Local native Brittany Moss Leazer plays the role of Mary, the mother of Jesus, during the play “Voices That Cry Out: Women of the Bible Monologues.” Sitting in pews across America, most Christians envision Bible characters in a more ancient setting, not blessed with technology like cell phones and automobiles so necessary to our daily lives.

That type of message is not for people who need their stories to have a more “modern” feel.

Inspired by several of the Bible’s leading ladies, Cherokee County native Brittany Moss Leazer is helping audiences look at characters like Mary, Mary Magdalene, Ruth, Esther and others in a new way in her play “Voices That Cry Out: Women of the Bible Monologues.”

Written and performed by Leazer, the onewoman work recently debuted in churches in the Atlanta, Ga., area.

“This is a show I have been working on for a few years, since I was in college at North Greenville University,” Leazer said. “When I was studying, I began to write commentaries that eventually gave me an idea of who these women were and how they would sort of fit in today’s society.”

It’s unlikely anyone would picture Mary, the mother of Jesus, as an “ordinary” teenager in Hannah Montana pajamas equipped with modern amenities that we all enjoy, yet equally shocked to find she had been hand-chosen by God to carry the person who would change the world.

Mary is the only role set in present time.

Each decade had its own personality, as did each of the Bible’s leading ladies. Taking a glimpse into each of their lives, Leazer began to envision what time period the women would best fall into, building the play from there.

“For example, Ruth and her mother-in-law reminded me of a Southerner in the 1930s moving North,” Leazer said. “Them moving for better opportunities brought me to that conclusion. It was all in a way that would enable the audience to connect with the character and give them a different look at things.”

Other characters include Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist who became pregnant with him at an old age, as an elderly Jewish matron in the 1970s and Esther as a 1990s beauty queen.

The play also gave Leazer the unique opportunity to both write and perform her own work.

“My undergraduate degree was in theatre and I plan to get my Masters in playwright this summer,” Leazer said. ‘This gave me the chance to mix the two, both of which are passions of mine.”

Few could be prouder of the local native than her father, Robert Moss, who was in attendance last week to see the show debut.

“This has been a passion of hers since she was young,” Moss said. “So it was definitely a proud moment for me and my family to see her on stage.”

Leazer is hoping to eventually bring the play to Cherokee County churches.

“I definitely miss the small town life, and would absolutely love to come back home to perform the play,” she said. “Hopefully, the opportunity will come, giving those in the audience a chance to connect with each of these characters.”