The Sanctuary

The Sanctuary, a play, is about 10-year-old Little Man who recently learned of his estranged father’s death. He is challenged to an initiation by stealing a piece of junk from the backyard altar built by “crazy” Lucy Johnson. Everyone says Lucy Johnson is a witch. She calls her altar a “sanctuary”— a place where spirits of the dead can rest in peace. When Little Man gets caught by the old woman and comes to know her, he realizes that the sanctuary and Lucy Johnson are special. He helps her gather things to honor her dead in the sanctuary even over the ridicule of his friends. But when the neighborhood seeks to tear it down, Little Man, in the dead of night, tries to warn Lucy Johnson, only to find her in “one of her spells.”  He’s frightened, runs away and vows not to see her again.