A former Arlington diocesan parishioner wants to give Catholic high school drama programs a play he wrote on St. Marianne Cope — for free.
The catch? “If you produce the play, please let me know. I would like to come see it if I can,” he writes in a preface to the script.
Steve Dunham, a retired journalist living in Pennsylvania, was a former parishioner of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church in Fredericksburg, St. Jude Church in Fredericksburg and Blessed Sacrament Church in Alexandria. He wrote a three-act play on St. Marianne Cope, who worked alongside St. Damien of Molokai, serving leprosy patients in Hawaii from 1883 until her death Aug. 9, 1918. She was canonized Oct. 21, 2012.
While several of the play’s characters are fictitious, the majority are real individuals, according to Dunham. “Some of the dialogue is based on letters, diaries and reports, but most is speculative, although consistent with known facts,” he wrote. “Based on what is known of the life of Marianne Cope, I have tried to faithfully present who she was and what she did, in an abridged story.”
Dunham developed a devotion to Mother Cope during the pandemic, when he and his wife prayed for her intercession to keep their family safe from infection. During her life, Mother Cope had promised the sisters who traveled with her to Hawaii that they would not contract leprosy. None did.
From there, Dunham wanted to learn more about Mother Cope’s life. He visited the St. Marianne Cope Shrine and Museum in Syracuse, N.Y., and with the help of the museum staff, he conducted research on her life.
Dunham wanted a creative outlet for his research, but after discovering a documentary had already been created about the saint, he channeled his creative efforts into theater. With the help of friend and retired drama teacher Mick Piccuirro, Dunham wrote a play based on Mother Cope’s life.
“I want it to be useful for high school productions,” Dunham said. “I’m not looking to make money from it; I just wanted to make it available for anybody who’s interested.”
Will he travel as far as Virginia to see a production of his play? “Sure,” he said.
Donofrio can be reached at [email protected].
Find out more
To read the play, go to bit.ly/3DZDW5l.
