Tolton Play to Return to Local Area

If you missed Andrae Goodnight's inspiring and moving dramatic presentation of the life of the Servant of God Father Augustus Tolton, you still have a few opportunities to this excellent play from St. Luke Productions.

Tolton: From Slave to Priest will be performed in the coming days in the following cities in or near central Illinois:

• St. Peters, Missouri - The performance will be at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 26th in All Saints Church Annex at 5 McMenamy Road. A free-will offering will be collected.

• St. Louis, Missouri - The performance will begin at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 28th in the Cardinal Ritter College Preparatory High School Commons at 701 N. Spring Avenue.

• St. Louis, Missouri - The show will start at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 29th in the gym of Trinity Catholic High School at 1720 Redman Road. Tickets are $5 for adults and $10 for a family or 3 more; youths under 18 are free.

• Springfield, Illinois - Doors open at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 2nd, for a 6:30 p.m. performance at Dominican Hall of Sacred Heart-Griffin East Campus, Springfield, Illinois. A free-will offering will be collected.

I cannot urge you enough to see this play.

One of those in attendance at the Quincy performance at November 12th sent a card to me saying, "We knew it would be good, but we were so blessed to witness more of Father Tolton's inner struggles and the amount of obstacles he faced, combined with his perseverance in faith."

Another person at the same performance also wrote to me, saying, "I just returned home from [Quincy University] and the Fr. Tolton production!! It was awesome, so glad I went."

Do yourself a favor and see this performance before Advent begins!

A review of Tolton: From Slave to Priest - Bigger than Johnny Cash

Last evening, Mr. Andrae Goodnight brought the character of the Servant of God Father Augustus Tolton to life for the first time in the Diocese of Springfield on the stage of the Effingham Performance Center in a convincing, masterful, and moving performance.

This one-man play is written and produced by St. Luke Productions, a Catholic acting company dedicated to bringing the lives of the saints to life through engaging quality dramatic presentations. The set of the play is rather simple, but this is no reflection on the quality of the script, the acting, or the actor.

To portray other characters, such as Martha Jane Tolton, audio/visual equipment is used of recordings of portrayals by other actors and actresses. At first, I was a bit skeptical of this approach, but within only a few moments I saw how well the stage-actor and the recorded-actors blended together. Rather than being hokey - as, at first, I thought it might be - this is a clever way to increase the quality of the drama while keeping costs down.

Running under 90-minutes, Tolton: From Slave to Priest presents the essential elements to understand the life and story of Father Gus in a manner that gets to the heart of the issues. It shows forth the virtue of the first publicly known black priest in the United States of America and shows why people - Catholics and Protestants alike - both supported and opposed him. It shows the turmoil of his heart and his fidelity to Christ Jesus and to his Church. And, as it does all of this, Tolton: From Slave to Priest also includes a few references to the more common aspects of his life, such as his playing of the accordion (an unexpected and welcome inclusion).

If you do not yet know the story of the first citizen of the Gem City, you will after seeing Tolton: From Slave to Priest; if you do know the story of Father Gus, you will surely gain a deeper appreciation for the witness of his life while watching this performance.

I strongly encourage you to bring your family and friends with you to see Tolton: From Slave to Priest and am certain you will not be disappointed. The play will continue to be performed across the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois this week and the early part of next week:

• JACKSONVILLE - The second performance will be held on Wednesday, November 8th at 7:00 p.m. in Jacksonville at Our Saviour church. The performance, I think, will be free to all attendees.

• DECATUR - The third performance will be held on Thursday, November 9th at 6:30 p.m. in Decatur at Our Lady of Lourdes church. A free-will offering will be taken.

• SPRINGFIELD - The fourth performance will be held on Saturday, November 11th at 7:30 p.m. in Springfield at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. A free-will offering will be taken.

• QUINCY - The fifth performance, and the one to which I am most looking forward, will be held on Sunday, November 12th at 3:00 p.m. in Quincy at the Pepsi Arena of Quincy University. A free-will offering will be taken.

• GRANITE CITY - The sixth and final performance will be held on Monday, November 13th at 7:00 p.m. in Granite City at Holy Family church. A free-will offering will be taken.

Just prior to the performance, I was asked to give a brief presentation on the canonization process in general, which i was happy to do. As I visited with people after the performance, one of the men I spoke with had been a recent concert by Johnny Cash at the Effingham Performance Center, the very same venue where Tolton: From Slave to Priest was performed. He told me there were more people in attendance for Tolton than there were for Johnny Cash. That is not bad praise! Do yourself a favor and watch the play.

