It's a whodunit of Biblical proportions.
Or at least implications.
A young nun coming from a troubled past stands accused of murdering her child of uncertain paternity. The pregnancy, Sister Agnes insists, was a virgin conception.
It then becomes the duty of court-appointed psychiatrist Dr. Martha Livingstone, played by Depot Theater Company veteran Sarah Schaeffer, to assess Agnes' sanity. Helping — or perhaps hindering — the process is the mother superior, played by Connie Penick.
What follows is a theologically steeped examination of the need for faith, the need for miracles and where true belief is centered.
The play opens tonight at the Homestead Theater as part of the Depot Theater Company's "Side Track Series."
"It's a mystery," said director Dona Lancaster. "It's about faith and miracles. Some people run to God for comfort. When others are angry, they run away from God."
The process of getting John Pielmeier's 1979 play from page to stage has been a while in coming.
Schaeffer said she had wanted to perform the play ever since reading it several years ago. While it isn't often one can read a play and get the full impact, Schaeffer said the words jumped off the page.
After speaking with Penick, Schaeffer said the idea was hatched to make the play part of the theater's "Side Track Series," a set of plays away from the main stage at the theater’s old Homestead Theater.
"They're not really edgier plays for shock value," Penick said. "It's more a chance to let our audience see another side of theater."
The smaller setting also allowed the cast to try something new: theater in the round.
Whereas your "standard" play is set on a proscenium stage, theater in the round puts the actors down on the floor, with the audience and the audience on all sides surrounding the action.
"If you've never seen anything in the round, you really have to come," said Rachel Vale, who plays the titular character. "It makes everything that much more intriguing."
A tough play
Vale said she was originally attracted to the role of Agnes because although she had some stage experience in high school and at the Depot, she had never tackled a dramatic role.
"It was an opportunity to do something touching," Vale said.
"It was difficult," she said. "But it was wonderful with all the people involved. I'm the least experienced, so it was great being able to work with experienced people like Connie, Sarah and Dona."
The play wasn't just difficult for Vale, either.
Both Penick and Schaeffer said their roles each offered unique challenges.
For Penick's part, this isn't' the first time she's donned the habit of mother superior. Longtime fans of the theater also know her as the leader of musically inclined from the "Nunsense" series of musicals.
But a whimsical tale of dancing nuns this is not.
"As an actress, it really was quite challenging," Penick said.
Schaeffer, a longtime owner of the laugh-a-minute role, also had to test her dramatic chops.
"She immediately butts heads with the mother superior," Schaeffer said of her character. "They're two very strong-willed women. But, she really wants to help out that little nun."
One things for sure: Those on stage are looking to challenge their audience.
"We want people to ask questions," Lancaster said. "That's what good theater does."
Reach Mark Vierthaler at (620) 408-9908 or e-mail him at mark.vierthaler@dodgeglobe.com.
