A Prayer for Owen Meany

Round House Theatre presents the DC-area premiere of John Irving’s celebrated 1989 novel, adapted by Simon Bent and directed by Blake Robison. A Prayer for Owen Meany is a sublime meditation on faith, predestination, and the power of friendship set against a backdrop of turbulent American politics. The story centers on John Wheelwright and his relationship with Owen Meany, a man of diminutive stature with a high-pitched voice who claims to be a messenger of God. At age eleven, Meany bats a little league foul ball that hits Wheelwright’s mother in the head, killing her. Thus begins a spiritual journey for Wheelwright’s faith, as we realize that Meany just may be God’s instrument. It’s an epic evening of theatre: the story spans nearly three decades over the course of three hours with a cast of sixteen actors.