...And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi

…And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi is a 2010 play by Marcus Gardley. The play is a re-imagining of the Greek myth of Persephone and Demeter.[1]

...And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi
Written byMarcus Gardley
SubjectReimagining of the Greek myth of Persephone and Demeter
SettingBanks of the Mississippi River during the Civil War

Plot

…And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi is set on the banks of the Mississippi River during the Civil War. A lynched African-American man named Damascus is immediately resurrected as a woman named Demeter, who only has three days to find her daughter Po'em and transmit her song before she has to return to death.[2]

Characters

The Quilter
  • Miss Ssippi is a beautifully large, black woman. She gives new meaning to the word elegance, although she appears over-worked and always on the run.

The Threads
  • Free Girl is ten, half black and half white. Her face is caked in white powder and her hair is always tied up. She wears a tea dress.
  • Blanche Verse or Blanchie is also ten and white. She wears short pants and an old army vest, which hangs loosely on her.
  • Cadence Marie Verse is Blanche’s mother. She is white and old enough to be embarrassed by her age. She is always dolled up: blush on the cheeks, rouge on the lips and gin on the tongue.
  • Jean Verse is a thin, white romantic. He wears a white silk shirt, Confederate slacks and a dark fedora. His voice is like the wind; it caters to the trees.
  • Demeter is old enough to die wise. She is black, with silver her hair and smooth skin. She is built like a good man, one who’s been fighting all her life. She wears a tattered petticoat, ripped slacks and a headscarf. Damascus is her former being.
  • Yankee Pot Roast is juicy, with much fat hanging off him. He is white and red all over.
  • Jesus is black, a warm beauty. He wears sandals and a robe. The actor that plays him also plays The Great Tree.
  • Brer Rabit is the House Negro.[3]

Influence

The play is based on the story of Persephone and her mother, the goddess of the harvest Demeter.[4]

gollark: Same X but different Y, that is.
gollark: Oh right, two points can't have the same X in this, yes.
gollark: The output has a bunch of infinities and NaNs in it.
gollark: (x - 1) * -1 / 3.6288e+5 * (x - 2) * (x - 3) * (x - 4) * (x - 5) * (x - 6) * (x - 7) * (x - 8) * (x - 9) - x * (x - 1) * (x - 2) * (x - 3) * (x - 4) * (x - 5) * (x - 6) * (x - 7) * (x - 9) + x / 40320 * (x - 2) * (x - 3) * (x - 4) * (x - 5) * (x - 6) * (x - 7) * (x - 8) * (x - 9) + x * -1 / 5040 * (x - 1) * (x - 3) * (x - 4) * (x - 5) * (x - 6) * (x - 7) * (x - 8) * (x - 9) + x / 720 * (x - 1) * (x - 2) * (x - 4) * (x - 5) * (x - 6) * (x - 7) * (x - 8) * (x - 9) + x * -1 / 120 * (x - 1) * (x - 2) * (x - 3) * (x - 5) * (x - 6) * (x - 7) * (x - 8) * (x - 9) + x / 24 * (x - 1) * (x - 2) * (x - 3) * (x - 4) * (x - 6) * (x - 7) * (x - 8) * (x - 9) + x * -1 / 6 * (x - 1) * (x - 2) * (x - 3) * (x - 4) * (x - 5) * (x - 7) * (x - 8) * (x - 9) + x / 2 * (x - 1) * (x - 2) * (x - 3) * (x - 4) * (x - 5) * (x - 6) * (x - 8) * (x - 9) + x * (x - 1) * (x - 2) * (x - 3) * (x - 4) * (x - 5) * (x - 6) * (x - 7) * (x - 8) is the output polynomial.
gollark: I put in factorials from 0 to 10.

References
  1. "…and Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi". The Cutting Ball Theater. Archived from the original on November 2, 2009. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  2. Hurwitt, Sam (March 24, 2010). "Review: Fate and fable converge while Jesus moonwalks". marinij.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  3. Marcus Gardley …And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi
  4. Strong, Laura. "The Myth of Persephone: Greek Goddess of the Underworld". Mythic Arts. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
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