For a large part of the planet the subject of the play you will see regards a most sacred night that took place over two thousand years ago. It is, of course, the night when a young girl gave birth to a child in a Bethlehem stable.
From the time I was a boy I have been fascinated by this story. In my busy imagination I would fill in the blanks: What were they wearing?; What did their voices sound like?; Did they play a word game while they were awaiting the arrival of the little baby?; Was it cold?, And, most importantly for the young me: What were they feeling? What were they thinking?
The play you will see gives life to the details. It “fills in the blanks”. There is a great deal about that night that we do not know. For certain, there is much we do know but not the nitty-gritty details about what, exactly, happened that night.
As the Director of this production, I am surprised at the simplicity of it all. There were little-to-no comforts available to this young couple. They had been travelling for about a week. A young girl at the end of her pregnancy making the trip on the back of a donkey. The husband, on foot. Almost a week of travel through the Judean Desert. And then, at the moment the baby was ready to appear, another couple, the innkeeper and the innkeeper’s wife, came into the lives of these young people.
The innkeepers had nothing to give but they gave it anyway. They took care of this young couple even though the two couples had no connection to each other. They were two human beings taking care of other human beings with no obligation to do so except that someone needed something at a desperate time. The night passed with mother and child safe and healthy by the time the sun rose.
And the world changed forever. All because two people opened their home and hearts to strangers in a time of need.
Peace on Earth and goodwill to man.
- John Hardy, Director of The Innkeeper's Wife
Leah
Paris Bradstreet*
Saul
Michael Poisson*
*Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors, and Stage Managers in the United States.
Understudies never substitute for listed actors unless a specific announcement for the appearance is made at the time of the performance.
Director
John Hardy
Scenic Designer
Derek Smith
Costume Designer
Kelly Jenkins
Lighting Designer
Andrew Morehouse
Sound Designer
Connor Stevens
Playwright
Catherine Bush
Production Stage Manager
Cindi A. Raebel*
Producing Artistic Director of Barter Theatre
Katy Brown
*Denotes members of the Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors, and Stage Managers in the United States.
Costume Artisan/Dresser
Chantell Fuller
Lighting and Sound Technician
Shawn Glenn Martin Knost
Production Sponsors
Underwritten by:
WILDERNESS DIAGNOSTIC & THERAPEUTICS, LLC.
