Theatrius
  • Now Playing
  • All Reviews
  • Writers
  • Reflections
  • Millennial Notes
  • Join Us
  • About Us
  • Search Icon

Theatrius

Theater Reviews—San Francisco and Beyond

“The Christians” Reign Supreme at San Francisco Playhouse

“The Christians” Reign Supreme at San Francisco Playhouse

February 8, 2017 bdhorwitz

Lucas Hnaf Asks: Does Hell Exist, or Is It Us?

by Barry David Horwitz

When you wander into a Christian mega-church and find the pastor questioning the existence of Hell, you know you must be at San Francisco Playhouse. What a dramatic conflict that makes onstage, when we are sitting in front of the beautiful and believable blond wooden walls with stained glass windows, and a huge, brightly lit marble cross onstage.

The Choir marches in, wearing sky-blue robes, and standing behind the Pastor, they sing the hymns. We feel like we are in a church, and we begin to get a bit uncomfortable when the Pastor delivers a brilliant and emotional sermon about a terrible event he witnessed in Africa, when a boy sacrificed himself to save his sister. But the boy was not a Christian, which set the pastor to thinking about who is saved and who goes to Hell in Christian ideology.

Lance Gardner, Anthony Fusco, Warren David Keith, Stephanie Prentice, and the Choir

As a result, the thoughtful Pastor Paul (the engaging and well-versed Anthony Fusco) has come up with a shocking revelation for his congregation—as we sit in for them. Pastor Paul knows how to grab the audience, and bring us over to his side. He makes good arguments; he stirs our emotions. We are with him, as we can be won over by an emotion-laden political candidate, even when we reject his ideology.

And there’s the point I take from this play—that ideas on their own fail to persuade us, that we need stories to elicit our emotions to make ideas real to folks—be they church congregants or voters. Ideas are pitted against ideology, brought to life by emotion. So what is the ideology here? This Pastor has discovered that Hell was just a garbage dump in the Bible, and not “real,” at all. His new ideology now motivates this pastor, and then drives a big wedge between him and the rest of his big, successful mega- Church.  So, the play is not only about church beliefs—to go to Hell or not to go to Hell. No, it’s about political beliefs—and how far away from daily reality they can take us.

Lance Gardner and Anthony Fusco

The Pastor comes to the conclusion that Hell is already here on earth—and surely his radical choice makes that belief come true.  The power of belief—if you keep saying it, it will be true—The Big Lie! Perfected by Hitler, Goebbels, and others who keep repeating “alternative facts.”  Maybe ideologies warp the truth so much that even believers will rebel against it.

That’s what happens in Hnath’s brilliant play of ideas versus ideology—making fun and a mockery of the daily debates we read and follow and vote for.

So, his Associate Pastor Joshua, (a fiery and beautifully honest Lance Gardner), makes an opposing argument, taking a traditionalist position, and they debate with each other—and each hardens in his position. All the while using the microphone and addressing the congregation—that’s us.

Anthony Fusco, Lance Gardner, Warren David Brooks, and Stephanie Prentice

It’s an intellectual and emotional pleasure to Listen to Joshua, too—as he eloquently articulates an authority-driven view of how to run a congregation—or a country. We want to believe in him, too. He has so many good points on his side—as he debates, toe to toe with his mentor, moved nearly to tears, both on the mike, proclaiming their Truths. They are a wonderful debate duo—and we hang on their every word, in this tightly wound precise clockwork drama, directed and designed by the incomparable Bill English.

Joshua forces a vote—and then there’s a mass exodus—finally, even the non-actor Choir takes a stand, and one young woman from the Choir, Jenny, a single mother, with a long blonde pony tail, a long-standing member, who  has struggled to feed her kids and pay the bills—takes the podium. She takes that microphone and argues in stunning, practical terms. Jenny, played by Millie Brooks, nearly stops the show: she is mesmerizing, and turns the tables right before our eyes.

