Based on a true story, These Shining Lives focuses on four women who sued after they discovered they were working in a radioactive environment.
by Harry Cherkinian – reviewer for Shepherd Express
Theater
Mar. 16, 2026
Photo by Melinda Rhodebeck
Zion Nelson and Bekah Rose in Acacia Theatre’s ‘These Shining Lives’ (2026)
Acacia Theatre Company has given its audiences much to think about and consider with its current staging of the historical drama, These Shining Lives by Melanie Marnich. Based on a true story, These Shining Lives focuses on four women in the 1920s hired to paint watch dials for the Radium Dial Co.
The key word here is in the company’s name and literally in the paint the workers use: radium. Luminous, glowing, shiny. And fatal.
These four women (along with many others) develop serious health problems from radiation exposure over time. In addition to the deadly diagnoses, we see the injustices they face from management and even media in their quest for justice.
The four women—Catherine, Frances, Charlotte and Pearl—develop a close friendship in the six years of working together, leading up to being fired for their serious health issues. They’re thrilled to be making eight cents a watch, seeing who can paint the most watch dials in a shift. Catherine is the “newbie” and learns quickly. She is married with children and is the narrator—and eventual focal point—for the group in their legal pursuit.
Humor, Sadness and Intimacy
Photo by Melinda Rhodebeck
Shannon Nettesheim Klein, Maura Cook, Olivia Nájera and Bekah Rose in Acacia Theatre’s ‘These Shining Lives’ (2026)
What makes the Acacia staging so engrossing is Marnich’s writing, which captures a solid mix of humor, sadness and intimacy all under the steady hand of Director Janet Bouman Peterson. Catherine must juggle the stereotypical role of wife and mother while working and the situation resonates today as it did over 100 years ago. Fortunately. she has a caring, loving husband, Tom. But as the situation for all the women workers grows more dire, the company takes more and more drastic steps to cover up what it knew all along about the effects of radium on its workers.
The ensemble of four women and two men do a fine job, especially as conditions worsen with no plausible answers. Bekah Rose gives Catherine all the strength and vulnerability needed for the young woman who eventually leads the cause. She partners well with Zion Nelson, who balances husband Tom with the right amounts of tender care within a traditional male stereotype.
Shannon Nettesheim Klein adds much comic relief as the sharp-tongued Charlotte. And Maura Cook’s Frances and Olivia Nájera as Pearl complete the foursome. As the women’s boss, Mr. Reed, Mark Neufang makes the “company man” more than just a one-dimensional stereotype, showing glimpses of concern and his own ignorance as the women fall ill and leave.
These Shining Lives is an all too timely reminder of the ongoing fight for workers’ rights, especially for women. The case changed labor laws in holding corporations accountable. And as time passes, time also stands still, especially as the relentless journey for accountability and justice continues today.
These Shining Lives runs through March 22 in Norvell Commons at St. Christopher’s Church, 7845 N. River Road, River Hills. Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission. For more information, call (414) 744-5995 or visit: www.acaciatheatre.com
Anne Siegel of TotalTheater.com reviews These Shining Lives
TotalTheater
L to R: Bekah Rose and Shannon Nettesheim Klein Photo: Melinda Rhodebeck
Regional – Milwaukee/River Hills, WI: Acacia Theater at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church.
March 6-March 22, 2026.
Drama.
Author: Melanie Marnich adapting Kate Moore’s book, “Radium Girls.”
Director: Janet Bouman Peterson.
90 min.
Critic: Anne Siegel (March 2026).
***
The dictum, “truth is stranger than fiction” certainly applies to the play, These Shining Lives. A production by Milwaukee’s Acacia Theatre Company is based on the true story of women who were employed by a watch company in the 1920s-30s. After a number of years, many women mysteriously complained of a variety of health ailments that eventually were connected to radium poisoning.
Readers may well be more familiar with the 2018 film, “Radium Girls” than this play from 2018 that was “put on ice” until the end of the 2020 pandemic. Both the film and the play are based on the book, “Radium Girls,” by Kate Moore.
