Messiah on the Frigidaire

Messiah on the Frigidaire was written by John Culbertson in 2001 and the comedy has since been performed around the country. The plays deals with the mayhem that ensues when the image of Jesus appears on a refrigerator in a trailer park in Elroy, South Carolina. Tackling the touchy subjects of true religion and mans remaking of God, the comedy is at its heart a love story. The play had its World Premiere in Midland, Texas, and has since been performed more than 100 times in theatres from Ohio to Alabama. The play received its first professional production at Centre Stage South Carolinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Theatre_Communications_Group_Member_Theatres. According to an article published in The State newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, Culbertson got the idea for the play after the death of his grandmother who always referred to her refrigerator as a "Frigidaire" no matter what brand it happened to be. That idea combined with a recent reported sighting of a mysterious cross in a Louisiana bathroom led to The Title of the play, and then the plot was hatched.

In Ohio, the play achieved "Excellence in Ensemble" when the Broadview Heights Spotlights Theater performed a thirty minute excerpt competing in the Ohio Community Theater Awards. The excerpt included Lou Ann, Betsy, Dwayne and Preacher Hodges discussing whether the preacher thought the image of Jesus on the refrigerator was a miracle or not and Dwayne's later dreamed up scheme to enterprise on the questionable miracle.

According to a review by Pamela Allen of the Midland Reporter Telegram , "John Culbertson has written a hilarious play AbOUT the foibles in the human condition." Addison Dewitt, of the Free Times Entertainment News review of the play called it a "very funny play that manages to make some very serious points, not at all an easy thing to do." However the plays is not without its critics. George Kanzler of the Metro Beat in Greenville, SC called the play "cumbersome" in its attempt to address too many issues, from abortion to business ethics. Messiah on the Frigidaire is the second play from playwright John Culbertson, whose first effort, "The Spectator Sport" is published by Janzon Play Publishing.