The musical tells the true story of the beloved French 14-year-old girl who had 18 visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes.
After being seen by over 400,000 people across Europe, “Bernadette, The Musical” is making its debut in the U.S. on Feb. 19 at Chicago’s The Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture.
The musical tells the true story of St. Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes — the 14-year-old girl who, in 1858 in Lourdes, France, encountered a series of apparitions believed to be the Blessed Virgin Mary.
During the winter of 1844, Bernadette returned from a grotto on the riverbank claiming to have seen a vision of “something white in the shape of a lady.” The musical focuses on the few weeks that followed this event and how the teenager — experiencing another 16 visions — stood firm against doubt, ridicule, and condemnation. She faced pressure from adults, police, religious authorities — even her own parents — with faith and courage.
The musical will be performed in Chicago from Feb. 19 to March 15. The musical will then travel to other cities in Connecticut, Michigan, Massachusetts, Philadelphia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Florida, Arizona, Oregon, and Georgia.
Producer Pierre Ferragu told EWTN News that the inspiration for the musical came from the original producer in France, Roberto Ciurleo, whose grandmother had a deep devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes.
“He was very familiar with Lourdes, with the sanctuary, the story of Bernadette, and one day he thought, well, it, objectively, is a beautiful story [and] she has a beautiful character,” he shared.
Looking at her story as a whole, he also believed that what Bernadette experienced was “great grounds for entertainment, for telling a beautiful story.”
Once Ferragu got involved with the production, his inspiration came from his belief that “the life of saints are beautiful. You don’t need to be Catholic or religious or to look at it from the perspective of the faith to see beauty in these stories.”
He added that Bernadette’s “beautiful attitude of faith” — one of being a mere witness and not trying to convince people of what she saw — motivated him to tell her story.
“I was like, ‘I just want to tell the story of Bernadette and let people decide what they want to do with it,’” he explained. “It’s like opening a door, maybe opening a path for conversion — ‘Here is the story of the little girl. What do you make of it?’ And it’s beautiful to see the impact the story of Bernadette can have on people of faith as much as people who are more removed from the faith.”
When speaking to the show’s universality and how both religious and nonreligious individuals can enjoy it, Ferragu explained that the show remains “very faithful to what happened” and is “really focused on the historic facts.”
He added that the musical is a “very moving experience” and that “you laugh and you cry with little Bernadette.”
The producer hopes that first and foremost audiences will “have a wonderful time” watching this production.
“I want them to enjoy it — to enjoy the music, enjoy the story, enjoy the characters, enjoy the plot, enjoy the tension, laugh and cry with the cast along the story,” he said.
Ferragu also hopes that by telling this story it’s “opening a door to anyone on a path of conversion — be it for very faithful, very devout and practicing Catholics or people who are not religious at all.”
“I hope everybody will take that story and explore that path of ‘Here is the story of Bernadette. What do I take from it? Did she lie? Did she tell the truth? What did she really see? What does that mean to me?’ And hopefully by bringing that story to the audience, we can plant a seed in every heart.”
If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!
Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
