The idea that God and Nature are basically the same thing is kind of a simple one that most people take for granted. Speak that idea aloud in the modern world and you're likely to get a yawn or two. However . . . say you're a 17th century Dutch lens grinder. Say that sort of thing and you're likely to upset a great number of people. And so it was with Baruch de Spinoza. Spinoza has bcome one of the more respected theologians of his day . . . a distinction which was celebrated in contemporary playwright David Ives' The New Jerusalem. A man predominantly known as a comic playwright evidently pens a very serious intellectual drama about Spinoza defending his ideas before the leaders of the Jewish community in Amsterdam in 1656.
The 2009 play makes it to local stages in a one-night only reading with Soulstice Theatre this month. The reading will be staged at Soulstice Theatre's new space on 3770 South Pennsylvania Avenue in St. Francis on December 17th at 7:30pm. Tickets to the performance are $15. For ticket reservations, call 414-481-2800 or visit Soulstice Online.
