When the revival of “The Judas Kiss,” David Hare's 1998 drama, began its pre-New York run during this past Easter season in Toronto, a few irate patrons demanded their money back once they realized that the show was not, as they had surmised, about the betrayal of Jesus in the Garden of Getsemane — far from it. It is, in fact, a fascinating examination of the tragic fall of gay icon Oscar Wilde and features nudity and explicit sexual situations.However, there is something Christ-like in Wilde's acceptance of the bitter cup of disgrace in the drama, starring Rupert Everett in this new production, which transfers from Toronto to the Brooklyn Academy of Music from May 11 through June 12. The first act opens at the Cadogan Hotel in 1895 following the disastrous libel trial that Wilde himself brought against the Marquess of Queensbury after the British aristocrat accused the writer of being a “somdomite.” [sic]. After a parade of witnesses testify that the famous writer had indeed indulged in then-criminal homosexual acts, the playwright retreats to the hotel where he is implored by friends to flee to France before he is arrested for “gross indecency.”While Hare indicts British public opinion at the time — George Bernard Shaw was one of the few who rose to Wilde's defense — the playwright also dissects Wilde's folly and bizarre inertia in the face of certain arrest. His subsequent conviction would lead to two years of hard labor in the penal system. The second act of “The Judas Kiss.” set in 1897, follows the writer's post-imprisonment in Naples. He is a broken man living with his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, the son of the Marquess who, in a vendetta against his father, had badgered Wilde into suing in the first place. Spoiled and petulant, the young lord is the Judas in Hare's re-telling of the precipitous decline of one of theater's brightest lights. (At the time of his arrest, Wilde was at the height of his fame; “The Importance of Being Earnest” was London's biggest hit in years.) The legendary Irish-born writer would die in 1900 in a seedy hotel in Paris's Left Bank — now the very chic L'Hotel — and be buried in Pere Lachaise Cemetery.“The Judas Kiss” was a hit both in London and New York when it first premiered in 1998, despite highly divergent notices, especially for its star Liam Neeson, who was hardly anybody's idea for the flamboyant Wilde. The critics' opinions ranged from “boldly against type” to “slightly perverse.”Everett, padded and be-wigged to more closely resemble the portly Wilde, has garnered rave reviews since this revival, directed by Neil Armfield, began its run at the Hampstead Theatre in 2012 before transferring to the West End in 2013. The Sunday Telegraph described the revival as “theatrical perfection.”In its North American premiere last month, Liz Braun of the Toronto Sun described Everett's performance as “astonishing,” and further observed: “All the heartbreak in 'The Judas Kiss' does not obscure Wilde’s legendary wit, and the play is often laugh-out-loud funny. It is also surprisingly affecting. Everett brings Wilde to life as an endearing and unusually kind character, rapier wit notwithstanding; still, he seems quietly resigned to his fate at all times.”Co-starring with Everett, who made his Broadway debut in 2009 in “Blithe Spirit,” will be Charlie Rowe as “Bosie,” the faithless Lord Alfred Douglas, and Cal MacAninch, as Robbie, Wilde's best friend and former lover who vainly pleads with the writer to escape the ignominy and martyrdom he has assigned for himself.
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