EVERETT — Leonardo Defilippis started out doing Shakespeare.
On Sunday, he plans to play his most challenging role: Jesus Christ.
The actor and film producer will perform a one-man play he produced taking the original words of the Book of John and adding music and elaborate costumes.
“The way the Book of John is crafted is unbelievable. It’s a literary and spiritual masterpiece,” said Defilippis, who has memorized the entire Book of John.
“The Gospel According to John” is scheduled for 7 p.m. Sunday at Immaculate Conception Church, 2517 Hoyt Ave., Everett. It runs 110 minutes with a 15-minute intermission. Admission is free.
The show is sponsored by Immaculate Conception Church and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church as part of religious education and youth ministries, said Carmen Sullivan, director of religious education. Organizers expect several hundred people to attend.
“It’s open to the whole community and I understand the production will have a lot of costumes and music from Rachmaninoff and others,” Sullivan said. “I’m sure everyone who sees it will be blessed.”
For more than 28 years, Defilippis has brought to life some of the world’s most revered religious characters.
Through his production company, St. Luke Productions, Defilippis has played St. Francis of Assisi, St. John of the Cross, St. Augustine and others. More than 1 million people have seen Defilippis’ live productions and his work has included feature films and television, he said. His film “Thérèse,” based on Thérèse of Lisieux, played in mainstream theaters for 70 weeks.
Defilippis said he has always had a great love for language and classical theater, the higher arts. He sees the gospel as an important part of literature.
“The story is so moving that people will literally cry … it’s so cathartic. That’s why I’ve done this for so many years. You’re dealing with works that are about some of the greatest people who walked the Earth. They’re brilliant, they’re holy and they changed the world,” he said.
Defilippis grew up Catholic but like many young people he turned away from his faith.
He began acting in high school, he said. Later, he went to San Francisco to work at the American Conservatory Theatre. He did street theater, acted at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Ore. He was involved in Shakespeare productions at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego.
He was searching for meaning. He began to return to his faith, he said.
He learned of a famous actor from England, Sir Alec McCowan, who memorized the Book of Mark. Defilippis said he also met Mother Teresa, an experience that solidified his desire to create productions based on the lives of the saints.
Reporter Leita Hermanson Crossfield: 425-339-3449 or Lhermanson@heraldnet.com.
The Book of John
“The Gospel According to John,” performed by Leonardo Defilippis, 7 p.m. Sunday at Immaculate Conception Church, Mattie Hall, 2517 Hoyt Ave., Everett. Free. Call 425-349-7014.
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