The play is set in Ottawa, IL and Chicago in the 1920s and 30s. As the feared Depression tightened its grip on America, jobs became scarce and even high-income families soon faced a level of poverty they had never known.
However, one business in Ottawa, the Radium Dial Company, was doing well. At its peak, it employed 1,000 women to paint glow-in-the-dark dials on watches. The watches became immensely popular, and sales were brisk. The “girls” (many of them were very young women) were paid on a per-piece basis. The work was consistent, and the pay was above what most relatively uneducated women could earn at that time.
Acacia’s small, intimate theater is an ideal arrangement for staging These Shining Lives. The play’s title applies to the women workers themselves, who literally “glowed” at night with radium dust. The radioactive dust was everywhere – in their hair, on their skin, and even on their clothing.
Evidence of this is offered by costumes director Marie Wilke. Catherine is the play’s main character, and by the end of her career at the watch factory, her dress literally glows under blacklight fixtures. It is an eerie and anxiety-producing effect that definitely enhances one’s theatergoing experience.
Radium was first discovered in the 1920s. Its properties were touted as a medical cure for all sorts of medical conditions. (Acacia favorite Mark Neufang performs about a half-dozen roles in this play, including a man who hawks the various benefits of radium.)
When Catherine (beautifully performed by Bekah Rose) first learns of her “luck” in getting a job at the factory, she cannot wait to tell her husband Tom, a steelworker. (Actor Zion Nelson, as Tom, makes an impressive Acacia debut.)
As was typical in those times, Tom is ambivalent about his wife taking a job. She promises that “it will only be for a little while.” However, Catherine soon forms close relationships with her co-workers: the flustered Frances (Maura Cook), sassy Charlotte (Shannon Nettesheim Klein) and timid Pearl (Olivia Najera). They enjoy a newfound sense of purpose to their lives, and for once have a bit of cash to entertain themselves beyond the home.
Catherine’s “temporary job” lasts nine years before she is fired by her male boss (for taking “too many sick days,” according to him).
In truth, the factory’s leaders were worried that other workers would be disturbed by seeing Catherine’s pronounced limp. It was evident that Catherine was getting sicker every week.
One of the play’s best scenes focuses on Catherine’s interaction with a factory doctor (Mark Newfang). He barely listens to her health complaints, and tells her dismissively to take some aspirin.
Soon, Catherine’s coworkers start talking about their own strange illnesses. Finally, Catherine sees a doctor in Chicago, and the truth comes out. He states that her that her health will continue to fail as a result of radiation poisoning.
Catherine and some of her coworkers eventually sue the company. Unfortunately, this 90-minute play (no intermission) spends little time on the details of this case, which eventually led to major changes in US labor laws.
During this time, the women factory workers suffered scorn from neighbors, their church and the press. Former friends stopped talking to them. How could they believe that a company considered to be such as asset to the community be vilified by these sick workers?
What started out as a welcome paycheck for working-class families eventually led to the deaths of dozens of women, both in Ottowa and at a similar company in New Jersey. Throughout both cases, company officials claimed they had no idea of the dangers of radiation. It is shocking to realize that one of these companies was still operating as late as the 1970s.
Acacia Theatre Company is to be commended for bringing this vivid historical chapter to life. The play focuses on families that suffered the effects that company policy had on its workers. It wouldn’t be the last time a company valued profit more than the health of its workers, but These Shining Lives offers a cautionary tale of what happens in such instances.
As in past seasons, tickets for Acacia’s plays are offered on a pay-what-you-can basis.
Photo by Alexandria Eggert – Left to right: Maura Cook, Bekah Rose, Olivia Najera, Shannon Nettesheim Klein rehearse for Acacia Theatre’s production of ‘These Shining Lives’ (2026)
These Shining Lives tells a story from a century ago, a case that helped set guardrails for the workplace safety we count on today. Melanie Marnich’s play concerns four women from the Radium Dial Company who sued in court, their health damaged by handling radioactive materials. Hovering over the drama is a larger, eternal issue: the pursuit of truth.
