THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 8, 1996 TAG: 9602060106
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Theater Review
SOURCE: Montague Gammon III
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
The hardy souls who braved icy roads to the Governor's School Theatre last weekend were rewarded with an unforgettable production of a powerful piece called ``The Runner Stumbles.''
Milan Stitt's two-act play follows the trial of a priest who is accused of murdering a young nun. The events that led to Sister Rita's death are revealed, bit by bit, through the testimony of witnesses and in flashbacks from Father Rivard's memory.
Replete with represssed sexuality, cast against a background of religious prejudice, petty personal jealousies and casual violence, and climaxing in a catastrophic fire, this tragedy of a star-crossed couple just begs for a movie treatment. The script is much more affecting, much more moving than a simple description of the plot would imply.
The story takes place in a small village in rural Michigan, sometime in the early part of this century. The town's few Roman Catholics are distrusted, feared, and even hated by many of their neighbors. Yet the central conflict of the play is not that of Catholic and Protestant, nor are the clashes of young against old, male against female, traditionalist versus reformer anything other than secondary to the plot.
The conflicts that propel the drama are those seething within Father Rivard, and to a lesser degree those within Sister Rita.
From the moment she makes her entrance, it is clear that this vibrant, attractive, and pert young nun will unwittingly and inadvertently captivate the lonely and vulnerable priest.
Julie Baber's utterly believable performance, bubbling over with smiling charm, is one reason that the first act of the play is so profoundly disturbing. The audience cannot help realizing that this woman, so committed to her young students and so full of life, will soon be murdered.
Nicholas X. Parsons plays the compulsive, conflicted priest. Charged with the difficult task of portraying a man who hides his feelings even from himself, Parsons is also credible.
Faces familiar from other Governor's Theatre productions make up a goodly portion of the cast. One is Matt Caplan, as the inexperienced local lawyer who is participating in a trial for the first time. Others are Steve Kilcullen as the prosecutor, Zach Knighton as Monsignor Nicholson and Carrie Grace Morgan as a former student of Sister Rita's.
Marvin Arthur plays the jailer, Shannon Bridges a woman who cooks for the prisoners, and Michelle Ries is cast as Father Rivard's housekeeper.
All produce characterizations that are believable, but their work and that of the leads suggests that visiting director Bob Nelson never asked them to stretch themselves. By the time the second act is well under way, each of the actors seems to have hit an emotional plateau.
There's a lot of talk about internal agonies, and lines about self-doubt, of questioning, and of argument abound. These passages, though delivered with force and clarity, don't seem to vary one from the other to any great degree for each character. Smooth as the veteran Governor's School actors are, their characterizations strongly resemble personalities they have played before.
The complaint here is not that the acting is not good, for it is universally more than competent. The Governor's School has usually produced such fine work that one continues to expect the exceptional.
Scott A. Skiles designed a subtly cruciform set evoking the rustic feel of rural logging camps. Skiles also designed the lighting, and Jorga Jean designed costumes. ILLUSTRATION: AT A GLANCE
What: ``The Runner Stumbles'' by Milan Stitt.
Who: The Theatre Department of the Governor's School for the
Arts.
When: 8 p.m. today, Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Governor's School Theatre, 254 Granby St.
Tickets: 441-2905.
by CNB