When she met Sister Helen Prejean at a 1998 event, actor Patricia Lavery never thought she’d wind up playing the anti-death penalty activist whose 1993 book inspired the Oscar-winning movie “Dead Man Walking.”
“It was very brief, but she made a big impression,” says Lavery, of meeting Prejean at a Michigan book signing. “I’ll never forget one of the things she said: ‘To not actively work against injustice is to actively condone it.’ Lavery will tap into that memory when she appears in Piven Theatre’s production of “Dead Man Walking,” opening April 14.
“As a young person, I didn’t think much about the death penalty,” says Lavery. “When I read her book, it was a powerful, moving experience. It solidified this feeling in me that there’s this dark underbelly of society where things aren’t always fair. My hope is that I’m able to capture (Prejean’s) convictions, and maybe get people thinking about the death penalty and the issues surrounding it.”
Prejean’s accomplishments in anti-death penalty advocacy started with the story in “Dead Man Walking.” The harrowing tragedy follows Prejean as she becomes spiritual advisor to Elmo Patrick Sonnier, a Louisiana man convicted of rape and murder. She met with Sonnier in the months leading up to his 1984 electrocution. “Dead Man Walking” traces Prejean’s conversion to anti-death penalty activist.
As the anchor of the 18-person professional ensemble charged with tackling the emotionally and politically charged drama, Lavery has a prime opportunity to get people thinking. But there’s more to “Dead Man Walking” than what appears in Tim Robbins’ stage adaptation.
“Part of Robbins’ goal with the show is that it become a hub for a community-wide conversation,” says Piven Theatre Artistic Director Jennifer Green. “When you get the rights to do ‘Dead Man Walking,’ you also sign on for creating connections across the community, for engendering a discussion. You take on programming that’s much wider than a single performance.”
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With that in mind, the play is the centerpiece of Piven Theatre’s Quality of Mercy Project, three months worth of programming revolving around the issues such as forgiveness, the death penalty, economic inequality, racial inequality and social justice. Piven Theatre has partnered with The Chicago Innocence Center, Evanston Art Center, Literature for All of Us, James B. Moran Center for Youth Advocacy and Evanston Township High School for special programs such as post-show, talk-backs, workshops and even an April 16 visit from Sister Helen Prejean herself.
“We don’t want this just to be a show, we want it to be a conversation,” Green said.
Quality of Mercy Project programming
For a full schedule of programs, go to piventheatre.org/deadmanwalking. Below, some of the highlights:
‘Dead Man Walking’
When: April 16-May 15
Where: Piven Theatre at the Noyes Cultural Center, 927 Noyes St, Evanston
Tickets: $15 – $35
Information: www.piventheatre.org
Reading and book signing with Sister Helen Prejean
1–2:30 p.m., Saturday, April 16, Bookends and Beginnings, 1712 Sherman Ave., Evanston
Film screening of “The Innocent”
7–9 p.m., Tuesday April 19, Evanston Public Library, 1703 Orrington Ave.
Director Lauri Feldman Fisher’s documentary looks at the lives of men and women wrongly sentenced to death who lived to tell about it. A post-screening discussion will feature Feldman, film subject Gary Gauger, Center on Wrongful Convictions Co-Founder Rob Warden and Center attorney Judy Royal.
Panel: Compassion in the Court? Can Mercy Meet Justice?
6:30–8:30 Wednesday, April 20, Rotary International Auditorium, 1560 Sherman Ave., Evanston
Director of the Chicago Innocence Center Pamela Cytrynbaum will moderate a discussion on vengeance, punishment and compassion in the American criminal justice system.
Panel: The Black Male Experience in Evanston
4-6 p.m., Saturday, April 23, Evanston Public Library, 1703 Orrington Ave.
This panel will explore the history and current experiences of the black male in Evanston.
Panel: Curt’s Café Community Conversation- Youth, Stereotyping, and Criminalization
6 p.m., Monday, April 25, Curt’s Café North, 2922 Central St., Evanston
This moderated conversation will showcase a panel of young men from Curt’s Café North, designed to provide training to at-risk youth in Evanston in both food service and life.
Reading — #Lovestories, inspired by Black Lives Matter
3 p.m. Sunday, May 8, Evanston Public Library, 1703 Orrington Ave.
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Talkbacks
Piven has partnered with numerous organizations to provide talkbacks after the following performances. Tickets for shows on the following dates are $35. A portion of the proceeds will go to the featured community partner.
April 17 — Tom Verdun, staff attorney at the James B. Moran Center for Youth Advocacy, will discuss his work defending accused murderers and with the Moran Center, which helps provide low-income Evanston youth and their families with integrated legal and social work services
April 23 — Local artists with the Evanston Art Center will discuss how the arts can address areas of social justice.
April 30 — Student poets with Literature for All of Us will read original poems them penned on the theme of “Transforming Justice.”
May 7 — Students from Evanston Township High School will talk about their research on Louisiana prisons, the death penalty and other themes in “Dead Man Walking.”
May 14 – Chicago Innocence Center Executive Director, Pamela Cytrynbaum will discuss wrongful incarceration.