William Penn Presents “The Runner Stumbles”
Nic Steel portrays "Father Rivard" in the play "The Runner Stumbles"
McGrew Fine Arts Center, on the campus of William Penn, will hold three more performances of this Milan Stitt play that is based upon an actual turn of the 20th Century trial that happened for a nun that had been murdered in Michigan.
Wikipedia describes the play: The play is set in 1911 at a Roman Catholic parish in the rural town of Solon, Michigan. Sister Rita, a young nun, arrives at the parish to help run the church school. When the parish’s two elderly nuns contract tuberculosis, Sister Rita is forced to move into the rectory that is home to Father Rivard, the parish priest. The close proximity between the two begins to set off gossip and suspicions, to the point that a monsignor from the diocese comes to give Father Rivard a ‘talking-to’. The gossip turns out to be correct, as the priest and the nun confess their love for each other. However, their declaration of emotion leads to tragedy.
The play is around two hours long, and does include a fifteen minute intermission.
K. Allsup review: The play was very enjoyable, and the actors did a wonderful job in portraying their characters. The set being minimal and the size of the theater in McGrew Fine Arts Center being much smaller than George Daily allows the audience to become much more involved and the feeling is that your part of the play yourself. With some plot twists and turns, along with the drama being built, I have to say this is one of the best plays I have ever seen.
G.Allsup review: I would have to say that this is the best play I have seen. The cast does an extraordinary job drawing you into the play, so much so, that you tend to forget that you are part of an audience. The cast is completely into their characters which really brings the play to life. I find it amazing that they have memorized so much information and bring it to the audience so naturally. The twists and turns in the plot make you question whether you stick with what you have been taught to be right or follow your heart and the emotions that you feel. I highly recommend taking the time to go see this play.
If your interested in seeing this play, performances start at 7:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Sunday’s performance begins at 2:00 p.m. I would suggest arriving somewhat earlier, as the size of the McGrew Fine Arts Center is much smaller than George Daily, and you will want to make sure you can get a seat.
The Cast of “The Runner Stumbles”:
- Joe Kleinmeyer – “Amos”
- Sydni Hansen – “Erna”
- Allison Edwards – “Sister Rita”
- Chris Meinert – “Monsignor”
- Jason Madrid – “Toby Felker”
- Courtney Kleinschmidt – “Louise”
- Lainee Yarkosky – “Mrs. Shandig”
- Aaron Frederick – “Prosecutor”
- Nic Steel – “Father Rivard”
- Sam Looney – “Director”
