Review: FAITH HEALER at Sherman Players

One man’s trash is another man's treasure. The grass is always greener on the other side. These phrases are all about perspective. Perspective can vary wildly from person to person and you cannot glimpse the whole story by only hearing one side. That is the premise of Brian Friel's Faith Healer, which is running at the Sherman Players.

Using the nontraditional format of story telling by relying on four monologues by three different people, Faith Healer breaks down and examines the differing perspectives of The Fantastic Francis Hardy. Francis Hardy is a Faith Healer who tours Wales and Scotland and attempts to perform miracles for the ill and infirm. Supported but his wife, Grace Hardy, and manager, Teddy, the trio each two their side off the story about Francis’s skills, their life on the road, and, most importantly, their end.

Bookended by the perspective of Francis Hardy himself — played by Matthew Bogen — the audience starts off by getting the bright side: His successes, his growth, and the obstacles he's overcome to get where he is today. Matthew’s welcoming and confident nature sets the audience up with a long, yet thoughtful, examination of his career. He’s the primer and the audience’s sign post, and carried that burden with grace and command.

Following Francis’s rose-tinted start, Grace Hardy — played by Priscilla Squiers — pulls the rug out from under his feet by giving the audience a look at the Francis behind the scenes. From his short temper to his disregard for her, Grace paints a bleak picture of their life on the road: from their meeting, to her childbirth in a van, to their final night together after returning to Ireland.

Finally, we see Teddy. A voice of reason; An outside perspective. In the most engaging, yet wide open monologue in the show, Teddy — played by Bruce Tredwell — lives up to the expectation thrust upon him by Francis and Grace, and takes the audience on a — supposedly impartial — journey through their history with Francis and Grace. He highlights the stories we've heard before, he adds context to the way he views the past, and gives the audience the clearest picture thus far of Francis’s career.

By the end of the show, the audience is left stunned with everyone's perspectives; wrestling with what they believe to be the truth. But we all know, in our hearts, that the truth is complicated, and that's the beautiful realization that this production strives for. Faith Healer, and all its intricacies, is woven together under the guidance of Director Kyle Minor, whose watchful eye brings together these tales into a singular experience.

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