Friday, April 6, through Sunday, April 8
Playcrafters Barn Theatre, 4950 35th Avenue, Moline IL
Winner of the 2016 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play, Lucas Hnath's The Christians serves as the first title in the Playcrafters Barn Theatre's 2018 season of Barn Owl Theatre productions, its April 6 through 8 run treating audiences to a work BroadwayWorld.com deemed “utterly engrossing,” with the Chicago Tribune calling its author “one of the most interesting, focused, counterintuitive, and intellectually compelling playwrights of our moment.”
Twenty years ago, in the world of Hnath's drama, Pastor Paul's church was nothing more than a modest storefront. Not, however, he presides over a congregation of thousands, with classrooms for Sunday School, a coffee shop in the lobby, and a baptismal font as big as a swimming pool. As the pastor takes the pulpit, it should be a day of celebration. But Paul is about to preach a sermon that will shake the foundations of his parishioners' beliefs. A big little play about faith in America and the troubles that come with changing your mind, The Christians inspired the New York Times to state that the work “riases probing questions about how and why organized religion can be a divise, if not abusive, social force” and that it “consistently combines formal invention with intellectual inquiry. Mr. Hnath is quickly emerging as one of the brightest new voices of his generation.”
Directing The Christians is Alexander Richardson, a Playcrafters veteran who previously helmed such productions as Rumors and the Barn Owl Series debut Constellations, and acted in plays including And Then There Were None and Fat Pig. And with Jordan McGinnis assuming the role of Pastor Paul, Richardson's ensemble also boasts the talents of Victoria House, Kevin Keck, Aaron Lord, and Jaclyn Marta.
The Christians will be performed at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday, tickets are $5-8, and more information and reservations are available by calling (309)762-0330 or visiting Playcrafters.com.
