Curtain Rising on The Fifth Sun
Blood will be shed. Lots of blood, if things go according to plan.
In live theater, though, anything can happen. When Theatre Xavier performed The Fifth Sun 20 years ago, a sound cue of helicopters and machine guns failed as actors silently convulsed and began squirting blood for no apparent reason. Legend has it Director Michele Mascari – in remarkably calm fashion – went to the control booth and said, “It is imperative that we have gunfire,” and walked back to her seat.
Her line lives on – sound crew be warned – as TX brings the tale Archbishop Oscar Romero back to the stage starting next week. The Fifth Sun opens Thursday, Nov. 12, with additional performances Nov. 13, 14, 19, 20 and 21.
Senior Tommy Boeing plays Romero – a Nobel Peace Prize nominee - who was murdered by El Salvadoran government death squads in 1980. He became a threat because he stood up for the poor of his country in the face of U.S. and Soviet military aid funneled to his country in the midst of the Cold War.
In the play, these same death squads kill Romero’s fiends Fr Rutilio Grande S.J. (senior Michael Strawser), Fr. Hector Navarez (senior Paul Kubiki) and entire villages. During the run of the 1989 production, six more Jesuits were murdered in El Salvador for practicing social justice.
“Despite the serious nature of this show, we’ve laughed a lot,” said Michele Mascari, TX director. “That’s one of the things I love about this community; we enjoy one another’s company and have fun with one another, even when doing something as difficult and as meaningful as this show.”
The story weaves Romero’s words and actions – his dealing with staffers like Sr. Ann Dunn (Ursuline junior Colleen Ladrick), Church superiors (senior Stephen Quehl) and El Salvadoran military officials (junior Victor Schneider) with Mayan creation myth and tomb ritual.
“It’s quite striking,” Mascari said. “To see these four magnificent Mayan gods – senior Joe Markesbery, junior Jack Daggett, McAuley junior Katy Flanagan and Colerain sophomore Rachel Otte - encircle Romero and push him toward his destiny as the fifth sun, the one who gives the world light, is heartbreakingly beautiful.
“The message of the play is clear and it’s right in line with what we profess at St. X. Have a deep conviction in your faith, stand up for your beliefs, actively help the poor who cannot help themselves. It’s what we’re called to do in whatever way we can. Romero and the Jesuits were and are heroes to the poor, and they are examples to us.”
Tickets are $8 each and available in the box office next to the black box theater. For more information, call 513-761-7815, ext. 586.