Ben Brantley, the theatre critic for the New York Times, wrote in 2008, "Stephen Adly Guirgis is a savage sentimentalist among contemporary playwrights, an artist who likes his feelings raw to the point of bleeding." There's no bleeding in Triad Productions mounting of Mr. Guirgis' "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot," but the cast comes close a bunch of times.

The set up is very simple for what turns out to be a complex and difficult 2 hour 40 minute play. Cunningham (Samantha Ginn), a persistent advocate, brings an appeal of the assignment of Judas Iscariot to hell to a courtroom located in purgatory. The judge (Charles Peters) refuses to hear the case until Cunningham produces a writ signed by God. Able to refuse no longer, the judge allows Cunningham and Satan's advocate, El-Fayoumy (Kris Zarif), to present a series of witnesses relating to the deeds and intentions of the now-catatonic Judas. Interspersed with the testimony are scenes that fill in the back-story of the hearing.

Director Stephen Schmitz claimed in the program that the play is about forgiveness, not about Judas Iscariot. "Sorry for having misled you," he wrote. "It is not about Jesus Christ. It is not about religion, God, the Bible, or the Torah." Mr. Schmitz may have a point, but Mr. Guirgis, who also wrote plays titled "Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train" and "Our Lady of 121st Street," knows his way around religious doctrine, the Bible, and the Torah. To get to the forgiveness part (at the end, staged around two guys and a beer) there's a lot of those other things to go through. Best I can tell, Mr. Guirgis didn't make any of this stuff up, and he makes sure that some explanation of where he's going is always offered. But, for those who are unfamiliar with these topics, it can be a tough listen. If you have some familiarity, however, the listen can be a fascinating one.

The large cast contains many recent university theatre program graduates, and their portrayals are of varying quality. Mr. Schmitz seems to have pushed his actors to move the pace along, and several of them speak too quickly in doing so. But, there are several indelible moments, such as Scott Andrew Amiotte's turn as Satan, Mr. Peters' defensive bristling as Caiphas the Elder, Merrick McCartha's portrayal of Pontias Pilate as the consummate politician, Brian Burke's understated Simon the Zealot, and Carolyn Henderson's monologue as Mary Magdalene. Ms. Henderson even gets to throw in a reference to "The Last Temptation of Christ," which this play resembles in its determination to take apart what we think we know and present a credible alternate narrative of the Judas story.

And, as Judas himself, James Cota turns in a performance that is full of nuance and skill.

Set Designer Kristen Flores did a nice job of filling the large playing space at the Tenth Avenue Theatre in the East Village section of downtown. She was abetted most ably by Jason Bieber's excellent lighting design, which managed to create a variety of effects on a budget and without calling undue attention to themselves.

Triad Productions is a young company that is committed to producing thoughtful and edgy work. They have to fit themselves into open slots at available theatres, so they produce when they have an opportunity to do so. If "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot" is any indication, they are a company to watch.

DOWNLOAD CAST AND CREW CREDITS AND BIOS HERE