The play will be produced next month by Acacia Theatre, directed by Janet Bouman Peterson. “Backstories are perhaps fictitious, but the play is based on actual happenings,” she says. In These Shining Lives, the women work at a factory in Ottawa, IL, manufacturing irradiated glow-in-the-dark watches and clocks. They were good paying jobs, but the women began to suffer from intense pain and something strange: their hands glowed in the dark. “What happened to them, as a result of radium, helped to establish safety measures for dealing with atomic energy,” Peterson continues.
Ottawa, IL wasn’t the only site where factories produced novel, glow-in-the-dark consumer goods without considering the consequences for their workers of radium exposure. Another legal action against a rival company in New Jersey inspired another play, D.W. Gregory’s Radium Girls. Kate Moore drew from both cases for her New York Times bestselling history, The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women.
Focus on Characters
Photo by Alexandria Eggert – Left to right: Maura Cook, Bekah Rose, Olivia Najera, Shannon Nettesheim Klein rehearse for Acacia Theatre’s production of ‘These Shining Lives’ (2026)
These Shining Lives dramatizes the crucial themes. “For those of us who have read that book, we need to let go of the precise facts,” Peterson says. “And instead, focus on the characters, the women, the backdrop of this workplace harm and court cases, and not the precise and exact timelines of what happened to everyone when.”
The Illinois women who took their case to the authorities were faced with two obstacles. One was widespread ignorance of radiation and the other, at least as important, was economic. “An interesting fact is that a lot of this came out during the Depression when Radium Dial Company was one of the only businesses providing work,” Peterson explains. “No one wanted it to close down. So they [the women] weren’t supported at the time. Took quite a while for that attitude to change.”
Acacia is mounting the play with a stripped-down cast of four women— Frances (Maura Cook), Charlotte (Shannon Nettesheim Klein), Pearl (Olivia Najera) and the central protagonist, Catherine (Bekah Rose), plus their attorney, Tom Donohue (Zion Nelson) and their boss, Mr. Reed (Mark Neufang). Says Peterson, “Several are returning actors and have worked together before, and several are new. After one week of rehearsal, I can tell these people are going to work together beautifully.” The play will be staged with a radio, furnishings and costumes to suggest the 1920s and ‘30s.
Sources of Truth?
Why did Acacia choose to program These Shining Lives? “Our season theme this year is ‘Truth’ and this play deals a lot with truth or lack thereof. How do people deal with the truth if it is inconvenient, or affects the bottom line, or you don’t want to have to face it, or admit you’re wrong?” Peterson explains.
“I see how this can apply to today perhaps even more than when I first read it,” she continues. “What are our sources for “truth.” Do we believe everything we get from social media, from our siloed and confirmation bias news sources? Can we allow ourselves to go beyond what we want to be the truth when confronted with it?
“Additionally, I think we can learn a lot from the women at the center of the story and those who believe and care for them. There is hope and love in community when we show up in support,” Peterson concludes.
Acacia Theatre presents These Shining Lives, March 6-22 at The Norvell Commons at St. Christopher’s Church 7845 N. River Road. For tickets, visit acaciatheatre.com
L to R: David Sapiro and Jason Will Photo: Melinda Rhodebeck
I never expected to set foot in Freud’s study, let alone back in 1939 on the cusp of World War II … but this weekend, I found myself in that exact position while seeing Acacia Theatre’s production of Freud’s Last Session. The play, which brings to life a hypothetical conversation between Sigmund Freud (David Sapiro) and C.S. Lewis (Jason Will), was directed for the second time by Elaine Wyler, and its staging in the Norvell Commons kept it intimate and captivating.
Set and properties designer Abbey Pitchford transformed the stage into what could pass as an exact replica of the room at 20 Maresfield Gardens—no detail was spared. Across the floor and walls were hung carpets, giving the study a greater depth, and the many bookshelves were filled to the brim with books and collectors’ treasures that could only belong to a man who has taken the time to study histories and cultures outside of his own. The light design, done by Dan Hummel, was kept simple and warm, using onstage standing lamps as effective practical lighting.
