COTTON PATCH GOSPEL & Tom Key

Cotton Patch Gospel premiered at the Lamb's Theater in New York City on October 21, 1981.

Written by Tom Key and Russell Treyz, and with music and lyrics by Harry Chapin, Cotton Patch Gospel adapted Clarence Jordan's "Cotton Patch" versions of the gospels for the stage.

... “Cotton Patch” is a boisterously timed comedic hootenanny that succeeds as a crowd-pleasing entertainment for people of all faiths. Essentially a one-man gag in which Key acts out all the parts surrounded by a two-person chorus and a five-man acoustic ensemble, it’s a high-spirited, toe-tapping deglamorization of the most familiar Sunday school lesson of all, from the Nativity to the Crucifixion.

Part of the thrill of this show is the speed and economy of Key’s transitions —- from Matthew (the narrator) to Christ to Herod and so on. With the energy of a man 20 years younger, he hops on crates, trolleys and other shaky-looking props with a gymnast’s precision. His familiarity with the cadences of Southern speech comes through in his barnstorming portrayal of John the Baptist and his goofus interpretation of Lyman Lovejoy, the farmer who witnessed the virgin birth. Key fairly mocks the angel of the Lord by investing him with a faux-Brit accent and some serious wing-flapping affectations.

The curious thing about this show ... is that it portrays Christ not so much as a victim as an instigator. Was he a fraud, a madman or the son of God? That’s tricky, and the fascinating thing is that “Cotton Patch” doesn’t really give you a clear answer, unless you want it to. This isn’t heresy, but testimony to the rigor of the spiritual debate.

Ultimately, what impresses about “Cotton Patch” is the way it ponders the state of the world today, with all its terror, fear, hate, war, catastrophe and shortages. The teachings of “Cotton Patch” author Jordan —- who espoused a philosophy of love over violence, shared possessions and a conservation of natural resources —- ring true like never before. The error of persecuting and indicting out of ignorance is unequivocal, because innocent people can and do get hurt.

From 2005 THEATER REVIEW by Wendell Brock (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution) at http://www.accessatlanta.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/accessatlanta/reviews/entries/2005/10/06/cotton_patch_at.html

TURN IT AROUND

They tell you an eye for an eye. They tell you a tooth for a tooth. Then they say, "It's God's way."

But I'm here to tell you the truth.

When somebody looks at you in anger And whomps you on the side of your head?

Do you go whack? Do you hit 'em back? No, don't fight 'em, invite 'em,To whomp the other side instead.

Turn it around, turn it around, Surprise 'em a little, start shiftin' the ground,

To get rightside-up, turn upside down Now is the time to turn it around!

They tell you to worry 'bout yourself, Before you help somebody else.

"Look out for number one," that's what they say, But I've got a far better way.

When someone asks you for a ride to the bus-stop, I say "Well, don't let 'em down."

Take 'em with a smile, go the extra mile. Don't drop 'em at the bus stop, Drive 'em all the way to town!

Turn it around, turn it around, Surprise 'em a little, start shiftin' the ground,

To get rightside-up, turn upside down Now is the time to turn it around!

They tell you "Hold on to what you got." They say "Possession's nine-tenths of the law."

And when they're talking money, that's not funny, They'll tell you it's worth dying for.

I say when someone steals your shirt, Let 'em go, say "Take it if you please!"

Don't let 'em down, just turn it around, Say "Take my shoes, take my pants!" "Take my B.V.D.s!"

Turn it around, turn it around, Surprise 'em a little, start shiftin' the ground,

To get rightside-up, turn upside down Now is the time to turn it around!

Turn it around, Turn it around Surprise 'em a little, start shiftin' the ground,

To get rightside-up, turn upside down Now is the time to turn it around! Now is the time to turn it around!

The "Cotton Patch" Gospel is a colloquial translation of most of the New Testament

by Southern Baptist minister Clarence Jordan.

