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Helluva tabloid headline: "Baby Born to Virgin Nun Found Dead in Wastebasket!"
And so begin the soul-vs.-the-mind games of Agnes of God, which pits a dogged, court-appointed psychiatrist (A.G. Cox, formerly billed as Anita Garland) against the order's protective mother superior (Nerissa Tedesco) in the quest for answers about Sister Agnes (Viviana Rosales Olsen), a young nun abused as a child who claims not to remember any conception, pregnancy, birth—or infanticide.
(Strangely, a setup that these days wouldn't be out of place on Law & Order: SVU.)
If you can overlook such incredible plot points, as well as the doc's huge bias and conflict of interest—her own sister died in a convent, which would disqualify her in the eyes of any court—the play is an intriguing clash of science vs. faith. The doctor is determined to unlock the secrets of Agnes' troubled mind to trace the tragedy (because everything must have an explanation), while mother superior insists that Agnes just might have been touched by a miracle (because some things defy explanation).
Cox and Olsen give credible performances. And Tedesco deftly modulates her mother superior—who was married before becoming a nun and has grandchildren—so that she is multidimensional, a more complex figure than a walking religious polemic, adding depth to the debate.
But Director Robert Cox, perhaps putting too much faith in playwright John Pielmeier's words and provocative theme, fails to find a sense of dramatic propulsion for his actresses to collectively build upon, and lethargy ensues. Moments of conflict and playfulness and even supposedly climactic fireworks feel more like mere exposition—scenes dutifully strung together rather than a narrative steadily gathering speed, and the result is a production that feels static, inert.
It's a one-note approach that fails to exploit a potential symphony of emotions.