STAGE REVIEW : ‘Agnes’ Loses the Faith : Cal State Fullerton Production Lacks Passion of Pielmeier’s Work

John Pielmeier’s “Agnes of God” is part whodunit and part theological debate: a “psychological thriller,” in advertising parlance. Cal State Fullerton’s production does not thrill, but under the direction of Joe Parrish, it’s a clear-eyed investigation into the mind of the play, which gyrates around no less a topic than the question of the existence of God.

A postulant named Agnes has had a child in the convent. The infant, strangled and then discarded in a wastepaper basket, has been found by the mother superior. Agnes is arrested for manslaughter and undergoes psychological evaluation by Dr. Martha Livingstone, who is appointed by the court to determine Agnes’ mental competence.

But Agnes is an unusual patient, a beatific innocent who is the unwilling instrument of her all-embracing faith in God. The childless doctor, a bitter ex-Catholic, is quickly seduced by Agnes’ extraordinary character and circumstances. What develops is a soul-searching tug-of-war between Livingstone and the mother superior over the young postulant, whose remarkable spirituality triggers revelations and confessionals all around. The search for the “truth” of what happened to Agnes and the dead child reveals a world in which God is inescapably alive and cruelly unfathomable.

Pielmeier has given his characters stores of emotional ammo that are so over-rich and coincidental that they cry out to be ignited.

Director Parrish’s approach to the material is intelligent and measured, orchestrated to clarify the intersections of rational lines of thought. As proponents of battling philosophies, the characters are well-defined.

But Pielmeier’s God defies rationality. He is exalting, punishing, carnal, transcendent, powerful, pervasive and very, very passionate. Unfortunately, Parrish’s production is not.

Of the three capable actresses, Jeani Finnerty as Agnes contributes the most inspired performance. Her sweet girlishness and open, trusting manner accentuate the awesome power of the forces moving through her, inexplicable forces to which Finnerty gives credible life.

As the mother superior, Joni Davis has an authoritative presence and a welcome sense of humor, although her characterization and her vocal work could both use more snap.

Lesley Fera plays Dr. Livingstone more as a narrator than a combatant. We seldom see the forces moving through her, and her role as the accessible translator of events seems to have robbed her of her sense of humor.

There are some liberating laughs in the production, though they seem to slip in arbitrarily rather than erupt as a deliberate counterpoint to the fantastic tragedy. This intelligent but timid production can be assessed by a quote from the play: “What we gained in logic we lost in faith.”

‘Agnes of God’

Jeani Finnerty: Agnes

Joni Davis: Mother Superior

Lesley Fera: Dr. Martha Livingstone

A Cal State Fullerton presentation of John Pielmeier’s drama. Directed by Joe Parrish. Scene designer: Marc Caldwell. Lighting designer: Robert Wyatt. Costume designer: Regine Neugebauer. Performances today through Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 5 p.m. Matinee Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at the Arena Theatre, Cal State Fullerton, 800 N. State College Blvd., Fullerton. Tickets: $4 to $6. (714) 773-3371.