‘Agnes of God’ continues through Sunday

MADISON — Madison Lyric Stage is performing John Pielmeier’s religious thriller, “Agnes of God,” with shows continuing this weekend.

The drama opened April 20 and continues Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m. at the MLS black box theater at the Shoreline Unitarian Universalist Society located at 297 Boston Post Road in Madison.

The story: Summoned to a convent, Dr. Martha Livingstone, a court-appointed psychiatrist, is charged with assessing the sanity of a young novice, Agnes, who is accused of murdering her newborn baby. Mother Miriam Ruth, the Superior, determinedly shields young Agnes from the doctor, arousing Livingstone’s suspicions further. Who killed the infant, and who fathered the tiny victim?

Agnes insists that the child was a virgin conception and Mother Miriam insists on the possibility of miracles.

Livingstone, a confirmed atheist with a difficult religious past, insistently pushes Agnes with questions, which leads to explosive revelations.

Based on a true story, Agnes of God is a Tony Award-winning play and Oscar-winning film.

“I have always been fascinated by Agnes of God and its questions about faith and miracles,” said Marc Deaton, artistic director of Madison Lyric Stage. “Are miracles still possible in our modern age; do events happen that are unexplainable; and what do we allow ourselves to believe?” Agnes of God features Maureen Gallagher as Dr. Livingstone, Julia Lennon as Agnes, and Emma Palzere-Rae as Mother Miriam, who is appearing courtesy of Actor’s Equity Association. The play will also feature a choir of six. Deaton directs.

Tickets are $35 and can be purchased at madisonlyricstage.org or by calling 203-215-6329. Season subscriptions are also still available at $90 for three productions.

Madison Lyric Stage will also present the Stephen Sondheim/George Furth musical comedy Company in July and the Benjamin Britten suspense opera The Turn of the Screw in October. For the first time, the company will produce, in May, a young artist production of the Stephen Schwartz musical Godspell.

Madison Lyric Stage is a recent winner of a Broadwayworld Connecticut award for its 2017 production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

Madison Lyric Stage is a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity and arts collective for the Shoreline of Connecticut. Its mission is to present affordable, professional-quality entertainment from the worlds of opera, musical theater and drama.

Past productions include: A Little Night Music, Blithe Spirit, Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, Macbeth, Peter Grimes, Salome, The Glass Menagerie, and many others.

For more information about Madison Lyric Stage, visit madisonlyricstage.org.

Contributed photo Madison Lyric Stage is performing John Pielmeier’s religious thriller “Agnes of God,” with shows continuing this weekend.