Words by Noelle Chandler

At around 11:30 on a Tuesday morning, Michael Winder stands inside a square of tape upstairs in a rehearsal studio at Playhouse Merced. He is playing God.
“And behold,” he booms loudly, “behold, I give unto you penicillin and antibiotics and marijuana.” He leans in to the hypothetical audience, raising his eyebrows. “Don’t say I never gave you anything nice.”

This is the kind of off-the-wall irreverence that can be expected during any production of The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged). For those of you unfamiliar with the Reduced Shakespeare Company (creators and performers of The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged), among others), their work isn’t known for its polite sensibilities. If you want to hear a story you already know told exactly the way you have always heard it, it’s probably better you go somewhere else. Instead, the RSC uses long-told, well-known tales to their advantage, turning them on their head for the sake of comedy.

In this way, the story of Generations of Adam turns into a twangy country-western musical number called “Begattin’,” sung in Merced by Dustin Brown on acoustic guitar and accompanied by Michael Winder and Robert Hypes singing backup with big, goofy grins.

Artistic Director Robert Hypes hasn’t appeared on stage since January, in his last Reduced Shakespeare Company production. Along with twin brother Joe Hypes and Associate Artistic Director Matt Davis, Rob starred in The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged) and made the crowds go wild with Juliet and Romeo chasing each other through the audience, Titus Andronicus as a cooking show, and a constantly-revised, constantly-cut, terribly silly and eventually backwards 10-second Hamlet that left the audience absolutely howling. And ever since Complete Works, Rob has been longing to bring The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged) to life on the Playhouse stage.

“It’s really exhilarating to perform this style of comedy,” says Rob. “You have to be constantly on your toes.”

Joining him in the cast for Complete Word is newly appointed Associate Artistic Director Dustin Brown and UC Merced professor Michael Winder. Michael has had a hand in multiple Playhouse productions; past performances include the Sergeant in Biloxi Blues, Aslan in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and even musical ingénues like Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls. This is Dustin’s first performance in Merced, but he has traveled extensively with various theatre companies and is no stranger to fast-paced comedy.

Together, the three of them have such a blast that it’s amazing they ever rehearse. In the middle of a scene where Dustin and Michael argue over Noah’s Ark, Rob grabs a rolling desk chair from somewhere unseen and glides himself and his acoustic guitar and his goofy smile seamlessly to center stage, causing Director Chad Phillips to crack up. “Hi, everybody,” Rob crows as his cast members try hard to keep it together. Eventually, the scene takes the natural musical turn we knew it would, and the story of Noah’s Ark is clearly portrayed using audience members as seals, anteaters, aardvarks and snails while the cast sings to the tune of Old MacDonald Had A Farm.

While the play does start at the beginning of the Bible (with God granting light to the two confused actors on stage, abandoned by their costume designer and unsure about the size of their fig leaves) and end at the end (“the end” being the giant musical finale that is “Revelations”; you have to see it to believe it), it’s impossible to touch on the entirety of something as huge as the entire Word of God. But with enough clever jokes to keep us busy ‘til the Second Coming, this comedic trio is certainly going to try.

The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged) is playing November 13-29 in the Black Box Theatre at Playhouse Merced. Visit their Web site at www.playhousemerced.com.

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