LaDonna Fetty stood before a bare-chested Jimmy Willis on Thursday, applying skin-colored makeup to cover the tattoo on his left breast – a red heart with ‘‘Tina” written across it.
After all, none of the authors of the four Gospels in the New Testament mentioned seeing a heart tattoo on either of the thieves who were crucified alongside Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago.
And since Willis, of Frederick, was preparing to rehearse his role as ‘‘Thief #2” in ‘‘The Borrowed Tomb,” Calvary Assembly of God’s Easter musical, such a tattoo would be a distraction when he is strapped to a cross onstage wearing nothing but a loincloth when the musical debuts tonight.
Fetty, the church’s children’s pastor and stage manager, also daubed black makeup on his arms for bruises. ‘‘Like you’ve been punched,” Fetty said.
Willis scratched at his salt-and-pepper beard, which he grew to look like a man down on his luck in biblical times. ‘‘I’m not used to this,” he said, adding that he is ‘‘usually clean-cut.”
This is the second year Willis is performing in the Walkersville church’s Easter musical. He will join more than 90 other parishioners onstage and in costume for the musical, which follows the final days of Jesus Christ as described in the Bible.
Though the main set is the same as the one used for ‘‘The Sacrifice” last year, the church has spent $12,000 to produce ‘‘The Borrowed Tomb” and $1,200 to advertize it, according to Lisa Wardrop, ministry coordinator.
More than 2,500 saw the musical last year, which cost more than $25,000. The sanctuary can accommodate 550 people, and about 450 usually come for Sunday services.
For many performers in the musical, the musical is a family affair.
Loren Fetty, associate pastor and LaDonna’s husband, is playing Jesus. The couple’s son, Nicholas, 24, is doing the lights.
Bob Miller, a Woodsboro resident and host of WFMD’s ‘‘Morning News Express,” reprises his role from last year as Caiphas, an impeccably dressed oppressor of Jesus. His wife, Lynda, is playing Mary Magdalene, and their daughter, Erin, 15, is the narrator.
Willis joined the church two years ago in search of peace and answers when his wife, Tina, fell ill with cardiomyopathy, a disease that affects how the heart muscle pumps blood. ‘‘I was just never really a religious person [before joining the church],” Willis said, adding that he was performing in the play in gratitude for the support the church’s members and leaders have shown him during his family’s struggle. ‘‘They’re there when I need them.”
LaDonna Fetty’s job involves making sure performers like Willis look right when they enter the stage.
She will prepare Loren Fetty for his walk down the aisle to the cross, and then she will help open the doors when he’s carried out of the sanctuary on a stretcher.
Finally, Fetty will help make sure her husband is cleaned up offstage for his final appearance as the risen Christ. ‘‘Me and another lady actually bathe him,” she said. ‘‘It’s pretty funny.”
Calvary Assembly of God is at 8234 Woodsboro Pike, Walkersville. Show times are 7 p.m. every day through Sunday, and 2 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free. Call 301-898-7811
