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‘The Lightbearer’s irony not lost this time around
Shane Riggs’ play uses Cumberland as its setting for thought-provoking results
CUMBERLAND — There’s a noted sense of irony when “The Lightbearer” returns the weekend of Nov. 20-22 at Allegany College of Maryland.
In the play by Shane Riggs — first produced locally five years ago — the waiting room of a Cumberland hospital sets three of the play’s six scenes. During the three-day special engagement of the play, the very hospital in which half the story takes place will be closing and a new hospital opening just across the street from the college campus.
One of the characters even mentions “talk of a new hospital.” In 2004, when the show originated at the New Embassy Theatre and then was encored at the college later that year, that line was probably lost. This time around, it sticks out. As do other local mentions of places like Peskin’s Department Store, Burton’s Menswear and DeVore’s Market. In the biographical information for the play, Riggs notes he first wrote the script when he was homesick for Western Maryland and still living in Ohio in 2002. His love for his hometown shows. Now the managing editor of Allegany Magazine, Riggs uses real references to weave a sentimental and fictional comedy that strangely leaves audience members in tears when it concludes.
It is also appropriate then that Ohio should have a connection to this latest incarnation. Players and a director from an award-winning 2006 version of “The Lightbearer” are taking the show on the road, with this first stop in the city where the play takes place.
Era Lynn Tripp is a comical delight as the brazen Ida, Linda Daniels’ journey as Lucy is a scene stealer in more ways than one, Marie Graelis is adorable as the naive Ellie, Cheryl Smith is every bit the sophisticate Winnie is meant to be, and Stefanie Hester — well, as Annie you just want to give her a big hug. Director Jay Spencer — who led these same actors to win eight Ohio Community Theatre Awards for this version three years ago — also plays the Reverend.
Two local actors make uncredited and delightful cameo appearances in the role of a nurse and a soldier. When the play debuted in Cumberland it was done both times as a staged reading. This is the full production and it is full of life. It is also being staged as a fundraiser for the Lightbearer Scholarship a new scholarship in memory of the playwright’s sister that will financially assist non-traditional nursing students at ACM.
The premise of the story is simple. It’s about five female friends and a bond between them that has lasted for more than 50 years. Audience members will see these women change from present day to the 1950s, the 1970s and back again. It will feel like two hours spent visiting with lifelong friends. Ultimately, however, the bond of love between the characters is tested by time, current events and even death. In a time when friendships are disposable and reality TV manipulates real life, it’s lovely to see a sweet simple story in which five Western Maryland women from a generation ago value each other for five decades.
In previous reviews, “The Lightbearer” has been called “hysterical and thought provoking,” “an honest portrayal of life and humanity,” and “a feast for the mind, heart and soul.” This is simply a play to see with a best friend. And just before the holiday season, it’s the perfect time of year for a gentle reminder that love conquers all.
The play is sponsored by the Allegany College of Maryland Center for Continuing Education and Instititute for Professional and Cultural Development and also in part by a grant from the Allegany Arts Council.
Tickets are still available for all three performances and can be obtained at the continuing education building at the main campus of the college and at the offices of the arts council in downtown Cumberland.
