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He was a French peasant boy, a builder of houses for the poor, a captured slave, an orphanage founder, a leader in the Catholic church and creator of the unique Sisters of Charity order, and he died in the 17th century.
So how do you get a theater audience to go along with the idea that a fresh-faced college actor — the Town of Tonawanda’s Michael Vargovich — is really St. Vincent de Paul, telling the varied stories of his life and his work from heaven?
“At first, when we were working in rehearsals, we were obsessing over whether Mike could grow a beard, and whether he had the right stature to play Vincent de Paul,” said Neil A. Casey, a Niagara University alumnus and director of the upcoming production of “Vincent in Heaven.”
“But with a little bit of tinkering, we changed the opening monologue a bit, and really, it makes sense.”
“Vincent in Heaven,” which kicks off Niagara University Theatre’s 2006-07 season, starts off with Vargovich entering the stage, looking at the audience and smiling. He says he knows what they’re thinking, that he doesn’t look anything like the official portraits that NU students and alumni are familiar with.
But, being that he’s speaking from heaven, Vincent has an explanation.
“Well, yes, that was me 400 years ago. But here … here, we don’t look anything like we did there. Why should we? After all, this is, well, you know …”
Casey remembers the play from his student days, but said he didn’t appreciate the inherent cleverness and scope of writing that’s required to fit the university’s patron saint into just one performance.
“When Brother Augustine (Towey) sent me the play to read over and discuss it, I didn’t realize what wonderful writing it was,” Casey said. “It’s very different being on the other side, seeing how it all comes together.”
Part of making it come together is handling the sheer number of characters that passed through Vincent de Paul’s life. In this play alone, 55 actors have a role to play, whether in 17th-century period costumes, dressed up for their places in heaven or portraying some of the more modern followers of de Paul’s work, such as those working in a leprosy home in early 20th-century Louisiana.
“Vincent in Heaven” has been performed twice at NU, but this semester’s version has a special significance as the university celebrates 150 years of existence under the principles of the Vincentian priests who founded it.
The goal of the play, Casey said, is to show many sides of de Paul’s life, from the humorous to the historical, the personal to the priesthood. One line in particular stood out at a recent rehearsal as a fitting explanation for the play’s goals.
“One character approaches Vincent, our Vincent being played by Mark, and asks about his appearance, how he can discussing this from heaven, kind of the logical aspect of the play,” Casey said.
“And Vincent says, ‘Well, I’m not completely dead yet’ … I just think that makes a lot of sense.”
Contact Kevin Purdy at 693-1000, Ext. 107.
