Jonah
by Len Jenkin

JONAH is a rumination on the story of the man and the sea.

Jonah's a man on the run.

He hops a Greyhound to Joppa and then grabs a cabin on the ocean-bound Carnival Princess.

Drinking away his sorrows at the ship's Grass Skirt Grill, the lounge band Sheila and the Lovetones plays him into a stupor before he tumbles into the waves.

Len Jenkin's JONAH is a contemporary retelling of the unfaithful servant; some love stories about the evil city of Ninevah, a Dairy Queen, and of course, the whale.“Life’s a beach and then a whale swallows you … Playwright Len Jenkin’s take on the eco-friendliest Bible story in Sunday school is a 100-minute storm of Hawaiian shirts, mermaid skirts and foot-high tropical cocktails served up inside a scalloped circus tent … Just like the Bible says, God stirs up a storm to drown everybody because Jonah, that no account coward and womanizer, refuses to do His will and go preach repentance to the sinners in Nineveh.

What we don’t know is the outcome for all the luckless passengers and crew that sailed out to party until they hit land … The fun of a Len Jenkin play is in the wild mix-up of the cocktails and characters operating in a time-warped space where Rhodes scholars and pirate Jezebels stomp [and] fervently sing … They shake, writhe, and wax poetic to accordions and guitars and even an oboe and cello … The show is mesmerizing while you watch — and evocative long after you have left the theater.”

—Martha Heimberg, TheaterJones“Best New Play: … incredible … The frenzied take on the Biblical beach tale featured kaleidoscopic characters and heartwarming stories interwoven in a way that was meaningful, intellectual and fun … [a] hat trick.”

—Dallas Observer