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Corey Ruehling as the lead character and world-famous surgeon, Sam Carter, and Aaron Clabough as his son, Stephen, rehearse a scene from “Traveler in the Dark.”

Calvary Theatre Arts is pleased to announce the beginning of some new traditions that continue with our current production of Traveler in the Dark by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Marsha Norman. Theatre offers powerful potential collaboration between the academic disciplines at Calvary, and one of the most challenging and interactive times this happens is during the Calvary Conversations that occur during our all-campus chapels. Traveler in the Dark is up for discussion during this Wednesday’s chapel on September 27.

The play revolves around an intense inter-generational crisis incited by the death of Sam’s surgical nurse. The conversation will begin with a seven-minute confrontational scene between Sam Carter (played by Corey Ruehling) and his preacher/father, Everett Carter (played by Jon Van Pelt). This will be followed by a conversation featuring Biblical Counseling chair Pat Miller and her colleague, Dr. Luther Smith. Also joining director Bobbie Jeffrey and her cast from Traveler in the Dark will be Tim Hange, Calvary’s missionary-in-residence from Moscow.

After having read the play, here’s what our conversation panelists had to say about the script:

  • “What I like most about this play is the title! We are all travelers in the dark without the Light of the World – Jesus. We often lose our way and stumble in the dark. Only in the truth of God will we ever be set free.”  – Mrs. Pat Miller
  • “The title is appropriate for this particular play…I am convinced of the human experience and how this is the way some of us deal with death and loss. Death makes us powerless, it makes us helpless and vulnerable. It causes us to see that life is so short, and that we don not have any control over our lives….This is a fantastic play! There are many lessons to be gleaned from this play, and I advise anyone (especially Biblical counseling majors) to attend and see this play!” – Dr. Luther Smith
  • Traveler in the Dark hits upon a number of tough themes. Death, grief, loss are present, yes, but in the end I feel it is a battle between the cold world of cynical empiricism and the realm of faith, imperfectly expressed though it may be. At its deepest core is the battle with the concept of a God who allows death and suffering in the world, combined with the bitterness and cynicism that results when man desperately shakes his fist at the universe and attempts to be the captain of his own soul. We just aren’t designed for this. I’m looking forward to engaging in the discussions that result from this performance.” – Tim Hange

Of course we don’t want to leave our audience out of the interactive energy!  There will be talk back sessions after every performance:

  • Thursday, 10/12 after our 11:00 a.m. matinee
  • Friday 10/13 and Saturday, 10/14 after our 7:30 p.m. performances
  • Sunday, 10/15 after our Sunday matinee at 2:00 p.m.

Don’t miss this opportunity to be both challenged and moved! Tickets are now on sale at https://www.calvary.edu/theatre-box-office/