Menu

Home

Current Season
2019-2020

Reviews of our shows


2018-2019
Past Season

Auditions

Board of Directors Message

Ticket Information

Buy Tickets

Subscriber Benefits

Calendar of Events

Newsletter

Photos

Theatre Links

Map

Volunteer Form

Directors Search


Contact Us

Interactive Pages

Guestbook

Message Board

Crosswords

Theatre Quizzes

Word Jumble

Broadway Survey

Directed by Steve Lemenille
Produced by Linda Viel
Stage Managed by Taylor Lyons

The Runner Stumbles

Based on a true trial in the early part of the 20th Century in a remote parish in northern Michigan, a young nun has died under mysterious circumstances, and her superior, Father Rivard, has been charged with her murder.  The action alternates between interrogations, testimony and scenes from the past which reveal that Father Rivard, who had been banished to the small, up-country parish, fell in love with Sister Rita; and when circumstances forced her to move into the rectory with him, his anguish became unbearable.  Their relationship, inevitably, spelt tragedy, but not until the explosive and surprising climax of the play is the full extent of their sacrifice made clear and the identity of the murderer revealed.

Although the action of the play involves a priest and a nun, this play is not about Catholicism, but, rather, about issues which confront all religions and all human beings: the struggle of the individual around relationship to God; the nature of God; and the struggle all humans face in decisions and choices they make.

[best Broadway Play of 1978]

[The movie version starred Dick Van Dyke, Kathleen Quinlan, Maureen Stapleton, Ray Bolger, Tammy Grimes, Beau Bridges]

Cast/Crew Bios - Click here

The Runner Stumbles is produced under special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc.  

The Runner Stumbles is sponsored in part by JoAnne & Steve Lemenille.  

Funding has been made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, through a grant administered by the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs  

WCP is a member of New Jersey Association of Community Theaters (NJACT). The New Jersey Association of Community Theaters (NJACT) is a volunteer organization dedicated to supporting local theater around the state. The group's core mission is to celebrate outstanding achievements by artists of all disciplines involved in the performance and production of New Jersey Community Theater.  

WCP is a member of The American Association of Community Theatre (AACT). AACT is the national community theatre organization, whose chief goal is to enable community theatres across the country to become the cornerstones of the creative life of their communities -- to provide quality entertainment, intellectual stimulation, challenge and opportunity, to be worthy contributors to an improved quality of life for the communities which they serve.