The script itself is incredibly witty, even from the first remark made by Freud to his dog, Jofi. Lewis and Freud were two of the most prolific academics of their time, and their repartee needed to reflect that. Their conversation dips and peaks and makes U-turns as the two men debate, and while such a dense script must be difficult to keep fresh and lively, the two actors did a tremendous job portraying their characters replying off-the-cuff. Each jab of humor was found in the moment, and every question that couldn’t receive a quick answer was sufficiently turned over in its respondent’s head. Freud’s cleverness was dry and sardonic, but Lewis’s brighter quips did not read as naive in comparison—rather, the two complemented each other.
While I would’ve been content to watch Sapiro and Will hash out the question of if there is a God simply seated at Freud’s desk for the full performance, their movement around the space informed their characters’ motivations and overall demeanor. Will moved about the room freely—gracefully, even—as Lewis had a lighter quality about him, but he especially could not sit still when he was nervous or excited about an anecdote he had to share. Meanwhile, Sapiro, playing a Freud who had 42 years on his scene partner, was much stiffer, though dignified. He remained at his desk chair for the majority of the play, primarily standing up when irritated.
Deliberate Choices
Each actor also had a set of ticks; it was fascinating to watch such deliberate choices being made to distinguish the two scholars. Sapiro especially was quite deliberate with when he reminded the audience of the rotting pain that was ever-present in Freud’s upper jaw—when he reached for a cigar box, I physically cringed. By the climax of the show, I presume each audience member, like me, could almost feel the discomfort in their own mouths. The practical blood effects used then were just enough to elicit a reaction from those of us watching, without becoming gratuitous.
The denouement allowed both the characters and the audience to sit in the conclusion of an inconclusive discussion—because as Lewis points out, it was “madness” to presume to answer the world’s greatest question in one afternoon. Freud’s response stuck with me: “There is only one greater madness: not to think of it at all.” Though the overarching tone of the debate was full of mutual respect, heated moments had arisen, to be sure. And yet, neither party diverted from their shared belief that open, honest dialogue can only promote knowledge, and to shut oneself out from a dissenting opinion is to refuse to learn and potentially grow.
Wyler’s note at the front of the program opened with the sentiment that “we live in divisive times …” and while this play took place over the backdrop of air raids and the start of a world war, it remains true that any and all times could be categorized as divisive. And though a work of fiction, bearing witness to an intellectually stimulating conversation between two men who recognize themselves as equals despite their differences in fundamental beliefs—and who are willing to admit the swath of similarities they share—was refreshing. Dare I say, it even gave me a little hope.
Two great minds match wits in Acacia’s Freud’s Last Session
A review from WisconsinTheaterSpotlight.com by Marilyn Jozwik:
L to R: David Sapiro and Jason Will Photo: Melinda Rhodebeck
Acacia Theatre Company’s “Freud’s Last Session” by Mark St. Germain is a spellbinding peek into the psyches of two brilliant minds, Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis.
In this fictional scenario – the two never really met – Acacia sets out to present how two individuals with polar opposite views on the existence of God, life’s meaning and other topics can discuss their ideas with civility and respect.
Freud, the famous psychoanalyst whose mother was Catholic and father was an Orthodox Jew, was an atheist. Lewis, a literary scholar whose father was a pastor, was an atheist who later converted to Christianity, embracing its beliefs to became one of the greatest Christian thinkers of his time.
These are two riveting performances by David Sapiro as Freud and Jason Will as Lewis. Elaine Wyler directs. The intimate space at St. Christopher’s Church has the audience nearly seated in the London study of Freud, filled with books, ancient artifacts and a desk full of papers and cigar paraphernalia with rich burgundy background. Of course, there is a psychoanalytic couch, which each character at some point utilizes. Add subdued lighting, and I was so mesmerized and comfortable with the experience I almost felt I could contribute to their conversation.
