By Joe Winter
Catholic Herald correspondent

Play brings to life the story of St. Therese of Lisieux

HUDSON -- With spotlights piercing the darkness at St. Patrick Church, viewers witnessed an inspiring portrayal of St. Therese of Lisieux.

The drama succeeded in showing that her suffering gave glory to God -- which allowed her to accept the pain of tuberculosis.

"The Story of a Soul -- A New Live Drama," tells the story of a 15-year-old who despite her young age wanted to become a Sister so badly that she asked her bishop and then the pope, to intervene.

Much of the story is told with Therese sitting on her bed and reflecting on her childhood -- using recorded voices for her siblings, beloved father and Scripture readings -- and spotlights shining on figures of Jesus as a child and as an adult, and finally Therese herself as a young woman.

Leonardo Defilippis brought the nationally acclaimed production of Therese's life, performed by Maggie Mahrt to St. Patrick Church Nov. 5. This is one of several religious dramas produced by Defilippis through St. Luke Productions.

The 70-minute, one-woman drama has garnered rave reviews around the country. Accompanied by a full orchestral score, it is an authentic and inspiring performance of the life of perhaps the most popular saint of the 20th century, say the show's creators.

The life of St. Therese would have remained buried in obscurity if she had not, under obedience, written down her story before she died of tuberculosis in 1897 in a French Carmelite monastery. Her autobiography quickly circulated all over the world, and her simple spirituality touched the hearts of millions.

In 1997 the pope acknowledged her spiritual contribution by declaring her a Doctor of the Church, an honor given only to three women in history. Therese Martin was a middle-class girl who entered the convent at the age of 15 and died at 24.

"In heaven, my God I love you," she says late in the play. "I want to spend my heaven in doing good on earth."

Her story is not dramatic in the traditional sense, yet it is perhaps the very ordinariness of her life that affects people, the show's creators say. Here is someone like many of us -- weak, sinful and struggling with obedience to her mundane daily tasks.

With total confidence, she chose a simple way to God, the way of a little child, trusting the love and mercy of her father. All this despite the fact that in the play she often coughs roughly, a symptom of the disease that would kill her. "We must never be discouraged by our faults," she says in the play, recalling the times she slept during the rosary.

Mahrt came to St. Luke Productions from Peoria, Ill., where she lived with her parents and six brothers and sisters. She heard about the role of Therese through a newsletter and auditioned while the show was passing through the Midwest on tour. A few weeks later, she received the call asking her to come to Oregon and portray the "Little Flower."

This is Mahrt's third season performing Therese. In addition to enjoying the adventure, she continues the portrayal because she also sees a great need for Therese's message.

"I think Therese chose me," Mahrt said, adding that after doing research, she felt called to this role and was amazed by Therese.

"It was the little ways she had confidence in God," Mahrt added."She reveals the face of God made incarnate and makes it seem more real." As she went along performing the drama, "I gained an enriched understanding of Therese."

Since 1980, St. Luke Productions has been dedicated to renewing and evangelizing the culture and family through a Catholic vision, focused in the dramatic arts. This ministry began when Defilippis was an actor at the Oregon Shakespearean Festival. He decided to tour the country with a live, one-man drama on the Gospel of Luke, and embarked on a spiritual journey that led him to produce other religious dramas.

St. Luke Productions has presented these dramas for over 500,000 people throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe. Several of St. Luke's six videotaped productions have won awards in national film and video festivals.

At the end of the current tour, Mahrt plans to follow a path much like that of her subject -- she will step down from the role and join an order of contemplative Sisters in Illinois.

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© Superior Catholic Herald, 2000