The battles between a life of faith and a secular life - science and religion have provided great fodder for novels, film and, of course theater.

Think "Inherit The Wind," the play about the creationism vs. evolution. Or even "Doubt," the play and film starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Meryl Streep and Amy Adams.

And there is the venerable "Agnes of God," by John Pielmeier getting a stunning turn on stage at Renaissance Theaterworks thanks to absolutely stunning performances by three Milwaukee actors.

The 30-year-old story is well known. The novice Agnes (Rana Roman) who has lived a cloistered life, has been found in her spartan room with a dead baby in her wastebasket. She is going to be charged in the death but first must meet with the psychiatrist, Dr. Martha Livingstone (Laura Gordon), often under the eye of Mother Miriam Ruth(Flora Coker), in charge of the convent.

Agnes has buried the memory so deeply that she has no recollection of the conception or birth of the baby. Mother Superior accepts, on faith, that there are no answers to the probing and pressing questioning from Livingstone.

The first act struggle is an intellectual one. It is clear that science and faith are at war with each other and each side tugs at the other with a sweet child, Agnes, in the middle.

"Doctor: But how could she have a child and know nothing of sex and birth?
Mother: Because she’s an innocent. She’s a slate that hasn’t been touched, except by God.  There’s no place for those facts in her mind.
Doctor: Oh, bull****!"

No matter how hard the doctor tries, there is no clarity, no reaching into the depth of Agnes to find out what has happened here. Until, that is, she vows to hypnotize Agnes, with the blessing of the Mother Superior.

This has always been the place in this play where I think it moves from a thoughtful and provocative look into the debate and becomes a little too much like a made for television movie.

Hypnotism is the easy way out of this dilemma. Instead of a ratcheting up of the strident positions on both sides, we get a hypnotism that will solve teveryhing. We know that Agnes is going to remember.

I don’t intend to reveal any of the dramatic second act, but suffice it to say that the answers may not be all the answers.

Having made my case for the holes in this play, it’s important to note that the efforts of six women take a play that is often seems like a party trick and lift it into heights that keep an audience riveted until the final breathless moment.

Let’s begin with the women the audience never sees.

Suzan Fete, the Artistic Director at Renaissance, created a climate that only a director with a marvelous sensibility can do. Fete understands clearly the demanding nature of these three characters and creates a space where the actors can breathe under some of the most intense pressures.

Fete had Mallory Metoxen as the assistant director in the production. Metoxen is one of the brightest young directors in the Milwaukee theater community. And they brought on Jill Anna Ponasik, the adventurous Artistic Director at Milwaukee Opera Theatre to be musical director. She worked with Roman, who has one of the most beautiful voices ever, to create the chants and songs that play such an intimate role in the life of the young Agnes.

And now, to the cast. Good grief, what a cast.

Begin with Gordon, who we see first and who serves as narrator bringing us along on this perilous search for a truth, almost any truth. The character of Livingstone is not a unique one - the psychiatrist bedeviled by her own demons even as she tries to discover and deal with the demons of her client.

Gordon brings such a unique and vibrant depth that her doctor moves from the familiar to the exotic. She swings from the determined scientist to the hopeful believer with a grace that allows for her neuroses to roar while her particular version of faith is shaken.

Coker, long one of the most accomplished actors in this city, has the most challenging role in that she is cloistered in her habit and her faith and is determined to protect her life against any assault. Coker has always had an uncanny ability to turn on a dime on a stage, making the audience believe one thing and then believe another.

When she must believed, she has a laser-like focus. If she wants to be a charlatan, she slips into it  easily and well-defined so you know precisely where she is at that particular moment.

And finally, there is Roman. A mixture of wide-eyed wonder, a young woman who has no experience with the outside world that may swirl while she remains calm in the presence of her lord. She is painless and guileless and is willingly accepting of the events that have surrounded her.

On some level she wants the "real truth" to come out, but she is unshakable in her belief that the "real truth" is not what anyone, either the doctor or the mother superior, will believe.

She believes in miracles and has deep faith in her own private miracle.

Again, I don’t intend to reveal anything, but there is a scene near the start of the second act where Roman delivers a performance just about unmatched by any in recent memory. It is stunning  in its surprise and breathtaking in its achievement.

"Agnes of God" runs through Feb. 24 and information on tickets and showtimes is available here.

Production Credits: Director, Suzan Fete; Assistant Director, Mallory Metoxen; Musical Director Jill Anna Ponasik; Stage Manager, Brandy Kline; Lighting Design, Alan Piotrowicz; Props Design, Jim guy; Sound Design, Paul Hurley; Costume Design, Alexander B. Tecoma; Scenic Design & Technical Director, Anthony Lyons.