Coyote StageWorks, the award-winning Actors’ Equity professional theater company, will present ten performances of the gripping drama Agnes of God by playwright John Pielmeier at the Annenberg Theater beginning April 20, 2016. A 1982 Tony Award winner for Best Featured Actress in a play, that has been packing in audiences worldwide ever since, Agnes of God raises questions about spiritual issues and morality. A Q&A session with cast members will follow the Thursday matinee on April 21.
Called “Blindingly Theatrical” by the New York Post, this compelling mystery tells the story of an isolated convent during the dead of night, where an ethereal young nun, Sister Agnes, secretly gives birth to a baby after hiding her pregnancy for nine months. When the newborn is discovered dead soon after the delivery, Agnes becomes the object of a criminal investigation. A court appointed psychiatrist is assigned to look into the unusual case and determine whether or not Sister Agnes is mentally competent to stand trial for the murder.
Directed by Don Amendolia, this theatrical event is certain to enthrall audiences with captivating performances by the lead performers. All three roles are considered to be extremely demanding for the actors playing them. Broadway veteran Marsha Waterbury plays Dr. Livingstone, the hard-nosed court psychiatrist and atheist. Valerie Armstrong takes on the role of Mother Superior, who must expound the possibilities of miracles while recognizing the realities of today’s world. Her character tells Dr. Livingston that Agnes is a pure soul and the child was a miracle from God. However, the cynical Dr. Livingstone doesn’t buy it. Britt Adams will play the demanding title role of Agnes, a beautiful innocent whose abusive upbringing has affected her ability to think rationally. Did someone take advantage of Agnes, or was it another immaculate conception?
Playwright John Pielmeier’s story is an intriguing three-cornered battle among a mother superior, a court psychiatrist, and Agnes, the woman whose soul or sanity they’re fighting for, and is surely to fuel discussions long after the curtain comes down. The play was also the basis of a critically acclaimed film of the same name that starred Jane Fonda, Anne Bancroft and Meg Tilly and directed by Norman Jewison.
Tickets for Coyote StageWorks’ production of Agnes of God are $45 and $55 for matinees and $50 and $60 for evening performances, and may be purchased at the Annenberg Theater box office located at the Palm Springs Art Museum or online at psmuseum.org. A Q&A session with cast members will follow the Thursday matinee.
Voted ‘Best Live Theater’ in Desert Magazine’s “Best of the Valley” reader’s poll in 2013 and 2014, Coyote StageWorks also won an astonishing 20 Desert Star Awards from the Desert Theatre League in October 2014. Since the company’s first production in 2009 it has earned 62 Desert Star Awards.
Coyote StageWorks is a nonprofit, 501(c)3 company dedicated to advancing theatre as a vital art form in the desert communities of the Coachella Valley. It is their mission to provide a forum for thought-provoking, entertaining, and culturally significant works in an environment that nurtures the creativity of the individual and the enrichment of the community.
For more information about Coyote StageWorks and its 2016 season, please visit coyotestageworks.org. Group sales: 760-318-0024. To purchase individual tickets or subscriptions, call 760-325-4490 or visit annenbergtheater.org.
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Britt Adams
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Marsha Waterbury
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