Magnificat on Stage
I just got back from a special presentation of the new drama “In Charge of the Fire.” Magnificat Editor Father Peter John Cameron directed the two-actor play about St. Paul.
More later, but it’s by award-winning California playwright Father Harry Cornelius Cronin. The world premier will be at The Little Theatre in New Haven Friday, Jan. 30 (8 p.m.); Saturday, Jan. 31 (8 p.m.); and Sunday Feb. 1 (2 p.m.). But we got the last dress rehearsal at St. Mary’s, the church where Father Michael McGivney used to put on plays for the parish.
Dana Sachs was a great St. Paul, reflecting on his life as he speaks to Onesimus, and Thomas Perretta was a versatile Paul’s Companion. The play puts Paul’s life in the light of the themes of freedom and slavery, and you can see Father Peter’s direction in the use of the Psalms as scene breaks — Psalm prayers of longing that were unexpectedly answered.
Father Cameron told me he plans to take the play on the road, in a limited way. He has heard interest from other parishes in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, as well as West Virginia and Phoenix.
For information: www. BlackfriarsRep.com.
— Tom Hoopes
