A Little History for the Holiday

 by Paula Gail Benson

 

Martin and Katie Luther

My first experience onstage (at age ten) was with the St. Paul’s Players at my church, St. Paul’s Lutheran in Columbia, South Carolina. Now, I’ve taken on duties as director and writer for the group. Each year, in addition to other presentations, we have a Christmas/holiday dinner theatre production in early December.

This year, we offered The Love Letters of Katie and Martin Luther. For those unfamiliar with their story, Martin became a monk whose teachings led to the Reformation. One idea he wrote about was that monks and nuns could break their vows of celibacy and marry without sin, because those vows were an illegitimate and vain attempt to win salvation. Katie, who had lived in a convent since she was five years old and became a nun, heard his message and with eleven other nuns escaped to have families of their own. When Martin could find no other male Katie would accept as a husband, she suggested that he marry her. Together, they made a home in the Black Cloister, had six children (four of whom lived to be adults), and entertained guests and students.

For our production, five actors participated in a readers’ theatre style program (where the actors do not have lines memorized, but read from scripts, letting their spoken inflections and interpretations rather than physical actions be the focus). Because the presentation concentrated on the language, the audience could listen to the the history of and some of the words spoken by Katie and Martin, their daughter Margaretha (the only daughter who survived beyond childhood), Martin’s father Hans (who hoped his son might become a lawyer), Pope Leo X (who argued with Martin over his 95 theses and ultimately excommunicated him), and Leonhard Koppe (a merchant who bravely rescued Katie and eleven other nuns—risking his own life if he had been caught).

John Arnold, who has played various roles in previous St. Paul’s Players’ productions, including Sherlock Holmes and Santa Claus, took on the role of Martin. Penry Gustaufson, in her first role with the Players, brought spirit, frankness, and charm to Katie, enchanting us all by singing “From Heav’n Above to Earth I Come,” a hymn written by Luther for his family to sing at Christmas. As Margaretha, Janie Fulmer, asked questions about how the Luthers met and married. Olin Jenkins, as the Pope, took the mallet from Luther’s hand to gavel the order of excommunication. Scott Stepp took on two roles, as Hans Luther and as Leonhard Koppe, changing his voice subtly to indicate the difference in status of the men. Susan Moffitt provided pre-show music and accompanied Penry during the hymn while Billy Itter handled lights and sound. Tim Scott did a marvelous job catering the function.

Readers’ theatre was a new approach for us, but it worked well for this play by keeping the audience focused on concepts rather than staging. Also, for a year when we all had lots of added responsibilities, rehearsals were easier to accommodate using a readers format.

For each production, we select a “cast project” to seek donations from our audience. This year, we chose Food for the Soul, a ministry providing free meal programs, emergency overnight sheltering, and year-round homeless sheltering for people in need in Kershaw County, South Carolina. We were grateful to raise $600.

If you are not familiar with the story of Katie and Martin Luther, you might wish to read Michelle DeRusha’s Katharina and Martin Luther: The Radical Marriage of a Runaway Nun and a Renegade Monk (Baker Books 2017) or Ruth A. Tucker’s Katie Luther: First Lady of the Reformation (Harper Collins/Zondervan 2017).

Did you discover or participate in any unique historical holiday traditions this year? Did any involve the theatre?

The Luther Rose