“Prince Caspian” has returned to the Museum of the Bible in Washington, and some members of the Arlington diocese may recognize one of the stars.
Bethany Bliss of St. Raymond of Peñafort Church in Springfield plays Susan Pevensie in the play adaptation of the C.S. Lewis novel. A sequel to Lewis’ “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” the story follows the four Pevensie children’s return to Narnia to help titular character Prince Caspian rightfully claim the throne. The production is being put on by Logos Theatre.
Bliss is hardly a stranger to the stage. Growing up, she performed skits with her brothers in her grandparents’ basement and joined a homeschool theater group. In her high school co-op, Bliss performed in shows such as “Fiddler on the Roof” and stage adaptations of “Pride and Prejudice,” “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “A Tale of Two Cities.” She also participated in summer camp productions from Logos Theatre.
In 2024, she was asked to audition for Logos’ production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, also portraying Susan Pevensie, and got the role. She spent 14 months on tour, bringing the stage adaption to multiple locations with more than 250 shows. The opportunity to share God’s love on stage was a dream come true.
“It changed my life in ways I did not expect. Growing up, I loved theater, and you couldn’t get me off a stage, but the ultimate dream was to perform for the Lord,” said Bliss. Performing through Logos allowed that opportunity.
As a cradle Catholic, Bliss credits her family — who frequently attended daily Mass and prayed the rosary — for raising her in faith. Bliss’ older brother, Louis, is also in theater as a director. His intentionality of picking his projects based on his morals and constant faithfulness in all aspects of his life inspires Bliss.
In her own career, Bliss treats every performance as an opportunity to show goodness and glorify God, even if the production is not explicitly Christian.
“Anything you do can glorify God if that is your intention, if that’s how you live it out,” Bliss said. “When you come across a story that has good and truthfulness in it, it’s so important to bring that out onstage and be something that people can use to be drawn to the Lord.”
In “Prince Caspian,” Bliss conveys God’s mercy through the skeptical and fearful Susan, who doubts the presence of Aslan, the Christ-like figure, whom she cannot see.
“It’s been really special and humbling to play a character like Susan because she is very real to a lot of Christians and a lot of people including myself struggle with doubt and continuing to walk with the Lord even though we can’t see him,” Bliss said.
At one moment, Susan is called to follow Aslan from her sister, and she refuses. When she apologizes, Bliss describes the moment of forgiveness and reconciliation between Susan and Aslan as important “because a lot of times in our world we forget that our God is a God of love and forgiveness.” This scene is particularly powerful, as Bliss recalls a woman meeting the cast after the show in tears thinking about that moment.
Bliss hopes that audience members bring the mercy they encounter from Prince Caspian into their everyday lives, even when they might struggle as Susan did.
“At the end of the day, I’m not here to be in a fun ‘Narnia’ production. I (am here) to use my life to minister to people,” said Bliss. “I pray that (God) uses the show to draw people closer to him. He’s drawn me closer to him through it.”
Pierson is a senior at Catholic University in Washington.
Find out more
“Prince Caspian” is playing at the Museum of the Bible through Oct. 25. For more info, go to museumofthebible.org.
