By David Gordon
Hollywood and Hofstra joined forces on Saturday at Adams Playhouse for a benefit reading of Agnes of God, John Pielmeier’s classic play. Starring university graduate Susan Sullivan (best known for her roles on Falcon Crest and Dharma & Greg), Talia Shire (Adrian in the “Rocky” movies and sister of Hofstra alumnus Francis Ford Coppola) and junior drama major Missy Dowse, the show, as directed by Bob Spiotto was a thrill-packed, heart-stopping production.
Agnes of God tells the (believed to be true story) of Agnes (Dowse), a novice nun with a beautiful voice, who may be put on trial for the asphyxiation death of her newborn child. It is up to Dr. Martha Livingstone (Sullivan), Agnes’ court-appointed psychiatrist, to determine what went on in the girl’s head. However, she gets more than she bargained for when she meets Miriam Ruth (Shire), the Mother Superior who may have some insight into the goings on and will stop at nothing to protect her ‘innocent’ Agnes. Agnes denies the baby’s existence and refuses to confront the past demons that now make up the bulk of her reality.
Pielmeier has constructed a brilliant theological mystery, one that left the audience wondering. Spiotto’s staged reading placed the three terrific actors at podiums, clearly reading from scripts. The play and production’s greatest strength is the fact that even with no action whatsoever, it is still extremely powerful.
Susan Sullivan gave a grand performance as Livingstone, the conflicted, self-proclaimed atheistic psychiatrist, who results to highly unorthodox methods to get her way. The soft-spoken Shire gave a beautifully understated performance as the over-protective Mother Miriam that managed to overcome a microphone-problem which plagued first act. Yet despite the overwhelming talent of these two old pros, it was drama department starlet Missy Dowse who stole the show.
Dowse, previously seen at the Playhouse in Thoroughly Modern Millie and Iolanthe, wasn’t given much to sing, yet when she did, the strains of Ave Maria and Kyrie Eleison, her glorious soprano shined through as usual. She gave a dazzling, heart-breaking performance as Agnes, the nun who wants nothing more than to be accepted by God and is haunted by the memories of her mother’s molestation in her youth.
The themes of the play, abortion, sexual molestation, and controversies within the Church are as relevant today as they were 25 years ago when the play premiered on Broadway. A discussion about Agnes’ mother’s method of abuse elicited gasps from the audience. By the end, some were in tears, some were breathless, and all were enthusiastically on their feet for the three brilliant actors turning in expert performances.
