Theater of One

By Gregory M. Lamb

20,000 words, zero help

Actor Brad Sherrill has appeared in dozens of professional theatrical productions in the Atlanta area, including more than 30 with the Georgia Shakespeare Festival.

But he had another dream: to bring the Book of John, his favorite account of the life of Jesus, to the stage. "I wanted people to hear the unadulterated word ... in one sitting," he says. "No adaptation. No cutting. Just word for word through the whole thing."

Mr. Sherrill took 4-1/2 months off from acting, sat on his front porch, and memorized the Gospel. All 20,000 words. For the past two years, he's been performing in churches and theaters across the South. His one-man show, "The Gospel of John," is at Lamb's Theatre in New York through April 20.

It's not without precedent. British actor Alec McCowen performed "St. Mark's Gospel" in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including a limited run on Broadway. But Sherrill felt John had something special to say.

"The thing that I really love about John is what Jesus tells his disciples before his arrest, which is all about loving one another and 'do not let your heart be troubled....' It's the greatest outpouring of love that can be found in the Gospels...."

"Love one another," he points out, is Jesus' final command to his followers, "something we've been hearing for 2,000 years and still find hard to do."

Sherrill keeps it simple when he performs. "There's no fake beard, there's no costume. To me, those kind of things can separate us in a sense - 'Oh, this happened 2,000 years ago!' I think it's a living text, and it applies to our lives today." Because he sees light and water as the major metaphors in John, "I use an oil lamp and a pitcher of water" as props.

At times, members of the audience become the other characters. "I pick out disciples" and speak to them. "It's an intimate connection."

Sherrill travels with close friend Scott Cowart, his stage manager, PR man, and codirector. But he admits he does "miss the friendships you have when you're working in a huge Shakespeare company." And he's taken time off to go to Africa for a month and to return to Shakespeare. "When I take a break, the material even sinks down deeper for me, and I'm able to reflect on it."

"You could mine this material all your life, as scholars have, and never get all of it, all of the richness."