Thoughts on…Heaven Sent
All That Glitters Is Not Gold
George Eliot's novel, Silas Marner, was published in England in 1861. It became a classic and was required reading for me in school. I remember being fascinated by the story of the mysterious miser, who kept his life and secret treasure of gold private from the rest of the world; a world that, beginning with his church, rejected him. In turn, the miser rejected the world in favor of solitude and the solace, security and trust that to him only his money could provide. But, of course, there is much more to the story.
Playwright, Rick Whelan, has brought this timeless tale to the stage and set it in Raveloe County, Kentucky, during the Great Depression. The small, tight-knit community of Raveloe, where our Samuel Langley seeks seclusion, is comparable to the English village of Eliot’s novel and nicely underscores the universality of this story. By setting this classic tale in America and forward in time – one not unlike our own today, the story is able to resonate even more with today's audiences of all ages. It is a universal story of rejection, isolation, acceptance, love, redemption and the importance of human relationships for any one in anytime.
All that glitters is not gold. Indeed, the most treasured things in life could be Heaven sent.
Mary Lucy Bivins – Director, Heaven Sent