JOPLIN, Mo. —
With Ash Wednesday coming up next week and the Season of Lent upon us, Stained Glass Theatre, of Joplin, could not have timed its latest play much better.
“The Lower Room,” which opened Thursday and continues tonight and Sunday as well as the same days next week, presents an intriguing contrast to the biblical setting of Jesus and his disciples depicted in the Upper Room.
“This will be an interesting play as we head into the Easter season,” said Kelly Weaver, who has directed the 10 women and two men featured in the play. “This story begins the night of the Last Supper and goes through Resurrection Sunday.”
The interesting aspect of the drama, written by Pat Wooley, is that it presents the side of the women who were the last of the followers at the cross of Jesus and the first at his tomb.
“‘The Lower Room’ tells the story of the women who traveled and ministered to Jesus and what they were thinking and feeling as Jesus gathered with his disciples in the Upper Room,” Weaver said.
The name of the play itself contrasts with that of the Upper Room by suggesting that the women could have gathered in the Lower Room while the disciples were meeting with Jesus.
The cast includes Janelle Rawlings as Maria, Caleb Daniel as John Mark, Antonia Snell as Rhoda, Keesha Dorsey as Magdalena, Mary McWethy as Joanna, DeeDee Curry as Salome, Amanda Piercy as Miriam, Liesl Wicklund as Martha, Mike Nader as Judas, Sarah Turner as Mary and Mary Alice Gardner and Valerie Nader sharing the role as Mariamne. All are from Joplin except for the Naders, who are from Seneca.
Weaver, who had a part in the first play at Stained Glass Theatre when it opened in 1996, said the current production is the third since the SGT building near St. John’s Regional Medical Center was destroyed in the May 22 tornado.
The first play after the deadly twister, “Father of the Bride,” held much significance for all those involved, particularly Malachi Murdock, who played the lead role after recovering from a near-death experience.
“The night of the tornado I would not have given you a dollar that Malachi was going to make it,” said Weaver, who left the theater 15 minutes before the tornado struck to go to her niece’s Joplin High School graduation party but returned to see the theater in shambles.
“That kid is a miracle. He got hit in the face with a cement block and was in a coma for four days, then in ICU for two weeks.”
56 people were inside the building when the tornado hit, and three were killed. Because several of the “Father of the Bride” cast members had been present when the tornado slammed into the theater, the play following the storm presented more than a theatrical challenge.
“This was an emotional play for the cast to do,” Weaver said. “For them to be in the first show after the tornado was really emotional.”
Stained Glass Theatre was created in Springfield, before branching out to Joplin and Jefferson City, to be a ministry.
“It is a ministry to the audience, community and volunteers,” Weaver said. “However, after the tornado we have had to minister to each other a whole lot.”
Want to go?
“The Lower Room” will be presented today through Sunday, Feb. 25. at the Foundry, which is part of the Bridge Ministry Center at 3405 S. Hammons Blvd. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. on Sundays.
Tickets, which are $8 for adults and $5 for children under 13, may be obtained by calling 626-1293 or going online at info@sgtjoplin.com.
Address correspondence to Rich Brown, c/o The Joplin Globe, P.O. Box 7, Joplin, MO 64802, or email richbrown@cableone.net.
