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The Runner Stumbles Reviews
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MURDER HE WROTE! Review by: Beth M., Nov 18, 2007 |
MILAN STITT’S “THE RUNNER STUMBLES”
The Actors Company Theater (TACT)’s production is playing at the Beckett Theater at Theater Row until November 24th.
By Beth Mandelbaum
“The Runner Stumbles” is a fascinating, highly charged and compelling play, though perhaps a bit too wordy, psycho-spiritual drama. Or should I say “melodrama.”
In one of my favorite musicals, “Urinetown,” Officer Lockstock says to Little Sally ... read more something to the effect that “Nothing can kill a musical like too much exposition.” While I would not go so far as to say that the extraordinary amount of dialog has “killed” “The Runner Stumbles,” the play does often move so quickly from scene to scene, many of which involved a significant degree of detailed theological discussion and intriguing interpersonal expressions, that I felt as though there just wasn’t enough “down time” to be able to fully process and absorb everything that is occurring. However, it is the kind of play that offers layer upon layer of rich experience. I feel that my understanding of the many highly important issues would be enhanced by a second viewing or reading the script.
Emotions run extraordinarily high on the Richter scale of this cell block/courtroom drama, with its many intriguing flashback vignettes, which serve very well to illuminate the proceedings at hand. These vignettes serve to provide the details and subtleties of the background story without which the play would not make sense. I found the fast movements between the present and the past to be extremely fluid and well conceived. And the various characters’s testimonies in the courtroom, offering a variety of perspectives, are generally fascinating.
The play is actually based on a true story of the disappearance and murder in 1906 of young nun who was teaching in a convent school in a very remote town in rural Michigan. The priest who ran the school was ultimate tried for her murder 13 years later, after some extremely significant evidence was finally uncovered. The author has changed the names of the protagonists. I read with great interest on TACT’s website that the playwright actually spent time in Michigan studying the actual courtroom documents from this murder case while working on his script.
“The Runner Stumbles” treats a theme which probably would have been far more shocking to audiences of the 70’s that those of today, but also which remains extremely timely and relevant. It shares its theme with the recent and very beautiful play “100 Saints You Should Know” by Kate Fodor, though Ms. Fodor’s play offers a significant twist. This theme is the deep struggles that a priest, who has made the vow of celibacy, experiences when he develops feelings for another and longs for more love and intimacy than God can provide. It is a deeply human experience.
“The Runner Stumbles” explores the deep seated emotional conflict on the part of Father Rivard when he starts to experience feeling for an outgoing and enthusiastic young nun, Sister Rita, who is like a ray of sunshine, in contrast what appears to be the angry, bitter and unhappy persona of the priest. We learn that some of his unhappiness stems from his removal from another parish where he was accused of going beyond the boundaries of his position to offer the Sacrament of Last Rites to a dying woman who, Father Rivard tells the Monsignor, pleaded for this.
But the punishing Monsignor exiles the Father to the remote rural convent school and requires that he spend many, many hours in solitude in his study writing a book on a very difficult aspect of St. Augustine’s theology. It seems that this act of compassion of the part of Father Rivard was not acceptable to the staunch hierarchy of the Catholic Church.
Priest and nun could not be more different, at least on the surface.
Father Rivard is a modicum of deep seated Catholic orthodoxy and church rules and laws, in keeping with his rol |
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Recommended for:
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Could Have, Should Have...Didn't Review by: The Reaper, Nov 10, 2007 |
The Reaper offeres a generous C-
An open letter to the director...
This could have been a good play. Not a great play, but a damn good play. First and foremost...WHY AM I WATCHING THE BACK OF YOUR LEADING MAN FOR TWO HOURS?!? The leading character is played so poorly he's not even likeable let alone loveable enough to turn a nun's faith cold. This leading man rushes...and even barrels through meaty, meaningful speeches like he has ... read more a train to catch...forever with his Damn Back to the audience...WHY? But seriously I could identify this man's back in a police line up! So face the audience for the love of GOD!
Also much of the play is played directly out to the audience, thus handicapping if not entirely suffocating any chance of human connection between the characters.
The Matron, an elderly homekeeper is played beautifully, as is the the Monseignor... these two are worth the price of admission alone. The leading lady, a young nun is played very well, human, in love, tragic and flawed.
But the character that is supposed to carry the play and at the bare minimum be believed to be loveable is god awful. This is New York City...and this is the best you could cast in a leading role?, I kept praying for him to turn around and face the audeince or at the very least, the other actors in the scene.
The space is outstanding. It's like a multiplex for live theatre... a great space and I highly recommend seeing plays here. I cannot recommend this play in good..(Pardon the pun) faith.
I was unlucky enough to see this on a night of Q&A with the playwright who ver batem recited his rave revies from twenty years ago and stroked his own ego while I cringed in my chair.
Again, The elderly matron=awesome, the Monseignor=confident, calm and a damned good actor, the young nun=a real talent and a pleasure to watch, the director=should have his equity card revoked for life, the space=absolutely beautiful, the leading man=enough to make one believe that God was asleep during the casting of this otherwise well written play.
The only hitch in the story is that is seems they tried to wrap up the ending in thirty seconds or less.
On a one to ten I would give this play a solid 4. Not a bad way to spend the night for the money. Especially if you're into watching the back of a poorly acted priest for two hours. The Reaper has spoken. |
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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I saw this show with:
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| * Review is an opinion of a BroadwayBox user and not that of BroadwayBox.com and BroadwayBox, Inc. |
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