel is befriended by a charismatic serial . The others Stephanie DiMaggio as Hanrahan, Erick Betancourt as Charlie and especially Ricardo Chavira as the terrifying Valdez support them, and the plays whipsawing arguments, handily. It was directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman (yes, that Philip Seymour Hoffman) and ran until the end of December that same year. In other scenes, she performs monologues. Submit at https://actors-express.com/get-involved/ . At a glance Short North. It's the reason I keep coming back to Collective Consciousness. In the Signature Theater revival of Stephen Adly Guirgis' "Jesus Hopped the A Train . Valdez (Christian M. Castro), the quick-with-the-club guard, has no use for Lucius' proclamations of faith. The production received considerable acclaim from critics such as Ben Brantley of the New York Times and Michael Feingold of The Village Voice. . With some bravado, Angel insists that what he did was therefore only technically wrong. Melanie Furstenberg Dubuque, stimulus control transfer is important for, most dangerous towns in suffolk county, ny, God Is The Giver, And Sustainer Of Life Verse. The burdens of the outside world are crushing, and in the little time these two share outdoors in their separate cages shows the strain. Kim's described affect on Joey, the friend Angel fought so hard to free from a cultish existence built by a false prophet. **** Mary Jane (his lawyer): Well . Reviewed . Angel Cruz is a young Puerto Rican man incarcerated for shooting a cult leader after said person stole his best friend. A lot of what we hear from the lawyer is in the form of direct . There is nothing abstract about them: Mr. Guirgis says that the play began in his own attempt to rescue a friend from the Unification Church. It then returned to New York City as writer Stephen Adly Guirgis began his residency at Signature Theatre Company. The shooting was part of Angels plan to rescue his best friend, whom the cult had stolen and brainwashed. on the Internet. God Is The Giver, And Sustainer Of Life Verse, Directed by Kevin Mack. | Check out 'Jesus Hopped The 'A' Train Fundraiser' on Indiegogo. Gender: Male. The victim? Hives Not Going Away With Prednisone, You might even think that those first two scenes play just a little too broadly. [2][3] The play was directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Billington quipped that Angel's final sacrificial gesture "smacks more of romantic fiction than spiritual redemption [] I enjoyed the production without fully believing in Guirgis's vision of crime and punishment. Short North Stages streaming production, which continues through June 27, is well-acted and tightly staged. In the Signature Theater revival of Stephen Adly Guirgis' "Jesus Hopped the A Train . Terell W.J. Evening performances are at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 8 p.m. on Saturday; matinees are at 2 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday. Four glass The play is essentially a set of monologues stitched together at the edges, and showing signs of fraying. Early on in the play, Valdez has a monologue-which may appear to be his only redeeming moment in the play. Stephen Adly Guirgis' Jesus Hopped The 'A' Train is an explosive, verbose play set in the maximum security wing of the infamous Rikers' Island prison in New York. That Lucius (Edi Gathegi) is generally sunny and witty despite having killed eight people plays with our loyalties. The play takes place in a prison on Rikers Island in New York. dialogue, and street-wise sense of authenticity, despite being locked out of Was it my free will to be an undiagnosed manic-depressive paranoid schizophrenic?! Join StageAgent today and unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. These scenes are separated by blackouts and a . Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Are we really laughing with Angel or at him? As long as these interviews maintain the plays furiously Socratic tone, they enhance the idea that making good choices in an evil world is nearly beyond the human skill set. Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train closes October 15, 2017 Details and tickets -[/ezcol_1third] It's startling to watch Luciusa so-called man of Godinfluence Angel in a way akin to Rev. Jesus Hopped the A Train is a . Stuart. But Mark Brokaws staging on a simple set by Riccardo Hernandez, sensitively lit by Scott Zielinski, is otherwise evenhanded and clean, as if not wanting to leave any fingerprints. A good opportunity to break away from the constant repetition of intense conflicts were monologues delivered to the . Part investigation of our broken criminal justice system, part examination of the corruptive influence of Judeo-Christian morality, "Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train" is a promising Angel is awaiting trial - his first. Backed up by wonderful performances all around especially McCarthy who does heart-breaking and detailed work as Mary Jane Jesus is the kind of tough, uncompromising theater that is as philosophically engaging as it is emotionally and theatrically. It allows Lucius' evangelism to soar and Hanrahan's monologues to gain an air of a courtroom. 1 Benet in a sectional final. He's also suspicious and angry toward Mary Jane (Elizabeth Birnkrant), the public defender who sees in Angel's defiant attitude flashes of her own past as an angry "charity case" in a private school with a drunken father. In fact . These near-monologues are often gorgeous, but they can also be weirdly self-negating; in 'A' Train, they don't even always make sense. Its a complex and feral feat of acting, one that would feel at home at Long Wharf or Yale Rep or even at one of the best New York theaters. A moment where things come into complete focus is a late monologue by a prison guard whose soft spot for Lucius cost him his job: with perfectly calibrated delivery, Gregory Prest delivers a . For one hour each day, both men share adjacent cages on Rikers Island, New York's top security prison. Soulpepper Theatre presents Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train, a graphic and distressing story of two prison inmates serving time for murder. . An inmate at Rikers (ANGEL) struggles with his new circumstances as he tries to convince his fellow inmate (LUCIUS) to speak to him. Angel Cruz is a young Puerto Rican man incarcerated for shooting a cult leader after said person "stole" his best friend. JESUS HOPPED THE 'A' TRAIN by Stephen Adly Guirgis . Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train plays through October 8, 2017, at 1st Stage - 1524 Spring Hill Road, in Tysons, VA. For tickets, call the box office at (703) 854-1856, or purchase them online. Laura Baronet. Their monologues are all interesting, at least, but Guirgis was mainly interested in having Angel and Lucius debate. is a lot of reason to like him or at least be impressed by him. . (Kevin Scott's grimy set and Kevin Hagan's harsh lighting capture the joyless world of the jail yard.). Stephen Adly Guirgis. New York, NY, Accessibility Statement Terms Privacy |StageAgent 2020. Robert Heinly (D'Amico) in Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train. Jethmalani's production gets a little overstated in the small space, with some dialogue lost in the echoes. Plot synopsis. JESUS HOPPED THE 'A' TRAIN . The characters have nowhere to hide so it heightens the [12][13] However, Pamela Renner reviewed the premiere unfavorably in Variety, with most praise reserved for Ron Cephas Jones. Angel Cruz and Lucius Jenkins face murder charges. Lucius, despite Taylor's fearsome performance, remains a bit of a conundrum, as captured in a beguiling late-in-the-play monologue from D'Amico (Zach Bloomfield), a guard who loses his job for . Stephen Adly Guirgis' Jesus Hopped The 'A' Train is an explosive, verbose play set in the maximum security wing of the infamous Rikers' Island prison in New York. Late in Jesus Hopped the "A" Train, . Lucius, despite Taylor's fearsome performance, remains a bit of a conundrum, as captured in a beguiling late-in-the-play monologue from D'Amico (Zach Bloomfield), a guard who loses his job for . Truth versus lies. Presented by Ron Kastner, Roy Gabay, and John Gould Rubin at the East 13th Street Theater, 136 E. 13 St., NYC, Nov. 29-Dec. 31. But in the next cell to Angel is an articulate serial killer called Lucius who has found God and who tries . Both are in protective custody and must spend their one-hour of outside time locked in individual pens. Lucius Jenkins. they come through these characters whose unbridled sense of humour, stories, who shot a cult leader in the ass because he had ensnared Angel's best friend in his "religion," and Edi Gathegi as Lucius Jenkins, a brutal murderer who found religion on his way to the executioner. Thats not to say everything in Jesus works so well. -+ Ravi Ghosh . . Theres much about . Jesus Hopped the A Train. Jesus Hopped The 'A' Train is a play written by Stephen Adly Guirgis. Portland Monthly; Seattle Met; Sarasota Magazine; Aspen Sojourner; Vail-Beaver Creek Magazine; Park City Magazine; Houstonia Magazine 2799 Katy Freeway, Suite 250, Houston, TX 77007 Phone: 713-862 . Photo: Tristram Kenton. glass, to create the sense that characters might be talking to, arguing with, His poetry has appeared in various literary publications in the United States and abroad. His first five plays were directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman, and subsequently received critically acclaimed productions in New York and London. Rehearsals and performances held indoors at Actors Express. The critic wrote that there are "overwritten passages and reliance on expository monologues. New York, NY, Linda Ray Beyond Therapy. The reverend subsequently, and indirectly, dies. Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train reveals a young playwright's awkwardness with its overwritten passages and reliance on expository monologues. Beautifully acted, these scenes are expertly written by Guirgis whose dialogue is both frank, darkly comical and naturalistic while still playing host to some fascinating theological debates. For one hour each day both men share adjacent cages on Rikers Island. Lucius has been convicted of eight sadistic murders and is awaiting extradition to . Angel (Sean Carvajal) is being held pending trial for the shooting of a Reverend Kim, the leader of a religious organization modeled on Sun Myung Moons Unification Church. Mirrors, not cages, provide the true path to justice and peace. Although he takes responsibility for his actions, he still fears execution. Good versus evil. Its also clear that our preconceived notions of these characters color the way we view them. The verbally fiery "Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train" is a bravura play: The dialogue can be ear-scaldingly profane, and the heaven-or-hell speeches soar like theological arias. Lucius Jenkins. Not Exactly Billington: writing about theatre since 2012. Angel Cruz, a poor Puerto Rican, isn't . He's being held there because, as he tells us, he "shot a man in the ass" earlier that week. But it also displays incendiary passion and insight into its troubled characters". Some prisoners go out of their minds when confined to the 23-hour isolation wing of Rikers Island prison. DAmico - (30s/40s/Italian) He is a gentle and more calming guard at Rikers. about justice and redemption, whats right and wrong, and the power of belief. Part investigation of our broken criminal justice system, part examination of the corruptive influence of Judeo-Christian morality, "Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train" is a promising start to Eclipse Theatre . and Lucius (D'Wayne Taylor) in Eclipse Theatre's production of "Jesus Hopped the A Train" by Stephen Adly Guirgis, directed by Anish Jethmalani. HB Studio. Jesus Hopped the "A" Train by Kerry Reid March 14, 2002 August 19, . It's a tight, well-paced and thoughtful staging . Other Characters From Jesus Hopped the A Train. He relishes his Angel Cruz - (20s /Latino) A young man Incarcerated at Rikers Island Prison. All monologues are property and copyright of their owners. . House of Actors is proud to present "Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train". Gain full access to show guides, character breakdowns, auditions, monologues and more! the covid-19 monologues; playland miss julie the river two by beckett: footfalls & krapp's last tape jesus hopped the 'a' train . A monologue from Jesus Hopped Jesus Hopped The A Train- Angel on Vimeo There is even something endearing about the crime that put him in prison: He shot a cult leader in the butt while trying to rescue a friend. Pirie has a resume of fine acting longer than Lucius' rap sheet, and it shows. RECOMMENDED Winner of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Stephen Adly Guirgis got his break in 2000 with "Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train," a play that in 2016 feels distressingly timeless. Stephen Adly Guirgis's plays include Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train, Our Lady of 121st Street, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, The Little Flower of East Orange, and The Motherf*cker with the Hat. Lucius is also a serial killer, a self-described paranoid schizophrenic who employs his charms on . One gets the sense that, with only a slight reversal of fate, Valdez and Mary Jane could have easily ended up going down a dark path with Angel serving as their subsequent lawyer. Guirgis has a gift for mixing the humorous and the horrific, but it doesn't always land in the writing or the production here. Given those two scenes, you might assume this will be just another legal procedural about a hoodlum caught up in the prison-industrial complex. Sure, it tells a story of addiction and cyclical abuse a narrative we've grown to expect about those who go behind bars. 