The show runs a little over an hour and is dense with thought-provoking dialogue, delivered with conviction and realism, as the two characters match wits. The year is 1939 and London is under attack from Nazi Germany, which Freud fled. “When I looked out my window, I only saw Nazis burning my books,” he says of his home in Germany. Freud tunes in his radio periodically for updates. At one point a siren sounds and each scholar reaches for a gas mask, prompting a discussion of death.
Freud, who died that year, had endured 33 surgeries for oral cancer, the result of smoking and cocaine use. In the show, Sapiro is most convincing as the elderly Freud. Slightly stooped and speaking with authority, yet frail, Sapiro’s Freud gets especially animated at various points, such as when he rails about the tragic deaths of his daughter at age 27 and grandson at age 5 in the context of religion.
As Lewis, Will assumes a credible British accent as he partakes in the verbal competition with Freud. Like two prize fighters, they land punches, dodge others, but always stand strong in the ring. Interspersed in the conversation are bits of their backgrounds, such as how they felt about their fathers and their current families. Writer St. Germain expertly weaves in these details with the volleys of thoughts on religion, morality, enemies and other topics organically interspersed so the script never sounds like a lecture. “We cannot survive without enemies. They are as necessary as air,” says Freud.
The show requires total engagement as there are so many nuggets, such as when Lewis says, “My idea of God is constantly changing. He is everywhere incognito.” He chides Freud for being a non-believer who spent so much time trying to disprove the existence of God. Freud maintains that the existence of God can’t be proved historically, while Lewis counters, “His death transferred myth into truth.”
St. Germain’s work, which was suggested by “The Question of God” by Dr. Armand M. Nicholi Jr., is the sort of discourse that is so needed in a world where different viewpoints can’t seem to come together without losing all semblance of civility. It is also theater that prompts audience members to want to learn more about these two important figures and their ideas.
Acacia’s “intensely satisfying” Freud’s Last Session
A review from TotalTheater.com by Anne Siegel:
L to R: David Sapiro and Jason Will Photo: Melinda Rhodebeck
Regional – River Hills, WI: Acacia Theater Company at St. Christopher’s Church’s Norvell Commons: 7845 North River Road.
Oct. 24-Nov. 9, 2025.
Drama.
Author: Mark St. Germain.
Director: Elaine Wyler.
Critic: Anne Siegel (Oct. 2025).
***
According to a theater preview article in Milwaukee’s Shepherd Express, “Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) and C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) remain two of the most familiar names from the intellectual life of the last century. Freud shined a flashlight into the unconscious and saw sex and repression. Lewis wrote the beloved Narnia stories. Freud believed that God was a projection of human insecurity, a make-believe father figure. (Lewis, a former atheist, converted his beliefs to align with Christianity.) They never met, but if they had, their encounter might have been similar to Mark St. Germain’s 2010 play Freud’s Last Session.
At the beginning of this intensely satisfying play by Acacia Theatre, it’s evident that we are in the early days of World War II. Freud’s London study, where the play is set, has been meticulously recreated from his former Vienna home. (In 1939, Freud hastily left Vienna to flee the Nazi invasion.)
In the opening scene, Freud (David Sapiro) listens to his radio for the latest news broadcasts. Soon he is joined by C. S. Lewis (Jason Will).
Acacia’s 2015 production of Freud’s Last Session was an immediate hit with audiences. The entire run was sold out, and extra performances were added. Judging from the large audience on opening night, one can guess that this show might also prove to be a difficult-to-get ticket.
The current show is a revival of one they did 10 years ago. Sapiro, who appeared as Freud in the original show, recreates his role. This is Will’s first appearance as C.S. Lewis. Both of these actors are very familiar to Acacia Theatre audiences.
Although the play is essentially a conversation between two men, it is frequently interrupted by outside events (a call from Freud’s daughter Anna, a false air raid attack, etc.). Actual radio addresses from Neville Chamberlain, former prime minister of the United Kingdom, and King George VI, periodically break into the broadcast to keep the play rooted in its historical period.
