SEEKING SALVATION >>>

In no way do I mean this as a slight, but it doesn't take long before Everyman starts to feel just a bit silly. That's a good thing. I find silliness extremely underrated in modern art critique.

Indisputably the most famous English morality play of the late 15th century, Everyman relates the allegorical quest of its title character for salvation. Death has come for Everyman, and now, at the last minute - arguably, past it - Everyman is desperate for a path into Yahweh's good graces. One by one, Everyman's most cherished companions and idols desert him on the Road to Perdition. (Imagine a version of The Wizard of Oz in which the Scarecrow, Tin Woodsman and Cowardly Lion abandon Dorothy to the Witch.) Forsaken by friends, family, filthy lucre and even his own faculties, Everyman finally falls back on confession and faith in his First Father. And if you thought that alliteration was thudding, friend, just wait till you hear some of the rhymes in this show.

To read Christian Carvajal's full review of Everyman at St. Martin's University, click here.

[Saint Martin's University, Everyman, $5, through April 30, 6:45 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, beginning outside O'Grady Library on the SMU campus, 5300 Pacific Ave. SE, Lacey, 360.790.8308]