''Marcinkus'' is a 2006 one-man play by American author

Tom Flannery Tom Flannery (born July 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter and playwright from Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States. AllMusic has called him "one of the most gifted songwriters to emerge at the turn of the century." Career After three cr ...

, based on the life of Roman Catholic Archbishop

Paul Marcinkus Paul Casimir Marcinkus (; January 15, 1922 – February 20, 2006) was an American archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church and president of the Institute for the Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican Bank, from 1971 to 1989. Early ...

Background

''Marcinkus'' is a one-man dramatization of events in the life of Catholic Archbishop

, whose tenure as head of the

Vatican Bank The Institute for the Works of Religion ( it, Istituto per le Opere di Religione; la, Institutum pro Operibus Religionis; abbreviated IOR), commonly known as the Vatican Bank, is a financial institution situated inside Vatican City and run by a ...

was "surrounded by scandals from missing funds to murder implications," and included suspicions of money laundering, Ponzi schemes, and even assassination.

Plot

The

stageplay A play is a work of drama, usually consisting mostly of dialogue between characters and intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. The writer of a play is called a playwright. Plays are performed at a variety of levels, from ...

takes place in a small office in what may be purgatory, but looks very much like the archbishop's office in

Sun City, Arizona Sun City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, that is located within the Phoenix metropolitan area. The population was 39,931 as of the 2020 United Sta ...

, his last residence as a retired man of the cloth. Marcinkus relates directly to the audience stories from his youth, growing up in

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and how he eventually became a priest. As the piece unfolds he tell his version of the Vatican Bank Scandal, his appointment as head of the bank, the death of

Pope John Paul I Pope John Paul I ( la, Ioannes Paulus I}; it, Giovanni Paolo I; born Albino Luciani ; 17 October 1912 – 28 September 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City from 26 August 1978 to his death 33 days later. Hi ...

, and his job as "bulldog" to

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. Although dramatic, the piece is lightened by the humor that Flannery has instilled in his version of Marcinkus, who was popularly quoted as saying ''"You can't run the church on Hail Marys"'' .

Production history

The

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

had its debut in

Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the secon ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

in the summer of 2006, at the Arts YOUniverse center for the applied and living arts. The production was under the direction of Paul Winarski and starred Greg Korin as the Archbishop. After several revisions by the director and author to streamline the piece, the play was remounted in

Scranton Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...

in 2007, in February at the Old Brick Theatre, where it was covered by ''

The Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' as a "local boy made good (or bad)" piece. The new production ran 15 minutes shorter, and is considered the final version of the play. As of this date, a

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

production of the play was in planning, which was expected to feature original star, Greg Korin.

Critical response

The original production in Wilkes-Barre in the summer of 2006 "opened to rave reviews". A niece of Archbishop Marcinkus, afraid that the play would be a "hatchet job", contacted

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

Flannery, who sent her a copy of the text. She expressed agreement that the play was a balanced look at her uncle's life, and offered suggestions that the Flannery included in a rewrite.

References

{{reflist 2006 plays American plays Plays for one performer Plays based on real people Plays set in the 1920s Plays set in the 1970s Plays set in the 1980s Plays set in the United States Plays set in Italy Plays set in Rome Cultural depictions of American men Cultural depictions of religious leaders

Background

Plot

Production history

Critical response

Further reading

References