Millie Brooks and Anthony Fusco

Brooks as Jenny is hypnotic in her truthful emotions, and she transcends ideology with emotion and real life experience. We are stunned by the sight of her working out her ideas in front of us—and bringing in her daily life in a totally believable tour de force. Who can resist her warmth, her beauty, her reality? She turns the tide like an enraged Madonna—always with a microphone, from that same pulpit.

“The Christians” features important debates between salvation and damnation, between debt and doctrine in this newsworthy drama. It will remind you of today’s news and the ideological battles going on inside the Senate, today.

Anthony Fusco and Stephanie Prentice

Pastor Paul engages in intimate arguments with Elder Jay (a thoughtful Warren David Keith). Then Paul faces his wife, Sister Elizabeth (an elegant, self-contained Stephanie Prentice), who delivers a sharp and riveting performance as she confronts her husband about basic issues that affect a wife and mother. Revelations—all caught on the mike, in front of all these witnesses, a play within and without.

Nobody gets off the hook easily in this elegant drama of debate and doctrine—even when the arguments get involved and complex and ideological. At some points, you have to sympathize with each of these deeply committed believers—if only for a moment. At those moments, our empathies are enlarged and the public display of Church ideas versus public ideology has done its elegant job for us. Lucas Hnath has something new to say that we  had best see and hear and think about at S.F. Playhouse. “A hit, a palpable hit.”

“The Christians” by Lucas Hnath, directed and designed by Bill English, at San Francisco Playhouse, 450 Post Street, San Francisco, through Saturday, March 11, 2017. Info: sfplayhouse.org

Cast: Anthony Fusco, Stephanie Prentice, Lance Gardner, Warren David Keith, and Millie Brooks.

 

 

 

 

 

 


Plays

Post navigation

NEXT
“The Real Thing” Makes Love Sing, at Aurora Theatre, Berkeley
PREVIOUS
“Women in Jeopardy!”—Comic Thriller at Center Rep, Walnut Creek
Comments are closed.

Menu

  • Now Playing
  • All Reviews
  • Writers
  • Reflections
  • Millennial Notes
  • Join Us
  • About Us

BLM

Black Lives Matter

Subscribe for upcoming reviews!
Loading

Current Shows

  • “Private” Tears A Marriage Wide Open—at SFBATCO
  • “Dry Powder” Spotlights Wall Street Power-Brokers—at Left Edge
  • “Pride and Prejudice, The Musical” Enchants with Sass & Satire—at Ross Valley
  • “Clue” Melds Mystery & Comedy into Entertaining Adventure—at SF Playhouse
  • “Donna”: Intimate Interviews Celebrate Trans Triumphs—On Screen
  • “Fannie”: Sixties Spirituals Pave Path to Freedom—at TheatreWorks
  • “’Tasha” Tackles Raw Racism—at 3Girls
  • “Tea Party” Brews Up a Cup of America—at The Strand
  • “A Raisin in the Sun” Explodes with Drama and Power—at 6th Street
  • “Cambodian Rock Band” Deserves Its Standing Ovation—at Berkeley Rep
  • “Cambodian Rock Band” Mixes Nostalgic Hits with Terror—at Berkeley Rep
  • “Fun Home” Seduces with Strong Songs & Sultry Sass—at Berkeley Playhouse
  • “Anything Goes”: It’s Delightful, It’s Delicious, It’s De-lovely—at 42nd Street Moon
  • “SIX, The Musical” Celebrates Women’s Freedom & Individuality—at BroadwaySF
  • “Fun Home” Bursts with Love & Feeling—at Berkeley Playhouse

About us:

If you want to see the best plays & performances around the San Francisco Bay or beyond, read our reviews. We promise to give you a true report on the best shows.
Bay Area Critics Circle

Barry David Horwitz, Editor of Theatrius, is a Voting Member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics' Circle, SFBATCC. Follow us on: facebook.com

© 2023   All Rights Reserved.