Magis Theatre of Loyola University Maryland Presents SONG OF SONGS 4/9-11

Magis Theatre of Loyola University Maryland is presenting a chamber reading of Song of Songs on the weekend of April 9, 10, and 11. It was rescheduled after its cancellation due to snow on Valentine's weekend. Written and directed by Rev. John Conley, SJ, Knott Professor of Philosophy and Theology at Loyola, the drama is based on the Song of Songs, the biblical book celebrating romantic love. The production features actors Alex Hewett and Brian Oakes as the bride and bridegroom at the center of the drama. Mary Pat Kerrigan plays the Woman of Jerusalem. Flutist Stephanie Lukin provides musical interludes.

Performances take place on April 9 (8 PM), 10 (8 PM), and 11 (3 PM) at the Fava Chapel on the first floor of Hammerman Hall on the campus of Loyola University Maryland at 4501 Charles Street in Baltimore. The production is free and open to the public; a freewill offering will be taken. The collection will be donated to Catholic Relief Services for their relief work in Haiti. Each performance will be followed by a discussion with the audience.

Magis Theatre at Loyola is devoted to the production of dramatic productions dealing with religious and moral themes. Campus Ministry and the Catholic Studies Program at Loyola University Maryland are cosponsoring this production of Song of Songs.

Composed in approximately the fourth century BC, the Song of Songs has long baffled scholars. The book has no explicit mention of God; the identity of the characters in the book is elusive; the relationship among the poems is uncertain. The current consensus among scholars is that this a collection of poems celebrating erotic love, possibly composed to accompany wedding festivities. Jewish and Christian mystics have long interpreted the book as an allegory of God's love for Israel, the Church, and the individual soul. The Magis Theatre production of Song of Songs revives a popular Victorian interpretation of the enigmatic book. In this interpretation, Song of Songs is the script of the drama of the development of love by a couple who ultimately marry. The Magis production uses the biblical text to shape the romantic drama of bride and bridegroom, who gradually move from erotic attraction to marital commitment. The sacred performance space, the Fava Chapel at Loyola, underscores the subtle but intense religious presence mystics have long sensed in the book's lyrical hymns to love.

For further information, contact magisloyola@yahoo.edu.