NWC to present The Power and the Glory

“The Power and the Glory,” adapted from Graham Greene’s novel of the same title, will be presented by Northwestern College in the England Theatre Nov. 13, 15, 20 and 21 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 22 at 2 and 7:30 p.m.

Northwestern theatre professor Dr. Robert Hubbard adapted and is directing the drama set in 1930s Mexico when a socialist movement outlawed the Catholic church and religious practice. A priest, nicknamed the “Whiskey Priest” for one of his self-destructive proclivities, doesn’t flee Mexico like his clergymen brothers but instead stays, stealing from village to village to celebrate Mass and perform the sacraments.

Hubbard chose the story for its incarnational and redemptive themes. “The novel—and now the script—is about the beauty that can be found in brokenness,” he explained. “The priest is like many of us: full of self-doubt and even despair, but still committed to following God’s call, however imperfectly.”

Hubbard’s adaptation of the novel to a stage play is in the form of chamber theatre, an adaptive technique that maintains much of Greene’s rich narrative language. He describes the production as grandly theatrical, with some actors playing multiple roles that include animals and inanimate objects. “It will be a spectacle,” he said.

The priest will be played by junior Jacob Christiansen, Omaha. Hana Spangler, also a junior from Overland Park, Kan., has a role created by Hubbard; she will be Penance, a character who acts as the priest’s conscience. Junior Kyle TenHulzen, Firth, Neb., plays the lieutenant, a socialist enforcer, and Gerrit Wilford, a junior from Brandon, S.D., is Mestizo, who has left the priesthood.

Tickets for “The Power and the Glory” are $8 for adults and $4 for students. The DeWitt Theatre box office opens Nov. 3 for Theatre Patrons; it is open Nov. 4–22 for the general public.

Tickets can be reserved at www.nwciowa.edu/tickets or by visiting the box office between 5 and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday or between 1 and 4 p.m. on Saturday. The box office can also be reached by phone, 712-707-7098, or e-mail, boxoffice@nwciowa.edu.