What the fuck did I just see? I’ve seen musical theater, I’ve seen Broadway, I’ve seen rock shows, and I’ve seen performance art. Now I’ve seen "Taking the Jesus Pill," a unique production that’s been running for over a year now, and ask, "How could I have missed this for so long?"

Written by Charlie Terrell, "Taking the Jesus Pill" is a self proclaimed "anti-musical" about a young woman raised by celebrity evangelist parents who must find her way into the real world after suffering traumas of her own. The story is based on the CD of the same name by the author, who is also the songwriter and lead singer. The yunes, an accumulation of gritty Southern-bluesy-rock, are played live by the band as narrative. As a result, this full stage production rocks the audience long and hard.

This play is produced not in a conservative theater forum, but is wrapped within a rock club. That means, of course, a full bar! The band plays upstage center while much of the action takes place in front, while the entire bar acts as the stage in this surreal adaptation of a musical journey.

Performers hop onto the bar, run around the spiral staircase in the stage-right corner, play on risers on stage-left, use the barstools that audience members sit on, and make use of several levels of the club’s schematics to entertain the copious watchers. Projected artwork, film and dance intertwine to satiate the otherwise starved existence of the Hollywood theater-rock lover.

Nikki McCauley as Tina is a commanding presence throughout, with fiery red hair that assists in morphing her young innocence into tragedy and its sinful product. From pure religious youth to deformed big city stripper, McCauley handles the journey well and utilizes alternative media to tell her story.

Brandon Kerrar plays Johnny 3:16, the rebel with a cause and the personal savior of our tragic heroine. He is relatively true-to-life and fun to watch.

The evangelical parents are also wonderful to watch, notably Nathan LeGrand as the Preacher who sells his sermons to each audience member as if we were part of the church-going community (the irony being that it’s actually a rock ’n’ roll bar is brilliant). LeGrand also suffers a tragic fall and portrays a psycho-savvy maniac with passion and delight.

As the Preacher’s sidekick wife Josephine, Irene Muzzy is a delicious highlight. She wears her terrific happy-wife mask next to her proud husband, but quickly succeeds in unveiling her desperate, lonely, abused, under-appreciated and tragic self as the play unfolds.

Wade Barrett, in the dual roles of Diamond Lanes and the Bartender, does an outstanding job with her back-and-forth character change. Her portrayal of a snide stripper is fun and her specificity as the Bartender is dead-on.

As a whole, the cast is strong with Steve Coiffi as dirty Judge Tarwater, Christopher Mario Parker as a severe Reverend Hightower, David Hyatt as snarly Deputy Maynard and Vernon Lee as co-Deputy Buford. The dancing is hot (check out the pasties!), and the band’s tight sound is accented with energy and flawless execution.

Not a theater-goer? See this gig. Not a rocker? See this play. Not an art aficionado? See this dance. Whatever and whomever you are, check this s**t out. I’ve never seen nothing quite like this and honestly don’t know what the fuck to call it, but I loved it. So what are you waiting for? GET UP AND GET OUT!

King King is located at 6555 Hollywood Blvd., in Hollywood, (323) 960-5765. Doors open at 7 p.m. for the March 6, 13 shows. Price: $15 cover. For more information, visit www.takingthejesuspill.com.