A tale of holy intrigue

To some he was a saint, to others, a sinner. He rose from a street tough in Al Capone’s old neighborhood to one of the most powerful men in the Vatican. He longed to be nothing more than a simple parish priest but instead was a polarizing figure, surrounded by scandals from missing funds to murder implications. He was both revered and reviled. He was Archbishop Paul Casimir Marcinkus, and his story is being brought to life in a riveting one-man show by Tom Flannery.

Under the direction of Paul Winarski, “Marcinkus” stars Greg Korin as the titular figure. The production details the events in the archbishop’s life, with particular focus on the period in the 1970s when billions of dollars went missing from the Vatican Bank. The fascinating tale takes on the air of a confession as Marcinkus reaches out from beyond the grave to tell his side of the story.

“The way Greg performs it, an hour and a half goes by before you can blink,” says Winarski. “It’s a success story, it’s a tragedy, it’s a piece of gossip.”

“Marcinkus” began humbly a few years ago, while Winarski and Flannery were having lunch. The playwright had never heard of the archbishop who was nicknamed Paul the Gorilla, but the more they chatted, the more interested he became. Flannery started doing some research, delving into books which included accounts of missing money, mob ties and attempted murder. Like Winarski, Flannery was hooked, and he completed the first version of the play in a month.

Once the script was finished, the author and director chatted, worked on revisions and searched for the right time and place to stage the piece. When Marcinkus passed away peacefully in Arizona in 2006 at the age of 84, the two e-mailed each other almost simultaneously, thinking that it was a sign that the show should go on.

Following a few more script changes, Winarski began searching for an actor who could hold the stage solo and capture the audience’s attention for an hour and a half. He had to look no further than colleague and stage veteran Korin. Though the actor is 30 years younger than Marcinkus was when he passed away, his name kept leaping to the top of the director’s very short list due to his experience, versatility and stage presence.

“Marcinkus” opened to rave reviews in Wilkes-Barre in the summer of 2006. When the production traveled to Scranton in 2007, it received coverage in The Chicago Tribune in a piece about its own local boy made good, or bad, depending on the point of view. There was even talk among the trio of taking the show to the Windy City, though schedules and details were never set. Still, the men thought the archbishop had more to say. So when Lou Bisignani of the 411 Studio in Olyphant called Winarski and asked him to bring something to the stage, he immediately thought of “Marcinkus.”

While the particular challenges for the actor in a one-man show are obvious, Winarski had some obstacles to overcome as well.

“The approach of a director doing a one-man production is totally different,” he explains.

While a typical play is a group effort, with input from the director as well as a number of cast members, “Marcinkus” involves intense, one-on-one collaboration. Winarski likens the working relationship between him and Korin to that of a psychologist and patient or mentor and student. It’s a much more analytical process and, according to the director, rehearsals have often involved sitting and discussing the character in depth as opposed to running lines and blocking.

“You block the show once, and it almost takes on a life of its own. It gives both of us the freedom to explore the character, the situations and the undercurrent of emotion,” Winarski says.

Though the workload, particularly for the actor, has sometimes been daunting, Winarski believes that the experience has strengthened both their working relationship and their longtime friendship. It’s also been thrilling for the director to watch Korin grow, both in the character and as an actor, from the first time he took the stage as Marcinkus until now.

“I think he found aspects of himself he didn’t know existed. It’s extremely rewarding to take an actor down a different pathway,” Winarski says. “The more Greg does it, the more well-rounded the performance becomes, the more introspective it becomes. I think that we’re going to see a more bitter Marcinkus this time.”

Korin has come quite a way since the summer of 2006, when he joked that Winarski had to teach him how to bless himself to prepare for the role. At first, the actor felt like a bit of an outsider, playing catch-up in a project in which Winarski and Flannery had already put in so much research and passion. Winarski didn’t agree with the actor’s assessment then, and he certainly doesn’t now.

“The three of us basically molded this project out of nothing but an idea that happened over lunch four years ago. I think we’ve finally hit upon the final version of this piece.

“Everybody likes intrigue. Everybody likes to hear people talk about things they supposedly did or supposedly didn’t do.”

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“Marcinkus,” Nov. 6-8, 13-15, 8 p.m., The 411 Studio (411 Lackawanna Ave., Olyphant). $12. Info: 570.489.7700.