The point of restaging the show, according to director Elaine Wyler, is to demonstrate how people with vastly different views (in this case, religion) can disagree without disrespecting each other. In today’s politically polarized society, this view was shared by the Acacia administrators (which include Artistic Director Janet Peterson).
During the men’s conversation, they often return to points of common ground. These include personal tragedy, the effects of war (Lewis served in World War I) and their distaste for fascism. Freud asks Lewis (a lifelong atheist) exactly when he reached the conclusion that God exists.
Freud, at 83 when the play takes place, suffers from cancer. Although there’s no mention of it in the play itself, Freud dies two weeks after this hypothetical conversation takes place. Hence the play’s title: Freud’s Last Session.
The easy rapport between these two brilliant minds is fascinating to watch. It can also be extremely funny. Freud, whose conversation inevitably turns to sex, can’t help but mention Lewis’s somewhat unusual living conditions. The Lewis household includes the mother of one of his friends who died in the war. Lewis, in turn, comments on Freud’s extremely close relationship with his daughter, Anna.
Their conversation also mentions other known intellects of the past century, including author J.R.R. Tolkien (“Lord of the Rings”) and Charles Darwin, who espoused a new theory of evolution.
Although the play lasts only 75 minutes, it links the unique perspective of two great men within a distinct historical context. Both Shapiro and Will are at the top of their game. Supporting their efforts is the work of set and props designer Abbey Pitchford, lighting designer Dan Hummel and sound engineer Samuel Fitzwater-Butchart.
A review of A Sleep of Prisoners from TotalTheater.com
March 27, 2025
TotalTheater
Regional – River Hills, WI: Acacia Theatre Company at St. Christopher’s Church’s Norvell Commons.
March 7-March 23, 2025
Drama.
Author: Christopher Fry.
Director: Elaine Wyler.
Critic: Anne Siegel (March 2025).
***
It’s the time of year when a good solid meal is still welcomed, and in this chilly spring season Acacia Theatre Company presents one of its meatier plays, A Sleep of Prisoners by Christopher Fry.
More than a generation has passed since the late British poet/playwright Christopher Fry (The Lady’s Not for Burning, Ring Round the Moon) penned this play. Written in the wake of World War II, Fry takes us inside a makeshift prisoner-of-war camp in an abandoned church.
Although Fry was a notable playwright in his day, his plays are rarely performed (perhaps with the exception of his two best-known plays written above). Fry is also remembered as one of the screenwriters of the 1959 blockbuster, Ben-Hur. Happily, Acacia offers this rare opportunity to glimpse the brilliance of Fry’s literary brilliance.
Acacia, a Christian-themed theater company, doesn’t often choose plays that are as theologically based as this one. One can easily see how this company was drawn to A Sleep of Prisoners. (Even God makes a brief appearance as one of Fry’s characters.)
Prospective audiences should note that a deep historical knowledge of World War II is not required to understand this play. The events that unfold could apply to any US war in the past century.
Fry, who grew up as a preacher’s son, intended that this play should be performed in a church, as it was during its 1951 opening in England. Although Acacia’s current home IS inside a church, the play does not take place in the main sanctuary. Instead, audiences must head to the downstairs Norvell Commons. Within the commons is a lovely, intimate theater space, with excellent sound and lighting capabilities, not to mention great sightlines for every viewer. The theater’s moveable, cushioned seats, which line a series of rising platforms, offer one of the comfiest settings of any theater in town.
And the space’s black-box flexibility offers opportunities to create whatever sort of stage is required. Acacia’s set designs lean toward the minimal, making it the perfect occupant for the theater’s dimensions.
A Sleep of Prisoners begins with a group of three captured British prisoners who are tossed into the dark confines of a church. They are greeted by another prisoner (Tim Meadows) who has settled in somewhat earlier in the month. Some of what lies ahead can be guessed by looking at the character’s names: Private David King (Jason Will), Private Peter Able (Kerruan Sheppard) and Corporal Joseph Adams (AJ Magoon).