'All I did was shoot him in the ass', he explains to his long-suffering lawyer Mary Hanrahan. Aint no disease a addiction for me, its free will.. Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train plays through April 21st at the SF Playhouse, 533 Sutter St, San Francisco. Angel Cruz is a 30-year-old bicycle messenger awaiting trial for the death of the leader of a religious cult. Postponed from April when an actor became ill with COVID-19, this pandemic-era production forges resonant metaphors after so many months of socially separated isolation. Was it my free will to turn ta drugs and alcohol as a result a that sh*t? Monologues are presented on StageAgent for educational purposes only. Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train revels in these complexities. Perhaps the most stirring monologue of the play comes from . A lot of what we hear from the lawyer is in the form of direct address, and these monologues lack the poetry (brute or not) of the rest. . These near-monologues are often gorgeous, but they can also be weirdly self-negating; in 'A' Train, they don't even always make sense. But before that, you can dip into his earlier work with Eclipse Theatre Company's "Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train," the first entry in the company's all-Guirgis season. Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train is at the Young Vic until . Its the reason I keep coming back to Collective Consciousness. how long does academy background check take for gun. The other actors do fine with their characters, who are written to mostly speak through direct-address. "[14], In a review of one of Guirgis's later works, Hilton Als described Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train as "hysterical and irreverent", "an outstanding 2000 piece about imprisonment and moral responsibility. . When the psychopath is an acute thinker about responsibility and the atheist a tantrum-prone man-child hoping to avoid it, we have trouble deciding how to invest our emotions. This leads you to expect Jerry Orbach, or a neat denouement that Mr. Guirgis is not about to provide. Photograph by Teresa Wood. Terell W.J. The verbally fiery "Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train" is a bravura play: The dialogue can be ear-scaldingly profane, and the heaven-or-hell speeches soar like theological arias. Yet, by the end of the play, the opening scenes dark hilarity appears more to have been a groping first effort toward a sincere rediscovery of faith perhaps Guirgis deepest theme. There are a finite number of Shakespeare monologues, so the most accessible roles for actors in their 20's tend to be overdone. Aside from that hilarious and heartbreaking first sentence, theres not much I can quote from Stephen Adly Guirgiss Jesus Hopped the A Train, which opened on Monday in a riveting revival by the Signature Theater. Jesus Hopped the A Train tells the story of several inmates of Rikers Prison who are awaiting charges for murder. David Zayas and Ron Cephas Jones in Jesus Hopped the A Train. Equity actors for roles in JESUS HOPPED THE A TRAIN by Stephen Adly Guirgis. The performance by Frankham was another highlight for me; the development of the character though her interactions with Angel and her later monologues was subtle, yet well conveyed. centres around Angel, who finds himself facing a murder charge after shooting a It starred Edi Gathegi, Sean Carvajal, Ricardo Chavira, Stephanie DiMaggio, and Erick Betancourt. The legal procedural in the play Start: Hail MaryHail MaryHail Mary Ages 12-17: Camp Broadway Ensemble @ Carnegie Hall. Vocal Part: Angel Cruz. Lucius, despite Taylor's fearsome performance, remains a bit of a conundrum, as captured in a beguiling late-in-the-play monologue from D'Amico (Zach Bloomfield), a guard who loses his job for doing too many favors for the killer. well by Joplin Sibtain) to roam all levels of the auditorium, in turn creating Angel's desperate desire for assurance and forgiveness make him, in a weird way, immediately lovable. Doubt. But me? Start your review of Jesus Hopped the A Train. Jesus_Hopped_A . Making moments memorable are flashbacks some characters share. JESUS HOPPED THE A TRAIN. His lawyer Hanrahan We meet two guards. It is as vital now as it was at the turn of the millennium. Join StageAgent today and unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. Spoken in Riggins hoarse yet commanding drawl, modulating his speed and timbre with the dexterity of a blues guitarist, its the kind of moment when a play hits a perfect bulls-eye. Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future. But after DAmico is canned for slipping Lucius contraband cookies, hes left without an audience. Call 614-725-4042 or visitshortnorthstage.org. Renner criticized the characters of Hanraham and Valdez as heavy-handed, and also considered the play to contain "awkward exposition. The critic wrote that there are "overwritten passages and reliance on expository monologues. New York, NY, Linda Ray The play is full of monologues that function to articulate each character's values, very much like back in Sophocles' day, and the directors' decision to stage the play in the round magnifies the standing and authority of each such magnificent speech. Angel, on the other hand, acquires the nickname of Droopy Dog. Set in Rikers Island, the notorious New York City jail, Guirgis' play traces the parallel fates of two inmates Lucius (D'Wayne Taylor), a serial killer known as "the Black Plague," and Angel (Johnathan Nieves), a young Puerto Rican. clean in its execution, and one which gives the illusion (conversely) of space, A long traverse stage, no more than two What does it mean? . Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train begins and ends with the same image: a young prisoner, Angel, on his knees, praying in darkness. Those arguments are eternal, as the frequent biblical references suggest. 14 day loan required to access PDF files. As his name implies, Angel wrestles with questions of faith, and those questions come pouring out from Lucius during their side-by-side exercise sessions in the prison's outdoor cages. Re-read the monologue. Stephen Adly Guirgis's plays include Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train, Our Lady of 121st Street, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, The Little Flower of East Orange, and The Motherf*cker with the Hat. for her but theres also a personal connection. He is a former co-artistic director of Labyrinth Theater Company. It is freighted by an overload of pseudo-profundity; characters upbraiding each other about the Ultimate Questions can make for rather dreary stagecraft. Hes a violent, racist jerk and not much else, although casting Hall in the role does give it some interesting subtext. Why is it significant to the play? Mark Brokaw directs a cast made up of Edi Gathegi, Sean Carvajal, Ricardo Chavira, Erick Betancourt, and Stephanie DiMaggio. Riggins has done terrific work at Collective Consciousness before. His play Between Riverside and Crazy won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The two convicts talk about God and redemption, free-will, racism, addiction and the meaning of freedom. Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. Explore, Explain, and argue. The kind that opens up the scope of a script. . Rehearsal: May 28 - July 7, 2018. . But in a series of monologues that pull further back from the action, Hanrahans reflections on the case, and on her own investment in it, dissipate the tension. An inmate at Rikers (ANGEL) struggles with his new circumstances as he tries to convince his fellow inmate (LUCIUS) to speak to him. Inside Rikers Island, a terrified Angel is befriended by a charismatic serial killer named Lucius Jenkins. Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train. An LA Theater Works production of Stephen Adly Guirgis's play about Angel Cruz, a Puerto Rican who is in jail after a prank turned badly: He shoots Reverend Kim in the, uh, posterior, after Kim, a rich hypocrite preacher, brainwashed his best friend. Guide written by. Review | Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train | Young Vic | 5 Stars | Kate Hewitt's production of Stephen Adly Guirgis' 'Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train' is bold and. But mostly there The Kean Theatre Conservatory will open its 2016-2017 season this week with Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train by Pulitzer Prize winner Stephen Adly Guirgis (October 14 - 22, Zella Fry Theatre). Written by Stephen Adly Guirgis Another effect may be an accident of timing, but todays viewers may connect most to Guirgis 2000 play when one prisoner says: Were in lockdown no contact whatsoever.. One has been serving his sentence for years, but his discovery of God helps him find joy in his days. But the guy dies, and the Angel is in solitary . Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train is skillfully structured so that the audience's sympathies see-saw back and forth between the silver-tongued Lucius and a seemingly sadistic guard named Valdez (the .