Sometimes we take life a little bit too seriously. That is why we look to the arts for a reprieve. In watching a theatrical production, we become emersed in another world and forget about our unique problems for a while.

The Gilbert Theater is presenting "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot." It is a crazy take on, as the title indicates, the last days of Judas Iscariot. Pulitzer-prize-winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis created the show. It debuted first Off-Broadway at The Public Theater on March 2, 2005, directed by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman.

The show centers around a court case deciding the ultimate fate of Judas Iscariot. The resulting decision will determine Judas Iscariots goes to Heaven or Hell. During the show, the characters are in Purgatory. The bailiff is a Barney Fife-like character played by Justin Gore-Pike. Gore-Pike also plays Judas.

"Judas is a sad, haunted person," Gore-Pike said.

The play utilizes flashbacks to an imagined childhood and lawyers who call for such witnesses as Mother Teresa, Caiaphas, Saint Monica, Sigmund Freud and Satan.

El Fayoumy, the lawyer, is in hell and thinks that he proves his worth that he belongs in Heaven or at least Purgatory by prosecuting this case.

The witnesses are funny and provide comic relief. Mother Teresa cannot hear very well. El Fayoumy gets her earphones, and then she can hear, and she also comments on how attractive El Fayoumy is.
Saint Monica is brash and uses harsh language, not something you would imagine in a play centered around Judas Iscariot.

Sigmund Freud is as one would imagine and brings some comic relief to a serious subject.

Satan, played by Matt Gore, takes a solemn subject and character and makes light of him.

Gore-Pike describes the play as "a fun, dark comedy."

The play is not for children as there is a lot of foul language, especially by Saint Monica, played by Deannah Robinson. It may also be offensive to religiously devout Christians and Jews.

The stars of "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot" are Eden Kinsey, who plays Fabiana Cunningham, a lawyer in the Judas case. The other star is El Fayoumy, played by Chris Walker.

Walker describes the show as " thought-provoking and leaves you with something to talk about ... filled with many fun-loving actors who take a serious subject and flip it into something funny."

"The biggest takeaway is to never be afraid to challenge the system when it needs to be challenged," Gore-Pike explained. "Never be afraid to ask questions."

"It is more about self- forgiveness than God's forgiveness," said Walker. "Jesus doesn't care what Judas did. He is forgiven."

In the end, Jesus, played by Michael Ormiston, comes to Judas, played by Gore-Pike, and washes Judas's feet, proof that Judas was forgiven.