Following a sudden, violent encounter between two of the prisoners, the soldiers try to rest amid the frequent sounds of bullets whizzing and bombs exploding just outside. Before turning in, one of the soldiers plays hymns on the church organ. Another discovers a Bible printed in English, and reads from it behind a pulpit.
The soldier’s uneasy sleep is interrupted by vivid dreams, some of them drawn from biblical parables. The audience can easily pick up brief snippets of Old Testament stories such as Adam and Eve, Cain and Able, Abraham and Issac, etc.
The drama’s abrupt switch from dreams to real-life events makes things somewhat difficult for audiences to sort out. Sequences of Fry’s dialogue also drift into poetry, which is wonderful to hear but doesn’t always serve to unravel the play’s intertwining themes. The scenes prove to be equally challenging for the actors as well as the audience.
Overall, one gets the sense that Fry is dealing not only with real physical conflict faced by soldiers but also the characters’ emotional conflict. Basically, each character is confronted by the reality of good people who must do bad things to achieve their cause.
As the men wonder about their own futures during confinement, they also attempt to sort out their spiritual lives as well. The endless stretches of waiting, waiting, waiting are used by the playwright to mine the complexities of each character’s soul.
Longtime Acacia director Elaine Wyler has done a terrific job of capturing all of the play’s myriad themes within a production that lasts about 65 minutes (no intermission). Her goal is shaped and delivered by four outstanding actors. Many of these actors are familiar Acacia faces, particularly David Sapiro, Jason Will and AJ Magoon. Newcomer Kerruan Sheppard holds his own with these veteran performers, and the resulting ensemble is a tightly-knit, compelling force.
Only the longest-imprisoned character, Tim Meadows (Sapiro), manages to accept their horrific conditions with a measure of acceptance. He is a steadying rock that, one guesses, will eventually get all of them through this episode.
Some production elements that provide a backdrop to this story include: Ashley Petrowsky (set design), Katlyn Rogers Kelly (costume design), Dan Hummel (lighting design) and especially Samuel Fitzwater-Butchart (sound design). Props (by Matt Norby) look realistic. The work of fight director Nicole Magnusson is evident in scenes involving physical skirmishes.
L to R: Jason Will, Kerruan Sheppard, and A.J. Magoon Photo: Melinda Rhodebeck
A talented ensemble performs Christopher Fry’s drama, written in the aftermath of World War II but still valid today.
L to R: Jason Will, Kerruan Sheppard, and A.J. Magoon Photo: Melinda Rhodebeck
“Making Peace” is the theme of Acacia Theatre Company’s current season. And with its latest offering, A Sleep of Prisoners, we are asked to consider the effects of war on those who fight it. Not just in the physical sense, but in the spiritual sense. And therein lies the greater conflict: the inner “war” that rages within men’s minds while the eternal battles remain distant but ever present.
Prisoners is an anti-war drama by British playwright Christopher Fry, written 74 ears ago in the aftermath of World War II. Four English soldiers are prisoners of war locked in a church overnight as fighting rages on outside the bombed-out structure.
As tensions rise given their imprisonment and uncertainty, an act of violence occurs between two of them. And as a result, each of the four men have dreams that reflect biblical stories from the Old Testament: Cain and Abel, David and Absalom, Abraham and Isaac and Shadrac, Meshac and Abednego.
Fry’s writing is poetic, lyrical and written in verse. And while it is though-provoking—and certainly timely given the world’s state of affairs— it requires much work on the part of the four actors as well as the audience. The actors move back and forth between “real time” and “dream time” playing the various biblical characters which requires concentration, given the play’s abstract nature and layers of metaphorical meaning.
Talented Ensemble
Fortunately, a talented ensemble under the well-focused direction of Elaine Wyler makes Prisoners a fascinating glimpse into how war manifests itself into the human psyche. The cast uses a casual conversational tone, which makes the verse dialogue (set rhythms like poetry) easier to understand and follow.