(Jordan also founded the Christian community Koinonia Farm, in Sumter County, near Americus.)

http://www.briarsdocumentary.com/filmclips.html

Between 1968 and 1973 Jordan published four Cotton Patch volumes:

The Cotton Patch Version of Paul's Epistles,

The Cotton Patch Version of Luke and Acts: Jesus' Doings and the Happenings,

The Cotton Patch Version of Matthew and John:

Including the Gospel of Matthew ^{(except for the "Begat" Verses)} and the First Eight Chapters of the Gospel of John,

and The Cotton Patch Version of Hebrews and the General Epistles.

Jordan's goal was to communicate the New Testament in the idiom of the South so that "plain folks" could better understand it.

He did not attempt a translation of Revelation.

Jordan, who worked from Greek texts, changed both the setting and the language of the New Testament.

For example, Jesus makes such statements as

"Come to me, all of you who are frustrated and have had a bellyful, and I will give you zest"

(as opposed to the Matthew 11:28 verse, traditionally translated from the Greek as "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest").

The following excerpt is another interesting example of the provocative way the Cotton Patch Version presents Scripture:

http://rockhay.tripod.com/cottonpatch/corinth-1.htm#chapter12

Don’t make an ass of yourself.

Such shoddy thinking destroys decent conduct.

Sober up and quit your sinning.

I'm ashamed to say it to your face,

but some of you have an abysmal ignorance of God!

MAKING THEATRE by Tom Key

2007 Keynote Address, Atlanta, GA at http://www.setc.org/indexKey.php

In college, back in 1979, I was at one of Tom's first performances of the prototype of this show (I recall stage managing for him, but, given my present advanced age, my memory may be somewhat faulty). I consider Tom Key as one of the greatest influences on me in regard to the theology of theatre.

The following is excerpted from Tom Key's keynote address

I want to make a comment on what I personally believe is our greatest challenge, not as thespians, but as human beings.

At present, I think our greatest challenge is to learn to live with one another and the planet, or perish. That is, we are going to have to evolve from tribes to a world community. ... We are going to have to make a transition from the endless entropic tragic cycle of revenge and retribution to the creative healing process of understanding, respect and reconciliation. It’s interesting to me that the word “agape” is not used by Plato, Aristotle or Sophocles. It’s a Greek word that means “love,” and it means “love” in the context that Dr. Martin Luther King, Ghandi, what Christ meant when he said, “There’s no gain in loving those who love you, it’s when you love your enemies.” That’s “agape.” It’s what Abraham Lincoln meant when he said, “Do we not destroy our enemy when we convert them into our friends?”

It’s interesting to me that there came a time when this word showed up in human language. I would submit, if it is going to be accomplished that we will transition in the centuries to come to a global community, it’s going to be accomplished through the theatre. I would go further to say that America would not be America if it were not for the theatre, because I don’t believe the same ancient culture that gave us the idea by which we govern ourselves in this experiment called America, that’s relatively young, would have been able to have given us that idea unless they had also been the same ancient culture that gave us the theatre as we know it. Why? Because this is the art form of language. It is the only time in our human experience, that we gather in large numbers, and language is center stage, with no other purpose than to convince the audience that what they witness on stage is true. It might be a musical, it might be a farce, tragedy, epic, satire, but it’s true.

…

I learned a great life lesson that I can’t judge a character as good or bad, and play him at the same time. And this has prevented in my life, a lot of needless judging.

When I was at the University of Tennessee, as an undergraduate, taking an American Theatre course, I really embarrassed myself and kept on asking questions, trying to manipulate the meaning of the plays into something that had meaning to me in my own personal perspective. And the teacher again was very patient with me, and took me aside, and with no shame in his voice, said, “You obviously have some strong religious convictions,” to which I proudly said, “Yes.” And this is very embarrassing to share this, but he said, “So you would like for people to hear how it is that you believe and what you think is important in life,” and I said, “Well, yes, I would.” And he said, “Well, why don’t you give others that opportunity? Why don’t you listen to others? Because if you judge a play as right or wrong, before you even see it, before you even give the playwright a chance to convince you of the truth of the situation, aren’t you asking … isn’t that….” He was so kind in the way that he did this, but I was destroyed. I got the message. And so I stopped asking all these questions and I realized… He said, “If there is something that is going to challenge your point of view, then this will just be an opportunity to strengthen it, but it might be a chance to enhance it.”

... together we can symbolize, together we can understand what it is to be human.