All Heaven and Hell will break loose this weekend as the Virgin Mary visits Hell.

Premiering on the Town & Gown stage, “The Mother of God Visits Hell” tells the story of Mary’s attempt to rescue all the souls from Hell, despite God and Satan’s unwillingness to play along.

Penned by University graduate, Dan Guyton, the hour-long play was inspired by a nonexistent poem mentioned in “The Brothers Karamazov” by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

“One brother starts talking about this poem that was written in the 15th century about the Virgin Mary traveling to Hell and comforting the souls there,” the MFA graduate said. “I thought that was a really cool idea, but when I went to look it up, I couldn’t find it. I think Dostoevsky made it up.”

Guyton then took it upon himself to fill in the missing literature. Composed entirely in rhyming iambic pentameter, his fourth full-length play takes on the air of a medieval parable mixed with Shakespearean drama.

“Writing in iambic pentameter was something I always wanted to pursue,” Guyton said. “This [style] fit naturally partly because the characters are not realistic. With the supernatural characters, it just felt more natural to have them speak in this heightened language.”

Directed by Guyton’s friend and senior drama major Patric Ryan, the production has the tricky task of portraying larger than life characters speaking in a larger than life manner without seeming over the top.

“The acting will not make it hokey,” Ryan said. “I was really blessed to get some really talented actors. And the piece itself is more accessible than say ‘Macbeth’ or ‘As You Like It.’ Anybody will understand what [the actors] are saying.”

A bass-toned Sean Polite, a Grady College staff member, will take on perhaps the meatiest role of all – God.

“As flattering a role as it can be, it’s also fraught with complications,” Polite said. “If you do tend to believe in God and whenever it’s time to go and see him, God’s going to be like, ‘I saw what you were doing there, you didn’t think I saw that?’” Polite chuckled underneath his snow-white wig and beard.

In addition to possibly risking their afterlife destination, the 15-member cast will undertake some detailed battle sequences and a handful of snarky humor.

At the heart of the mater, however, is the well-intended message of forgiveness over revenge. The play tackles the discrepancy between the fire and brimstone God of the Old Testament to the all-forgiving one of the New Testament.

“I always wondered, ‘why did this shift happen?’” Guyton said. “I always thought it was because when he became a man, the very act of becoming human made him appreciate humanity.”

Thus, God as seen in “The Mother of God Visits Hell” may prove a little more vulnerable than dogma would have one believe.

“If we’re going to create a drama about God, and he is all-knowing and powerful, that’s not very dramatic,” the playwright said. “I really wanted to make God more human.”