What could be a better follow-up to Easter weekend than witnessing the trial of Judas, the man who betrayed Jesus?

“The Last Days of Judas Iscariot” is the major Spring production for the theatre program this year. San Francisco State University students play characters such as the titular Judas Iscariot, Jesus Christ, Satan and other globally known figures in a play depicting the trial of Judas. The production takes biblical and historical characters and drops them into an urban depiction of purgatory with a twist for the audience.

The play challenges the audience to look at historical characters from a new perspective by putting audience members front and center on the stage alongside the actors.

 “I liked the idea of essentially messing with people’s heads a little bit,” director Vicki Hoskins said.

Audience members are placed in about 70 seats on the stage facing outward, sitting mere feet away from the performers. 

“I really just wanted to make something that was a little bit more intimate,” Hoskins said. 

Immersing the audience right away with the set allows the story to feel more than just watching a play, but actually participating in the trial of Judas. The set is hand-crafted to look similar to a San Francisco metro station or a New York subway station, including details like the familiar, yet mysterious stains on the hand-painted cement floors. Actors speak directly to people sitting in front of them and even break the fourth wall by acknowledging there is an audience attending the trial.

“Ultimately, the play comes up with its own resolution at the end,” Hoskins said, “But the idea is for the audience to kind of wrestle with how they feel about the events that happened.”

Although religion plays a heavy part, audiences of all beliefs will likely find interesting aspects in the story. Actor Sherrell Teague, who plays both Henrietta and Soldier #1, felt that the play gave an opportunity for the actors to connect with its subject matter by the cast’s first table read. 

“Some people grew up Catholic, some people grew up Christian, some people grew up Jewish,” Teague said, “It’s interesting to see the perspectives all come together and you get to see the melting pot of all of them.” 

Jerome White, a second-year theatre arts student, grew up with a Christian background and plays El-Fayoumy, one of the prosecutors. 

“It kind of hits home,” White said. “I feel like it teaches a lot about the Bible while still adding the comedic effect to it.”

With the story being set in modern time, the characters’ personalities are updated and adapted to reflect SFSU student performers through gender-swapping characters and even adding subtle queer themes. Playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis took inspiration from the everyday people he observed in New York City when writing the original script.

Raelene Elisan, a third-year theatre arts student, plays Mother Teresa with a spin. 

“I kind of play her as a little bit of a flirt,” Elisan said, “She’s a little GILF.” 

Inversely, second-year theatre arts student Kennedy Amos-Henderson is excited to show people the other side of her character, Satan. 

“I think my version of Satan is not necessarily coming in full force as an evil-type figure,” Amos-Henderson said. “I’m more of a, let’s say ‘classy’ Satan.” 

The characters’ costumes are updated to fit the urban setting as well. An inspiration board outside the Little Theater shows what the costume designers had in mind to update the wardrobes of biblical figures in the story. On the Jesus board, there are pictures of Birkenstocks, and Satan’s board has tailored suits and a lot of red. 

Amos-Henderson dyed her hair red to accentuate her portrayal of a suit-clad Satan. 

“The role is written for a man, and I’m putting kind of a gender-queer version on that,” Amos-Henderson said. “I have lots of jewelry, lots of earrings. I’m wearing heels and I’m in a suit. It’s a very sleek and fashionable suit, and I think it’s perfect for my character.”

Hoskins said there are aspects of queer culture and aesthetic incorporated into the story, much of which comes from the input from students. 

“The choreographer comes from a ballroom culture,” Hoskins said. “So there is a sliver of that in the choreographic aesthetic that the students have gravitated towards.”

The production is set to run until May 3 in the Little Theater, including four matinee shows, part of the theatre department’s initiative to make shows more accessible for commuter students.

This story was updated to fix the spellings of Raelene Elisan and Sherrell Teague.