Martyrs’ Crossing, Melissa Leilani Larson

MARTYRS’ CROSSING

The story of Catherine, a Christian martyr who, after her death, is assigned to guide a young peasant girl as she becomes the woman history will revere as Joan of Arc. Accompanying Joan throughout her legendary career, Catherine finds that her influence directly affects the girl’s successes and failures. As Joan spirals toward the inevitable, Catherine questions her assignment and, ultimately, her own faith.

Winner of the IRAM award for Best New Play and chosen as one of the Best Plays of Year by The Daily Herald. MARTYRS’ CROSSING is one of the plays featured in the Zarahemla Books anthology Saints on Stage, as well as in the Rocky Mountain Emmy award-winning documentary “A Cathartic Space”.

With three solid female roles at its core as well as flexible casting for the ensemble, MARTYRS’ CROSSING has proven to be very popular with high schools across the country. A one-act version has been performed in drama competitions in Utah and Texas, as well as at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

“For people of faith, this production is a vehicle of renewal, just as effective as the Christmas Story. I think it is appropriate and inspiring and a nice break from the usual saccharine fare typically offered at this time of year. Several in the audience were visibly moved when the lights came up after curtain call. Ultimately, MARTYRS’ CROSSING is a well-written, carefully thought out story about the mysterious, sometimes ambiguous nature of faith, about glory, their power to inspire, and how, where — or whether — we, too, have a part in it.”

— Joel Applegate, Front Row Reviewers