Courtesy photo A group of 13 men will bring Leonardo de Vinci’s painting “The Last Supper” to life April 10. The play is free and open to the public.

When Jesus began his ministry, he selected 12 men to disciple in the ways of God. Yet, one of them was not as loyal as the others.

On the night before he was crucified, Jesus prepared a meal for his disciples and said one of them would betray him. His remark upset the men as they wondered among themselves who it could be.

Leonardo da Vinci captured that moment in his famous painting known as “The Last Supper.”

Thirteen men will bring that painting to life when they present “A Living Picture of The Last Supper” at 8:15 p.m. April 10 at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, 301 Spruce St., Hollidaysburg.

Although the play was not produced locally last year and one other year, the men will have been performing it for about 17 years in area churches.

While many Christians are familiar with Christ’s Passion, the play offers insight into all 12 disciples, including those who are not as well known as Peter, James and John.

As 11 disciples and Jesus pose on a dimly lit set in the same postures as they appear in da Vinci’s painting, the remaining disciple expresses his thoughts in an area highlighted by a spotlight. After he has given his soliloquy, he returns to the table, and another one moves to the spotlight and speaks until all 12 have done so.

Each disciple tells how he met Jesus and his experiences with him, said Jim Yeager, who plays James the Greater.

“Then, each of us questions ourselves. Is it I? Am I that guy that is going to betray Jesus?” he said.

With 11 of the original 13 actors staging the almost annual event, Yeager of Duncansville said the play has changed and improved with time.

“The biggest difference is that the characters become more natural. The words flow with emotion and meaning. Personally, I feel that I am actually that person I am portraying. You feel you are there and witnessing that event and time,” Yeager said.

The men have not only gotten more familiar with their dialogues, but have concentrated on knowing what the disciples they are portraying were really like.

Bob Muldoon, who plays Judas, said the men have researched the lives of their characters so they can portray them more accurately.

But those few minutes in the spotlight may not be the most challenging role each of them has in the hourlong production.

To remain poised in the leaning, head tilted or hand gesture positions that replicate the da Vinci painting takes concentration and determination.

After the performance, there hasn’t been an actor who hasn’t made such remarks as, “My leg locked up or I got a shoulder spasm,” said Muldoon of Hollidaysburg.

Yet, they make the sacrifice and bear the pain for the sake of the production, he said.

He learned about the play, written by Methodist Pastor Ernest K. Emurian in 1954 and first staged in Portsmouth, Va., after his sister told him about her church in Virginia staging “A Living Picture of The Last Supper” about 20 years ago. Muldoon said his sister got him in touch with the men who put on the play at her church and encouraged him to see if it could be done in the Altoona area.

“She planted the seed,” he said.

Muldoon approached men in two prayer groups he attended about being the disciples.

For 15 times since that original request, they have agreed to do it. Most of the actors attend St. Mary Catholic Church, Hollidaysburg, or St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, Hollidaysburg. One cast member is from St. Patrick Catholic Church in Newry.

Although the cast and production crew is Catholic, Muldoon said the drama is for all Christians.

“It’s about the Passion of the Lord,” he said, and the group has performed in Protestant as well as Catholic sanctuaries.

Muldoon said, for the cast and for many people, the drama is part of their Lenten experience.

“It gets me in the right frame of mind for Holy Week,” he said.

Christy Rhykerd of Hollidaysburg, who saw the play a couple of years ago, said it is well done, and the actors play their roles well.

“It is very personal,” she said.

Rhykerd said the play brings the history of what happened at The Last Supper to life.

“You hear it with your own ears and see it with your own eyes. You experience it with the person next to you,” she said.

For Yeager, the play is a way to serve others and demonstrate God’s love. He pointed out that at the Last Supper, Jesus washed the disciples’ feet to signify servitude to others.

“He instructed the disciples to serve the community and to serve the world,” he said. “It’s God’s way — the way of love.”