Loyola Chicago Theatre Explores Death in "Everybody"
What do you think it looks like when death comes for you? A skeletal grim reaper with a hooded cloak? Black winged angel? Maybe a man wearing a slick suit and sunglasses? In his play "Everybody,” based on the15th century Catholic morality play “Everyman,” Branden Jacobs-Jenkins depicts death as God’s slick, clever and suited-up assistant. Promotional poster from Loyola's Fine and Performing Arts Department. " Everyman" reinforced ideas about Catholic life and death. The author of the play is only known to contemporary scholars by the name Peter. “Everyman” emphasized the importance of doing good deeds as the primary means of accessing heaven as a Catholic. “Everybody” seems like the perfect play for a Jesuit Catholic university to produce, except that Jacobs-Jenkins’ version is adapted for a secular audience. That didn’t stop Loyola University Chicago from making “Everybody” part of their 2021-2022 theater season. Levi Welch, a senior theatre major and one of t
