Jamaican acting legend Oliver Samuels and CBS TV star Zay Harding- host of The Visioneers With Zay Harding on CBS- will headline the cast of playwright Easton Lee’s classic religious epic The Rope and The Cross, which returns to the New York stage for a Gala Easter Sunday Performance on April 5.

The Rope and The Cross will be presented at The Jamaica Performing Arts Centre in Jamaica Queens at 7pm as an exclusive staged reading concert performance. The show will be preceded by a complimentary Caribbean Cuisine Easter Reception courtesy of The Door Restaurant at 5:30 pm.

Broadway World award winner David Heron will serve as producer and director of the one-night-only theatrical event, through a special arrangement with the estate of late playwright Lee.

Set in rural Jamaica and ancient Jerusalem, Lee’s sweeping epic breaks with traditional presentations of Christ’s passion, humanising Jesus and Judas as modern-day Jamaican men- young, angry and determined to overturn the status quo to create an equal and more just society for the world they live in. But when the authorities around them intervene with deceptive and divisive tactics, the two youthful rebels tragically discover that the autocracy will stop at literally nothing to prevent the change we can believe in.

Three-time Actor Boy Award winner Samuels will play the role of The Shepherd Narrator, who engages with the audience and guides them through the immortal story across both past and present. He recently completed the American Premiere tour of his latest production Di Prodigal Pickney last November. His resume also includes over sixty theatrical productions and such film projects as The Mighty Quinn, featuring two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington, and Great Moments in Aviation with Academy Award winner Vanessa Redgrave. 

 Harding- whose acting credits include appearances on FX TV’s American Horror Story, ABC’s Mistresses and Hawaii Five-O on CBS- appears as the High Priest Annas, whose manipulative interactions with Jesus and Judas play an integral role in the events that ultimately lead to the cross. Harding’s popular CBS environmental adventure series The Visioneers With Zay Hardingis currently in its second season, achieving record-breaking ratings for 2025. Other hosting credits include Globe Trekker on PBS and Digging For The Truth on the History Channel. He has appeared onstage in productions such as Camelot at The American Conservatory Theatre (A.C.T.). among many others.

According to Heron, The Rope and The Cross represent his latest effort to both revive and introduce existing and new Caribbean plays to wider audiences through his staged reading production series.

 “Two years ago, we presented the hugely well-received American Premiere of the late Alwin Bully’s amazing drama McBee- a Caribbean re-telling of Shakespeare’s Macbeth- at JPAC (The Jamaica Performing Arts Centre),” he recalls. “Inspired by that success, we are back with The Rope and The Cross, a play that seems as timeless and timely as when it was first performed in Jamaica in 1979. Its playwright Easton Lee, like Alwin Bully, is no longer with us. But I believe we have a responsibility to honor their memory by consistently preserving and presenting the work. It is the only way to honor our legacy of Caribbean theatre excellence.”

Heron describes Lee’s play as, “In my humble opinion, one of the finest Jamaican masterpieces ever written.  He created it in the late 1970’s, in the era of then Prime Minister Michael Manley, when Jamaica was going through a significant political and societal evolution. The charismatic Manley was very much about empowering the black people of Jamaica and shaking off the remaining vestiges of colonialism and imperialism following Jamaican independence in 1962. And what Easton captured in The Rope and The Cross through the characters of Jesus and Judas, was that rebellious spirit of  Jamaica in that moment. He draws a clear parallel with what both those biblical men were also trying to achieve in Israel in the time of Christ, against the authorities in Judea and imperialist Rome. So it is a story that strikes a really perfect balance between the ancient biblical and the modern political, without losing any of the pathos of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice.”

He is especially excited to be working with both Samuels and Harding on stage for the very first time.

“Oliver and Zay are brilliant actors, and they will be playing roles unlike anything they have done before. Oliver is the undisputed Caribbean King of Comedy, but he can do so much more. In The Rope and The Cross, he has funny moments as always- but this play takes him to other places emotionally, where he is not regularly seen. And surrounded by a stellar cast including Zay and others, they will all create an experience to remember.”

Additional casting for The Rope and The Cross will be announced shortly.

The Rope and the Cross is presented in association with The Jamaica Tourist Board, Mesidor PLLC, Results Promo and Marketing, The Door Restaurant and IMC Media.

Tickets will be available online starting Tuesday, February 10 at theropeandthecross.eventbrite.com,  with Early Easter Special discount tickets available until Tuesday, February 24.