Yesterday I went with a couple friends to Lifeline Theatre to see Mariette in Ecstasy, a performance based on the novel by Ron Hansen. Before the performance even began, I was in love with the theatre and the set — small, warm, artistic and welcoming. The theatre’s tagline says it well:
“Big Stories, Up Close”.

Mariette in Ecstasy is about a cloistered community of nuns, the Sisters of the Crucifixion, who “live quiet lives of prayer and devotion until the intriguing Mariette is initiated into their cloister.” The postulant Mariette experiences what she (and some of the sisters) believe to be divine encounter, but other sisters are not so sure about the authenticity of the experience. The faith of the sisters, their trust in one another, and their community life is all put into question as the sisters try to deal with Mariette and their own conflicting feelings.

Overall, the story and the performance were amazing. I felt like I was a part of the performance because of the wonderful choreography and the intensity of the actors. Because it was a story about nuns, I was particularly attentive to how the nuns were portrayed, how their community life and spirituality were expressed.

My favorite nun was the prioress, Reverend Mother Céline, played by Patrice Egleston. She was probably the nun shown with the most depth. I particularly liked how she was showed the dynamic of being a nun who was responsible for the common good and the community, but also a nun who had a family, who struggled, who prayed, who cared deeply. I also loved how graceful Mother Céline was — her every movement was effortless and when she walked it was as if she were floating just above the floor!

Brenda Barrie was very good as Mariette Baptiste, the new postulant and sibling of the prioress. She kind of freaked me out a bit when she was in ecstasy which meant she was doing an excellent job acting!

In the end, the question that begs to be answered is whether Mariette was having authentic experiences of God (stigmata, trances, visions) or if she was making it up to get attention or because she was sick.

A deeper question, however, and one that is pertinent for all of us, is whether or not we are open to being surprised by God. Are we open to the sometimes strange and totally unreasonable ways that God is present to us in our lives?

If you live in the Chicago area, go see this performance of Mariette in Ecstasy at Lifeline Theatre. I highly recommend it. Hurry! You only have until April 5.

Also, check out the book by Ron Hansen.