SHERMAN, Conn.—The Sherman Players will open “Faith Healer” by Irish playwright Brian Friel (“Dancing at Lughnasa,” “Philadelphia Here I Come”) Friday, Sept. 19, at the Sherman Playhouse, 5 Route 39 North.
In a play told in four monologues, Friel explores the fallibility of memory and the complex interplay of love, loyalty, loss and despair.
In remote and forgotten corners of the British Isles, faith healer Frank Hardy offers the promise of redemption to the sick and the suffering. But his is an unreliable gift, a dangerous calling which brings him into conflict with his wife, Grace, and his manager. Teddy. Their competing accounts of past events reveal the fragility of memory and the necessity of stories as a means of survival.
To celebrate the Irish connection, the playhouse will host a pre-show Irish music session in the Green Room, creating a pub atmosphere with Celtic-themed music played by area musicians. The sessions will take place from 7 to 7:45 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 1 to 1:45 p.m. before Sunday matinees.
“Faith Healer” premiered on Broadway in 1979 in a production directed by Jose Quintero and starring James Mason. It returned to Broadway in 2006 with a cast featuring Ralph Fiennes, Cherry Jones and Ian McDiarmid. More recently, it was mounted at London’s Donmar Warehouse in 2016 and featured Stephen Dillane as Frank.
The Sherman production features veteran area actors Matthew Bogen of West Haven as Frank; Priscilla Squiers of Danbury as Grace, and Bruce Tredwell of Brewster, N.Y., as Teddy.
“Faith Healer” runs Thursday, Sept. 18 (preview night), as well as Friday and Saturday, Sept. 19-20, Friday and Saturday, Sept. 27-28, and Friday and Saturday, Oct. 3-4 at 8 p.m. and Sundays, Sept. 21, 29 and Oct. 5 at 2 p.m.
A special post-performance talkback with NYU Irish Literature Professor and Brian Friel expert John P. Waters is scheduled on Friday, Sept. 26, immediately following the performance.
Tickets are $24 for adults and $12 for students (with ID) for regular performances and half price for the Sept. 18 preview ($12 for adults and $6 for students). Tickets may be purchased online at www.ticketleap.events/events/shermanplayers.
“Faith Healer” contains themes that may be difficult for some audiences.
For more information on content, visit the “Faith Healer” page on the website (shermanplayers.org). It is not recommended for young audiences.