The show is created and performed by Great Small Works members John Bell, Trudi Cohen, Stephen Kaplin and Jenny Romaine, plus the performers Shane Baker, Andrea Lomanto and Jessica Lorence. It features original music composed and performed by the saxophonist Jessica Lurie.

The show is "inspired by classic Sicilian puppet theatre’s Orlando Furioso cycles, which performed the epic clash of Christians and Muslims in the 1800s," according to press notes.

It "brings together tabloid newspaper stories, popular literature about Armageddon, and fundamentalist iconography to create an epic spectacle following an unlikely cast of characters from the USA to the Middle East and beyond. See the Creationist tour of the Grand Canyon and learn the history of the world through Bible-based science. Enter the world of Muslim squatter punks in Buffalo where young believers try to redefine Islam for the 21st century. Marvel as the spirit of Susan Sontag debates the Devil. Be awed as regular American citizens confront the growing power of fundamentalism over their lives and institutions. Wonder if The Rapture is upon us!"

Great Small Works, a group of six theatre artists who draw on folk, avant-garde and popular theatre traditions to address contemporary issues, was founded in 1995. It has received an Obie Award and a Jim Henson Award for innovation in puppetry.

HERE Arts Center is located at 145 Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. For tickets, priced $20, call (212) 352-3101 or visit www.here.org.