Drama opens Friday with a special finale on Mother's Day
They might look like friends or neighbors but when actors Nancy Howell, Chelsea Jo Conard and Julia Trulio slip into their roles they transform so completely it's easy to believe they are two nuns and a psychiatrist in the City Repertory Theatre's upcoming production of “Agnes of God.”
Howell, a soft spoken, retired educator playing the role of Mother Superior embodies the fiercely protective Mother Miriam Ruth, reprising a role she took on nearly a decade ago under the direction of John Sbordone, the CRT’s artistic director.
“I’m using the same script I used then,” Howell said. “She’s a woman in charge, a woman of faith whose faith has always been challenged and she’s trying so hard to make it what she wants it to be, what she hopes it is. She is Catholic and very intellectual.”
Working alongside Howell is Conard as Sister Agnes, who has been charged with manslaughter and who leads the audience into her memories while under hypnosis. Conard honed her skills on stages across the region.
“She’s a really unique character,” Conard said of Agnes. “She’s very complicated and fairly difficult to play because there is an innocence about her. I think the most challenging part for me is it’s emotionally exhausting.”
Portraying the analytical psychiatrist who's struggling to make the connection between science and faith,Trulio as Martha Livingston calls into question the gap between those things that must be seen to be believed versus those taken on faith.
“She is very professional and sure of herself, science-based and not interested in religion,” said Trulio, whose character also serves as the story's narrator. “It’s not so much about belief as an analytical point of view and I think we have to make room in our life for that. It’s the message I hope people take away. I’ve seen the play and the movie done a long time ago and it’s a fascinating problem to untie as an actor, that journey.”
The timing of the May 4 opening with a finale on May 13 — Mother’s Day — is not lost on Sbordone.
“This is our special Mother’s Day show – we advertise it as 'So you think you have mommy problems …” said Sbordone. “It’s the first time we’re doing it here, it’s made for CRT. It’s a three person, one set show and to me, one of the finest dramas about faith and religion that you can find, it really is a brilliant show.”
In honor of Mother’s Day, the CRT will host a two-for-$25 ticket special on May 13.