WESTERLY—When Fr. Ray Suriani, pastor of St. Pius X Parish in Westerly was approached by one of his parishioners, Eugene Celico, about staging a production of “The Last Supper” in the church hall on Palm Sunday weekend, he had one very blunt question to ask the veteran stage and film producer.
“Will there be any shenanigans?” he asked, only half-jokingly.
With all the hype over the depiction of the setting for The Last Supper in two works of fiction by author Dan Brown, which began with the release of The DaVinci Code, Celico understood that it was a fair question for his pastor to ask. It was also an easy one for him to answer.
“There’s always going to be a measure of artistic interpretation in producing something like this, but no, there won’t be any shenanigans,” Celico, director of Stage Door Theatre Company, says with a chuckle.
After all, he got his start in the seminary with the Edmundites when he was 16 years old. He only lasted a year there, but decided a career in filmmaking was more suited to him.
Celico and his family have been parishioners of St. Pius X for the last 21 years.
“I wrote this four years ago. I’ve been wanting to do this as a stage version with the Women of Jerusalem. The women were the ones who helped prepare the meal.”
“I was inspired by the thought ‘What were these guys talking about at the dinner’,” Celico says.
The show opens tonight and runs through Sunday. The performances, which are suitable for all ages, are at 7:30 p.m. The show runs for an hour and ten minutes, with no intermission, and is free, although half of any donations collected with be donated to Fr. Giudice to help the missions he supports in Haiti. The rest will be used to help defray the cost of the production.
Although he has worked in theater and film on a national level, Celico has also built a solid track record for producing high-quality theater in Westerly. He is especially renown for “The Passion of Jesus,” which was performed in a public park.
The setting for The Last Supper is the apostle Mark’s house. The director insists that all props used in the dinner be real to help authenticate the experience for the audience, including the unleavened bread and the oil and herbs quoted in the Biblical accounts of the Last Supper.
“For me, there’s no better way,” he says.
Jim Vanieri plays the role of Judas.
“Judas is a character that I think has really gotten a bad rap,” says Vanieri. “Somebody had to do this so we would all be saved, and he was predestined to do it. He was the closest disciple; he was the favorite one. Judas was a good man.”
Ken Trebisacci plays the role of James the Lesser.
“I’ve found that since I’ve been doing this, I’ve come to have a deeper appreciation for The Last Supper,” he says.
“It’s a great feeling to actually portray one of the apostles. It gives you a perspective of how it was.”
Jerry Travers, who plays Peter, is looking forward to the reaction of the audience when they see how relatable the apostles are to them.
“I think they are going to be most shocked and amused seeing these guys come to life at the table,” Travers says.
Fr. Suriani commends Celico and the cast for their treatment of this important part of our Catholic faith.
“Eugene is merely offering his interpretation on the inner struggle of Judas in dealing with Jesus,” says Fr. Suriani. “It raises questions the audience can ponder, and hopefully it will lead people to look to the Scripture. There’s a distinction made with respect to Judas in regards to the Scripture. It’s not a positive one, it’s a negative one.”
The Last Supper will be staged in the St. Pius X church hall on March 25-28 at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free, but donations to help defray the cost of the production are welcome. The production runs one hour and ten minutes with no intermission. It is suitable for all ages.
