THE MESSIAH OF MORRIS AVENUE

John Bedford Lloyd gets Hendra's darkly satirical Swiftian send-up of religious fundamentalism just right. What if America were a theocracy dominated by the Christian Right? What if televangelists and charismatic clergymen were more powerful than elected politicians, if Hollywood were "Holywood," and blasphemy were a crime? And, what if the Messiah came back as Jay, an Irish-Guatemalan kid from the Bronx whose "apostle posse" is made up of ex-gang-bangers and crack whores? Lloyd is wonderfully ironic as the disenchanted Johnny Greco, a nonbeliever and self-alleged Judas figure. As Jay, his voice is steady, quiet, reassuring, and as Jay's nemesis, Reverend Sabbath, Lloyd is sanctimoniously oily. Lloyd's performance offers an absorbing tale, right to its powerful, inevitable conclusion. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/ JUL 06]