Leonard Bernstein’s Mass comes to Chrysler Hall this weekend and is sure to fall on audiences with as much, if not more, weight than it did when it was first performed at the Kennedy Center in 1971.

Superimposed upon the backdrop of a Catholic Mass, Bernstein wrote this tribute to his slain friend, President John F. Kennedy. It captures much of Bernstein’s personal struggle with fame, faith, and identity while doing the same for a country in the midst of those very struggles. The loss of Kennedy, a war we didn’t understand, incivility on the way to civil rights; all of these things had Americans wondering who we were and who we could trust. No need to look far for a connection to contemporary audiences.

Bernstein was Jewish and wrote a play with a Catholic framework, but this isn’t a piece about religion. As one of the members of the Street Chorus, Vivienne Cleary, told me, this is a story about humanity; a way of having an open discussion about the questions we all ask: Why are we here? Where are we going? What do we hope for? The priest conducting the Mass (John McVeigh) takes on the position of anyone or anything we ask to give us those answers. Depending upon the perspective of the congregants (which can be all of us watching/participating in Mass) the priest could be fame, or money, a relationship, or religion itself. Will the priest hold up under the weight of all our hopes; our need for meaning, answers and identity? And if he fails us will we ever take him back again? Mass poses these questions about our Questions.

A truly massive production with over 200 people, two choirs, and the Virginia Orchestra, the play is a huge and rare flower only open for two shows Friday and Saturday. Miss it and you may wait half a lifetime to see it. New York director Pam Berlin, a native of Hampton, jumped at the chance to work on the play because of its complexity and the rarity of a production this size. Berlin and her team have been working on Mass for eight months to pull off these two performances, although “performance” seems inadequate and cheap in describing Mass. While Mass offers an amazing variety of music, song and dance, it is more meditative than entertaining; a work to see and ponder together and in private over the weeks and months ahead of us all.

Leonard Bernstein’s Mass will be performed at Chrysler Hall this weekend, April 23 and 24, ONLY. Click here for tickets and more info.