‘The Runner Stumbles’ Comes to Main Stage Theatre

As the 19th century was turning to the 20th, a trial for the murder of a nun in a remote parish of Michigan rocked a small community. Milan Stitt wrote a play about the real-life story, and in September that play will be presented by the College of Southern Maryland Main Stage Theatre.

The play will be performed at the CSM Fine Arts (FA) Center theater on the La Plata Campus at 8730 Mitchell Road at 7:30 pm Sept. 8 and 15, 8 pm Sept. 9, 10 and 16, and 2 pm Sept. 17.

Included in the cast are Gershawn Mason of Bryans Road as Amos, Anthony Kiser of Leonardtown as Father Rivard, Ashton Gordon of Waldorf as Erna, Thomas Donohue of La Plata as Toby, Sabrina Martin of Waldorf as Sister Rita, Katie Fischer of La Plata as Mrs. Shandig, Jeffery Herbert of Waldorf as Prosecutor, Chris Fleming of Mechanicsville as Monsignor, and Olivia Gordon of Waldorf as Louise.

The play is being produced by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service Inc. It is about a nun who died under mysterious circumstances, and her superior, Father Rivard, has been charged with her murder. The show’s action switches among interrogations, testimony, and scenes from the past which reveal that Father Rivard, who had been banished to the small, up-country parish, fell in love with Sister Rita. Circumstances forced her to move into the rectory with him, making his anguish unbearable. Their relationship spelled tragedy, but not until the explosive and surprising climax of the play is the full extent of their sacrifice made clear and the identity of the murderer revealed.

First debuting in 1971, the play was performed on Broadway in 1976. It was made into a movie in 1979 that starred Dick Van Dyke and Kathleen Quinlan.

Tickets to the show are $15 for adults, and $12 for seniors, military with ID and youth of high school age and younger. Call 301-934-7828 or email [email protected] for tickets.

For more about the College of Southern Maryland, visit their Leader member page.