Article Published April 26, 2018
Explosive Revelations, Questions of Faith and Miracles in Agnes of God
By Press release from Madison Lyric Stage
Madison Lyric Stage (MLS) will continue its first production of the 2018 season, John Pielmeier's religious thriller Agnes of God, on Friday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, April 28 at 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, April 29 at 4 p.m. at the MLS black box theater at the Shoreline Unitarian Universalist Society, 297 Boston Post Road in Madison.
In the play, Dr. Martha Livingstone, a court-appointed psychiatrist is charged with assessing the sanity of a young novice at a convent, Agnes, who is accused of murdering her newborn. Mother Miriam Ruth, the Superior, determinedly shields young Agnes from the doctor, arousing Livingstone's suspicions further. Who killed the infant and who fathered the tiny victim? Agnes insists that the child was a virgin conception and Mother Miriam insists on the possibility of miracles. Livingstone, a confirmed atheist with a difficult religious past, insistently pushes Agnes with questions, which leads to explosive revelations.
Based on a true story, Agnes of God is a Tony Award-winning play and Oscar-winning film.
"I have always been fascinated by Agnes of God and its questions about faith and miracles," says Marc Deaton, MLS artistic director. "Are miracles still possible in our modern age; do events happen that are unexplainable; and what do we allow ourselves to believe?"
Agnes of God features Maureen Gallagher at Dr. Livingstone, Julia Lennon as Agnes, and Emma Palzere-Rae as Mother Miriam. Palzere-Rae is appearing courtesy of Actor's Equity Association. The play will also feature a choir of six. Deaton directs.
Tickets are $35 and can be purchased at madisonlyricstage.org or by calling 203-215-6329. Season subscriptions are also still available at $90 for three productions.
Madison Lyric Stage will also present the Stephen Sondheim/George Furth musical comedy Company in July and the Benjamin Britten suspense opera The Turn of the Screw in October. For the first time, the company will produce, in May, a young artist production of the Stephen Schwartz musical Godspell.
For more information about Madison Lyric Stage, visit madisonlyricstage.org.