Prospect Theater Project puts its belief in ‘Faith Healer’

Turns out, the story of a life varies greatly depending on who is doing the telling.

The life of Frank Hardy is examined from three different, and vastly varying, perspectives in the play “Faith Healer,” which opens Friday, April 24. The final full play of Prospect Theater Project’s 2014-15 season stands out from the other productions both in style and structure.

The piece by Irish playwright Brian Friel is a series of monologues retelling the same events from the viewpoints of Hardy (played by founding artistic director Jack Souza); his wife, Grace (played by Prospect managing director Kathleen Ennis); and manager, Teddy (played by Prospect veteran Bryan Hurd). Jenni Abbott directs the three-person cast in the show, which will run through May 10.

The story unfolds as each character takes the stage alone to talk about Hardy, an Irish traveling showman and faith healer from around the 1930s and ’40s. While Hardy does actually seem to have a miraculous gift to heal, it doesn’t always work reliably.

This is Souza’s second performance as Hardy in the region; his first came some 20 years ago, before he formed Prospect. Also, Friel was the subject of the theater veteran’s master’s degree thesis.

“I have a vast amounts of respect for his work. The topics that I find really interestingly engaging are centered around the notion of the indeterminate nature of our existence,” Souza said. “I think we used to live in a much more certain time. Truths were less subjective. This play is definitely about individual truths coming into conflict. It’s an unusual topic, beautifully dealt with.”

Souza said coming back to the role 20 years later is strange, but also involved a lot of existing muscle memory and unconscious familiarity regarding the character.

“It really marks how life has changed me, how aging has changed me. I see things differently now than I did when I was in my mid-30s,” he said. “Now I see maybe the irony and humor of some of these moments and predicaments. And vice versa, other things I find profoundly saddening now. This is why anyone turns to art: to express those things difficult to express in other ways.”

For the actors, the play’s monologue format posed a welcome challenge. Veteran Prospect performer and co-founder Ennis said she was drawn to the structure and language of “Faith Healer.”

“This play is nontraditional in structure, with very little physical action. But the story it tells is full of action. It’s very rich,” she said. “You have to rely on your imagination instead of this crazy realistic set or huge, sweeping actions. But it is very alive and there’s a lot going on. I love that. It’s very powerful.”

The show will feature original music by Modesto composer David Eakin. He provided original scores for the past Prospect productions of “Pygmalion” and “Richard II,” among others.

Abbott said the play is essentially three solo pieces, each from a separate spin on events. Still, while the characters never physically interact, their deep impact on one another’s lives is evident.

“I think it’s three people who are trying to find the place they feel good in the world. They’ve banded together. They’re certainly not always good to each other but are linked closely and had unique and deep experiences together,” she said. “The heart of the story is how we justify what we see. Everyone wants to tell it from the place that reflects them the best.”

This story was originally published April 22, 2015 at 5:00 PM with the headline "Prospect Theater Project puts its belief in ‘Faith Healer’."