Lex Luther torments Christ, crucified on a swingset

When you’re in danger, who will save you? Superman or Jesus Christ? That’s the dilemma posed by the hilarious play El EVANGELIO SEGÚN CLARK (The Gospel According to Clark) performed by Mexico City’s Kraken Teatro last weekend as part of the annual International Hispanic Theater Festival of Miami that runs through July 26. The son of god and the superhero confront each other beneath a swingset that serves as an everchanging set: now Superman is swinging through the air with his arms outstretched; now Christ is kneeling behind a swing, his hands in prayer; now Clark Kent/Mary Magdalene is using a steel post as a stripper pole.

What? In this irreverent farce, the actors show off their own superpowers, changing from one character to another faster than a speeding bullet and leaping over the swings and even the whole swingset in single bound after bound. No one is more amazing than Richard Viqueira, who not only wrote and directed this mad cap meditation on our eternal desire to be saved, but also plays both Lex Luther and Judas Iscariot. It’s too late for you to catch the Christ vs. Superman showdown, but you can still see some of the best theater from Latin America as the festival continues through next weekend.