Review: ‘Agnes’ difficulties rewarding

• By GEORGE MORRIS
• Advocate staff writer
• Published: Oct 14, 2009 - Page: 1D

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The intersection of faith and reason has seen its share of tragic collisions. A theatrical version is “Agnes of God,” now playing at Baton Rouge Little Theater’s Second Stage.

It’s a play that asks more questions than it can ever answer, which isn’t everyone’s cup of communion wine, but this cast rewards those in the mood for pondering difficult issues.

Agnes, played by Lauren Regner, is a young nun who gave birth in the convent and whose baby was found dead, stuffed in a hidden trash can with its umbilical cord tied around its neck. Psychiatrist Martha Livingston (Blanche Bienvenu) has been called in as part of the murder investigation to determine whether Agnes is legally sane, but her first hurdle is Mother Miriam Ruth (Leslie Greene), who is uncooperative to the point of hostility.

Unknowns abound. Who is the father? Did he or someone else commit the murder? Is Mother Miriam’s reticence a clue? Is a supernatural explanation possible? All of these questions are harder to answer because Agnes denies remembering anything, including the childbirth.
As Agnes slowly, haltingly opens the smallest entrance into her unhappy, abused life, these questions open the conversational door to other issues.

All three women have baggage about motherhood — their own mothers in the case of Livingston and Agnes, plus Miriam’s experience as a mother before she joined the convent.
The psychiatrist’s atheism puts her at odds with Miriam’s devotion to her faith, and makes her walk a delicate balance in drawing information from Agnes.

Bienvenu is onstage throughout the two-act play in the hardest role. The BRLT newcomer is up to the task — hardnosed when confronting Mother Miriam, gentle with the exasperating Agnes, somewhat tortured by her struggles with a family tragedy. Greene is a believable mother superior.

Regner, who has performed in several BRLT musicals, gets to sing in “Agnes of God,” but she also is able to stretch her acting skills to portray the deeply troubled young nun.