For Immediate Release: March 7, 2007
Media Contact: Patricia Allen, Temple Theaters, 215.204.1334

Strange things happen when people are afraid. Far crueler things can happen when that fear spreads. But what happens when all of society is gripped by a fear of evil incarnate — and that fear is manipulated by people in power?

Although John Whiting’s epic and provocative play “The Devils” — which opens for a Mar. 15-24 run in Tomlinson Theater tonight at 7 p.m. — is based on the real-life story of Urbain Grandier, a French priest who was burned at the stake in 1634, its exploration of politics, religion and fear has not lost any of its urgency since the play was written 47 years ago.

“Back in 1634, it was fear of the devil. In the 1950s and ’60s, it was fear of communism. Today it’s terrorism,” said director David O’Connor, a Temple M.F.A. candidate. “That’s what makes this play exciting; we’re in the grip of the same kind of thing right now.”

“The Devils” is adapted from Aldous Huxley’s book The Devils of Loudon, published in 1952, the same year Arthur Miller was writing “The Crucible.” Whiting’s play tells the story of one of history’s most infamous episodes of mass sexual hysteria and possession. The reputation of Grandier, a handsome and promiscuous cleric in a small French town, spreads to a local convent with disastrous effects, leading to accusations that he is in league with the devil, and the intervention of the highest national authorities.

O’Connor, who directed “The Playboy of the West Indies” at Temple in 2005, says that the play’s “epic scope” — the production has 35 cast members — will make it stand out from the pack on the Philadelphia theater scene.

“The scale of ‘The Devils’ is grand,” said O’Connor. “A lot of the theater that gets produced in Philadelphia is chamber-style: small scale, small room. This production, which takes full advantage of Temple Theaters’ resources, jumps from intimate to sweeping and back again. We go from one person talking to God to vast, three-dimensional scenes of the entire world in upheaval, with actors going above and through the audience and appearing out of darkness. It’s exhilarating.”

The play’s ambitious sets, costumes, lighting and sound are designed by M.F.A. students Kathleen Chadwick, Brian Strachan, Maria Shaplin and guest artist Matt Lorenz, who earned a bachelor’s degree from the School of Communications and Theater in 2005, respectively.

The production also benefits from a cast that mixes experienced professional actors from around the world with Temple undergraduates, a product of the Temple M.F.A. acting program’s introduction of mid-career actors into its classes.

Philadelphia theater-goers, for example, will recognize Sarah Doherty (Sister Jeanne) and Joe Guzmán (Father Ambrose).

“The mid-career actors are excited by the energy of the younger actors,” O’Connor said, “and the younger actors certainly benefit from the experience of the veterans.”

Tickets for “The Devils” are $20. Seniors, Temple employees and non-Temple students pay $15 (discount tickets not available online or by phone); tickets are free for Temple students with OWLcard. Tickets are available at the Liacouras Center Box Office, 1776 N. Broad St. (in person cash-only sales), online at www.liacourascenter.com or by phone at 1-888-OWLS-TIX.

For more information, call the Temple Theaters Information Line at 215-204-1122 or visit www.temple.edu/theater.

Editor’s Note to Media: For review tickets, contact Patricia Allen, Temple Theaters marketing and public relations, at 215-204-1334, or e-mail patallen@temple.edu.

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