After four years on tour and 313 performances as Saint Faustina, actress Maria Vargo has retired from the role. Here are her reflections on portraying this saint:
Faustina was more than a show for me; it was a living, breathing prayer! With each performance, I got to fall more deeply in love with Our Lord and offer him my desires and struggles, my joy and anger.
In my life and in this performance, I’ve learned that Divine Mercy is life-changing, life-giving, and soul-saving. I've seen it, I've heard about it and I've lived it.
As he came on stage for the curtain call after a Tennessee high school performance of Tolton actor Jim Coleman looked out into the audience and saw a young girl about 15 years old, wearing a head wrap. She was crying.
Afterwards, as the students were filing out, she walked up to the stage with a few of her friends.
“Thank you so much for telling this story,” she said.
"Throughout my career as a composer, I've written mainly concert works, video game soundtracks, and most recently, operas. While fulfilling, these were nothing quite like creating the score for Tolton. From studying Father Tolton's journey, to incorporating spirituals of his time, the process brought me even deeper into my relationship with Christ. It's been nothing but a blessing to provide my God-given gifts back to the Lord through Tolton: From Slave to Priest!"
Since the beginning of 2018, actor Jim Coleman has been playing the role of Father Augustus Tolton,. Our Backstage Crew got a chance to talk to him. Here is an excerpt from that talk:
SLP: How did you end up performing the role of Father Tolton?