But it’s the fine acting by this foursome that makes Prisoners so captivating to watch. A.J. Magoon, David Sapiro, Kerruan Sheppard and Jason Will work well as an ensemble as well as individually. Given the sheer complexity and length of Fry’s verse dialogue, it’s an achievement in itself how they display such range and emotion given what could be POW caricatures.
In particular, veteran actor Sapiro fleshes out his physically wounded character with plenty of sardonic humor, quips and the simplest of nonverbal gestures that underscore the wearying effects of war and imprisonment. As the higher-ranking corporal of the four, Magoon shades his by-the-book military man with a quiet gentleness and caring that humanizes their dehumanizing imprisonment.
A Sleep of Prisoners ultimately is about making peace with ourselves, putting an end to the war within that only we can end— for ourselves.
A Sleep of Prisoners runs through March 23 in Norvell Commons at St. Christopher’s Church, 7845 N. River Road, River Hills. Running time: 65 minutes, no intermission. For more information, call: 414-744-5995, or visit: acaciatheatre.com
by Harry Cherkinian – Reviewer for Shepherd Express
Acacia Theatre Company has taken the old Chinese proverb, “all good things come in twos,” and literally brought it onstage—again. For a second consecutive holiday season, the company presents Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, the imaginative sequel to Jane Austen’s beloved classic, Pride and Prejudice. And using most of the original cast of eight very fine actors, the production is just as smart and funny as the 2023 staging.
We now find those four Bennet sisters in December 1815 two years after the older two, Elizabeth (Shannon Nettesheim Klein) and Jane (Olivia Najera), have married well and found happiness. But then there’s the “Miss Bennet” of the title; bookish, outspoken Mary (Cara Johnston), who plays pianoforte and takes care of their aging parents. Cue the matchmaking sisters and brothers-in-law, William Darcy (Zackary Henke) and Charles Bingley (Josh Schiebe). And who shows up to celebrate Christmas? But the equally awkward and bookish Lord Arthur De Bourgh (Jason Will).
We can see where this is heading and it’s straight for the holiday hearts as witty wordplay and farcical antics unfold within the proper drawing room now containing a new, German tradition—a live evergreen Christmas tree! When the fourth Bennet sister, Lydia Wickham, (Bekah Rose), arrives, she creates her own “festivities” as she sets her sights on Lord De Bourgh, despite already being married herself. To add to the “merriment” of the season, De Bourgh’s controlling cousin Anne (Molly Kempfer) shows up unexpectedly—to announce her engagement to the beleaguered and even more confused Lord. And the “holiday spirit” really kicks in trying to sort out all the romantic entanglements —real and imagined.
Playwrights Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon perfectly capture the social manners and oh so proper dialogue of the Regency era found in Austen’s works of this period. Co-directors Erin Nicole Eggers and Janet Bouman Peterson continue to keep the staging simple and intimate, keeping the focus on the actors and the clever and often times hilarious back-and-forth banter. The dialogue is smart and snappy while proper to the times. And the plotline of this sequel meshes seamlessly with Austen’s story and arc of action.
The ensemble of eight is outstanding and excel in their individual roles, As in the 2023 production, actor Jason Will has added even more funny, nonverbal movements and gestures playing the socially-inept, awkward Lord De Bourgh. He is perfectly matched with the equally multi-talented Cara Johnston as the outspoken, quietly passionate Mary, seeking more of the world outside of her books and music. The cast is a tightly-knit ensemble and, once again, has their comedic timing down pat, including those upper class British accents.
Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley continues to be is charming and delightful as ever and well worth revisiting for the holidays. Once again!
Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley runs through December 15 in Norvell Commons at St. Christopher’s Church, 7845 N. River Road, River Hills. Run time: two hours including one intermission. For more information, call: 414-744-5995, or visit acaciatheatre.com.
"When the poor and needy seek water and there is none, I the LORD will hear them; I will open rivers in high places; I will plant in the wilderness...the Acacia...that they may see and know, and consider and understand that the hand of the LORD has done this."
