By KARI KLINE

LINCOLN — Christ Church will present a Lenten play tonight and on Sunday that represents months of hard work by parishioners.

On a recent night, infectious laughter filled the room where the men sat bantering back and forth in the parish hall after another rehearsal of “Fish-Eyes.” Rehearsals had taken place three times a week for several months now.
Dennis LaFreniere, who acts the part of Peter in the play, talked about his character.
“Peter reacts very strongly. He’s pessimistic. He’s very angry towards Andrew. He says, ‘I don’t buy this’ about Jesus. But at the end, he’s the one who’s going to fight for Jesus.”
LaFreniere was the one who heard about the play and brought it to the attention of the other church members.
He said he was teaching Sunday School to his seventh-grade kids and talking about the play when it struck him. 
“I wondered if adults would have the same reaction as the kids did,” he said.
“The play tells the story of the ministry through the eyes of Andrew and Peter in a humorous fashion.  The kids loved it.”
Doug Allen, Andrew in the play, said LaFreniere suggested him for the part after reading that the Disciple was funny and sarcastic.
Allen described Andrew’s transformation from fisherman to follower of Christ.
“Imagine some guy shows up at your work and says ‘please follow me.’ At first, Andrew thinks, no. Then he witnesses something and thinks ‘hmmm,’ then he witnesses something else and says ‘wow’.”
Nineteen-year old Director Dee Tavolaro, made up the trio talking in the church parish hall.
“People can be intimidated by the Bible stories,” she said. “With this play, you’re going to learn a lot in a short period of time.”
Travolaro, who is studying to becoming an Episcopal Priest, has a background of theatre as a part of the Senior High Drama Club at Mount St. Charles Academy in Woonsocket. Travolaro is currently a freshman at Rhode Island College studying secondary education focusing on history.
The original play was written in the late ‘90s by Ted Swartz and Lee Eshleman.
The origin of the idea began with a New Testament class Swartz was taking under the direction of Professor Dorothy Jean Weaver at the Eastern Mennonite Seminary. 
“The professor suggested that the students read the text in a different way, such as a play.
“I was struck forcefully by the inherent humor in the account,” said Swartz.
“The disciples seemed once again to be befuddled by Jesus, and he in turn seemed exasperated by their inability to understand. I especially liked the description of the disciples ‘huddling together’ to try to figure out yet another cryptic image: ‘the yeast of the Pharisees.’ It was funny and consequently very human.”
Although the idea underwent many revisions before becoming the two-man play of today, the beginnings can clearly be mapped back to Swartz’s class.
The 90-minute play will be presented at Christ Church Parish Hall on Friday, March 7 at 7 p.m., and Sunday, March 9 at 3 p.m.
This is the first play to be staged at the Parish Hall said Travolaro.
“The journey through Lent is very sobering and very depressing for some people,” said Travolaro. “The Crucifixion is not the end. There’s something more.”
“This is the perfect time just before Palm Sunday,” added LaFreniere.  “You can chuckle at (Bible) stories you know.”
LaFreniere hopes that the play is the beginning of many plays.  He says he would like to see continuous plays for the community, in conjunction with other area churches.  And in the true spirit of his character, Peter, he’s already named the future production company Fisherman’s Follies.
The 170-year old church was originally frequented by mill workers, who on Sunday, would walk to mass from the nearby mill houses.  Today the church has an active local community in Lincoln, nearby Cumberland, Smithfield and the Attleboro’s.  
Christ Church is located at 1643 Lonsdale Ave. (Mendon Rd.), near Front Street.  The Parish Hall is across the street from the church.  Tickets are $5 each, and can be purchased by calling the Church at (401) 725-1920, or e-mailing This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it    Pre-ordering is requested.