The cast and director of a local play will have a rare opportunity next week.

The Calvin Theatre Company at Calvin College will present Dead Man Walking from February 1-3 and then February 8-10.

On Thursday, January 11, however, the student actors, and their director, Michael Page, will have , who wrote the book and lived the story on which the play is based.

Prejean will also speak that evening at 7:30 pm in a talk in the Calvin Chapel that is free and open to all.

Page says Prejean's memoir of her spiritual journey with a death row inmate raised the issue of capital punishment in the U.S. to a new level of national consciousness.

He notes that when Dead Man Walking was turned into a movie, written and directed by Tim Robbins, and starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn, the story of Matthew Poncelet touched millions, and the debate intensified.

"Now Robbins has returned to Prejean's book and adapted it for the stage," he says, "believing that it is a story that cannot be told enough."

Prejean's upcoming talk at Calvin is sponsored by the Dean of the Chapel, the CAS Department, the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, and the Criminal Justice Chaplaincy of Grand Rapids.

Contact Michael Page at 616-526-8665 or mpage@calvin.edu
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