Coble’s ‘These Mortal Hosts’ offers fresh twist on old tale

Premiere of local playwright’s work at New Ground festival well worth seeing

In the New Testament, a messenger of God tells John the Baptist to go into the wilderness to prepare for the coming of a messianic figure greater than himself.

In 15th-century France, Joan of Arc testified to hearing angels and saints tell her to lead the French Army in rescuing her country from English domination.

And in Dove Creek, Colorado, three unlikely and seemingly random locals — a selfabsorbed high school senior named Meaghan, an anal-retentive bank manager named Phyllis and a kind-hearted, straighttalking grocery store butcher named Earl — find themselves in the middle of a miracle in Cleveland playwright Eric Coble’s “These Mortal Hosts.”

The play — a psalm with a sense of humor — is receiving its world premiere in the 12th annual Cleveland Play House New Ground Theatre Festival, an event that has firmly established itself as a champion of intriguing art and emerging artists.

Everything in “These Mortal Hosts” is set in motion by a car crash that takes the lives of three teenage boys. While the small town mourns, Meaghan (a thoroughly delightful Megan Medley) hears voices telling her to prepare the world for a day of reckoning, Phyllis (an always-engaging Amy Fritsche) finds herself pregnant without the aid of intercourse, and Earl (an absolutely charming Fabio Polanco) discovers his kind heart growing exponentially to the point of explosion.

As did the messengers of God before them, Meaghan, Phyllis, and Earl begin to question their sanity as these bizarre and socially isolating changes from within begin to alter their world view and turn their neighbors against them. But as their lives become increasingly linked, the meaning behind the madness takes on divine clarity, magnitude and urgency.

Anyone who has read about the apocalyptic prophecy in the Book of Revelation or, better yet, rented the supernatural thriller “The Seventh Sign” — where the apocalypse comes to Demi Moore in Venice, California — knows where “These Mortal Hosts” is heading.

But the journey that takes us there is paved with remarkable storytelling. In this production, the playwright’s idea, director Laley Lippard’s creative vision, the simple but effective stagecraft by Cameron Michalak (scenic design), Michael Bol (lighting design), Esther Haberlen (costume design) and Roc Lee (sound design), and the actors’ wonderfully textured performances join forces to create something greater than the sum of these extraordinary parts.

As he demonstrated in “My Barking Dog,” “The Velocity of Autumn” and other works, Coble’s writing is as entertaining as it is smart and engrossing. In “These Mortal Hosts,” direct-address monologues dominate the script and immediately relay the nature of each character and then set up the aforementioned magnitude and urgency of their newfound circumstances. The pacing of this play is guided by the length and rhythms of these monologues, while poignancy and punchlines emerge from their poetry.

And, every so often, Coble allows the play to linger on a moment — such as when these three mortal hosts sway to their mysteriously synchronized heartbeats and harmonized breaths — which is absolutely mesmerizing.

Director Lippard knows just when to let Coble’s words speak for themselves and when to bolster their emotional impact with theatricality. Using only a desk and three chairs in the small trapezoid-shaped performance space, their wellorchestrated movement coupled with lighting and sound effects establish the play’s various locations and beautifully underscore its mood swings. Assorted props and costuming come from panels that open and close on the surrounding wall. The result is a fluid, seamless and always- interesting 90-minute production.

Lippard also delivers an exceptional cast of local actors who not only capture the essence of their characters but manage to be thoroughly endearing throughout their trials and tribulations, which is essential in a short play with a big message about faith and hope.

You may recall that things didn’t end well for John the Baptist or Joan of Arc, though Demi Moore came out OK. Discovering the fate of Meaghan, Phyllis and Earl is just one of the many reasons to see this play. Another is to say you did before this work is released upon the world and the many accolades it will no doubt receive start pouring in.