With direction by Mary Ann Grogan and Diane Wardenburg and musical direction by Joanne Archibald, the Players will offer performances at Immanuel Lutheran Church & School, at 18 Clapboard Ridge Road, on Friday and Saturday, March 26 and 27, at 7:30 pm; and Sunday, March 28, at 2 pm.

Suggested donation is $7, or $6 for groups of ten or more. Tickets will be sold at the door, but reservations are recommended; call 203-775-5566.

In 1495, at the end of the 15th Century, Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to paint a mural on a wall of the monastery Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. His subject was The Last Supper. The painting depicts the moments immediately following Christ’s dramatic announcement to his disciples that “One of you will betray me.” It depicts the emotion and the question of “Who could it be?”

The Last Supper is one of the most dramatic episodes in the Gospel accounts of Christ’s life. Jesus and his disciples went to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. As he dined with them, he had a premonition of his imminent arrest and execution. He blessed the wine and bread, ate with his disciples, and said to them: “Do this in remembrance of me.” The Last Supper has been recalled by Christian churches ever since through the sacrament of the Eucharist.

In 1995, Chaplain Andy Krey, serving for Maritime Ministries of Southern New England, was stationed at the US Navel Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The base was at that time a camp for thousands of Haitian and Cuban refugees fleeing their homelands.

Holy Week was approaching and Chaplain Krey wanted the religious time to become meaningful again for the displaced refugees as well as the servicemen and women who were far from their homes. The chaplain stuck upon the image of The Last Supper, and decided to bring the famous painting to life.

Born out of the refugee camps that Lenten season, The Last Supper Enactment has been performed around the world since then.