'Living Last Supper' at WR Methodist Church powerful, emotional, director says

CANFIELD

The Rev. Kathryn Adams brings a personal connection to “The Living Last Supper” production she is directing at Western Reserve United Methodist Church.

As a student at Scarritt College for Christian Workers and Vanderbilt University Divinity School in Nashville, Tenn., the now-retired campus and church minister gave historical interpretations of a nearly life-size woodcarving of the Last Supper featured in the Upper Room Chapel in Nashville. She said the woodcarving is the largest reproduction of the “Last Supper” painting and among the most beautiful in the world.

“Visitors from all over the country and the world come to see it,” she said.

The Rev. Mrs. Adams said she was motivated to tackle such a production because of her experience serving two churches in Cleveland, which offered the presentation. “It’s very powerful ... seeing the re-enactment,” she said.

“The Living Last Supper” will recreate the 15th-century mural painted by Leonardo da Vinci in the dining hall of the Convent of Santa Maria Della Grazie in Milan, Italy. It endures as one of the world’s most-famous paintings and one of the most studied, she said.

She said Doug Price, a narrator, will begin the presentation as pianist Mark Halls, choir director, plays in the background. The disciples and Jesus will enter one by one and sit at the table. Then, each disciple will take the spotlight and describe who he is and what he is known for. “It’s powerful to hear and see,” the director said, adding, “It is an emotional experience.”

Read more about the presentation in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.