The Dramatic Arts and Dance Department will open their spring season this weekend with a production of Heaven, a play by the acclaimed Canadian playwright George F. Walker.

Don't let the title fool you—Heaven is far from religious or preachy. Rather, the play is a humorous and provocative black comedy.

The play takes a frank look at race and religion. It is built on the observation that people may believe in an afterlife with all of the perks, but it does not make them treat each other any better while on earth.

The play has only six characters, but is overflowing with a wild and twisted plot. Jimmy, the protagonist, is a successful human rights lawyer who has become cynical, despairing in his lonely crusade of 'doing good'—fighting the hypocrisies of race, religion and political correctness. Jimmy doesn't hate people, just the things they do.

His marriage to his Jewish wife, Judy, is falling out, and his wife's rabbi is beginning to irritate him.

Jimmy's childhood friend, Karl, is a burnt-out police officer, frustrated with his job.

Jimmy becomes alienated from everyone, except two street kids, Derek and Sissy, with whom, ironically, he bonds.

The play certainly includes an interesting mix of characters, but to give away any more of the plot would destroy the surprises of the production.

Director Sears Eldredge describes the play as wildly funny and off the wall.

"It keeps you off base," Eldredge said. "Just as you think you understand what is happening, he [Walker] turns the page."

Reactions to Heaven are often polarized—people either love or hate the show.

The play raises a number of questions and creates an interesting dialogue through the diverse audience reactions. It questions religious, social and political views. It examines people's unwillingness to let go of inherited ("tribal") ideas even though these can often be detrimental to development.

Walker's ultimate message is that heaven won't solve any of the problems that we have created on earth. It's a heavy message, but director Eldredge still hopes that people will find humor in the play.

"Walker brings a unique vision to his play writing," Eldredge said. "He is brilliant, but he doesn't come from a highly educated background. He brings a different, blue-collar perspective to his writing."

Walker was born on Aug. 23, 1947. He was raised in Toronto's east-end, a working-class district, which became the setting for many of his plays.

While working as a cab driver in the early 1970s, Walker caught sight of a poster for Factory Theatre Lab requesting original scripts. He wrote Prince of Naples, which marked the beginning of a long and fruitful playwriting career.

Today, Walker is one of Canada's most prolific and widely published playwrights.

He has received numerous awards in Canada for his work. He has won the Governor General's Award twice, and has four Doras and seven Chalmers Awards.

Walker's plays have been performed across Canada, the United States, and have even been translated into German, French, Hebrew, Turkish, Polish and Czech.

Eldredge chose to produce Heaven because he believes that it is extremely important and relevant in our times.

"We really need to pay attention to Walker's work," Eldredge said. "I like this play … it's some of the edgiest stuff he [Walker] has ever done."

The cast for the show has been working hard to prepare for this weekend's opening.

Students came back to Macalester a week , before the beginning of the spring semester to work on the production. They rehearsed six hours a day for the week. The cast is almost exclusively second-years, with only one junior.

"It's a difficult piece to perform," Eldredge said, "but the cast is doing wonderfully well."

Cast members include Peter Krause as Jimmy, Lizzy Davis as Judy, Jesse Ruuttila as Karl, Elliot Stapleton as David (the Rabbi), Simon Morrison as Derek and Ariel Dumas as Sissy.

Kate Bredeson, a former Macaleser student who is currently at Yale in the Doctor of Fine Arts program, will lead after show discussions for the first weekend. She was the dramaturg for Yale's production of Heaven last year.