Dates and times for Tolton: From Slave to Priest in central Illinois

It was not part of my planning but, surely, rather a working of Divine Providence that St. Luke Productions desired to bring Tolton: From Slave to Priest to the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois during this National Vocation Awareness Week. What better way could there to be raise awareness concerning vocations to the priesthood by learning more about the Servant of God Father Augustus Tolton, the first publicly known black priest in this country?

I've already shared the dates and times of the performances with you already, but please allow me to share them with you again and to strongly urge you to attend at least one of them.

First, though, let me share again the bulletin blurb from St. Luke Productions to advertise Tolton: From Slave to Priest to give a brief bit of useful information:

Meet Fr. Augustus Tolton, the first African American priest, in this one-man multimedia performance. From his dramatic escape from slavery to his courageous struggle in the face of prejudice, Fr. Tolton’s inspiring life centers around his message reconciliation and hope. This riveting drama is filled with all the elements of professional theater, runs 90 minutes, and is suitable for ages 10 and up.

And now, the performance locations, dates, and times:

• EFFINGHAM - The first performance will be held on Tuesday, November 7th at 7:00 p.m. in Effingham at the Effingham Performance Center. A free-will offering will be taken. Following the performance, I have been asked to give a brief presentation on the canonization process and to answer whatever questions attendees might have.

• JACKSONVILLE - The second performance will be held on Wednesday, November 8th at 7:00 p.m. in Jacksonville at Our Saviour church. The performance, I think, will be free to all attendees.

• DECATUR - The third performance will be held on Thursday, November 9th at 6:30 p.m. in Decatur at Our Lady of Lourdes church. A free-will offering will be taken.

• SPRINGFIELD - The fourth performance will be held on Saturday, November 11th at 7:30 p.m. in Springfield at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. A free-will offering will be taken.

• QUINCY - The fifth performance, and the one to which I am most looking forward, will be held on Sunday, November 12th at 3:00 p.m. in Quincy at the Pepsi Arena of Quincy University. A free-will offering will be taken.

• GRANITE CITY - The sixth and final performance will be held on Monday, November 13th at 7:00 p.m. in Granite City at Holy Family church. A free-will offering will be taken.

I plan to be at each of the performances and hope to see you somewhere!

An unofficial trailer for Tolton: From Slave to Priest

Coming soon to the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois:

A list of dates, locations, and times for the performances of Tolton: From Slave to Priest can be found here. Please make plans to attend one or more of the shows!

Tolton Drama coming to the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois

The good folks with St. Luke Productions have a produced a one-man drama about the life of the Servant of God Father Augustus Tolton titled, Tolton: From Slave to Priest. The subtitle is taken from the title of a biographical novel by Sr. Caroline Hemesath, O.S.F. of the same name and published by Ignatius Press:

 

 

 

In the past, I've had the honor of working with Leonardo Defilippis, the President and Founder of St. Luke Productions when he gave a very moving performance of Vianney, a one-man drama on the life of the Cure of Ars. I'm especially looking forward to his team in brining Tolton: From Slave to Priest to the Diocese.

 

We are still working on firming up the cities and the specific locations for the performances, but it is safe to safe that Tolton: From Slave to Priest will be performed in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois November 5-12, 2017. I will soon be working to arrange performances in Quincy, Springfield, Decatur, Jacksonville, Effingham, Alton, and Edwardsville (priests in these cities will soon be hearing from me).

 

If you're interested in scheduling a performance - or even a set of performances - you may inquire here. If you'd to help support the production of these performances and help make the story of Father Gus known, you can do so here.

 

I hope to be able to announce the dates and locations of the performances in the next few weeks. Keep on this blog, the Catholic Times, and your parish bulletins for more information!

A play about Father Tolton is now ready for performance

Many moons ago I shared with you the news that Leonardo Defilippis of St. Luke Productions was in the process of writing a screen play on the life of the Servant of God Father Augustus Tolton. The screen play was finished some time ago and Mr. Defilippis spent several months searching for the just the write actor to portray Quincy's first citizen. That man has now been found, Andrae Goodnight. Now, at long last, the one-man play Tolton: From Slave to Priest is ready for performance!

St. Luke Productions has released a short teaser trailer:

His Excellency the Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki, Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, has asked me to work on bringing this performance to central Illinois, which I will be most happy to do. I will keep you updated as to when and where you will be able to see this drama, as well as how you might be able to help bring Mr. Goodnight to our diocese.

If you wish to bring the play to your area, you can do so here.

Please keep this play, and all of the excellent work of St. Luke Productions, in your prayers.