Casting has been announced for the Riverside Theatre's upcoming production of Lucas Hnath's The Christians, which will play the Waxlax Stage in Florida March 21–April 9.
The cast will feature Brian Myers Cooper as Pastor, Vanessa Kai as Wife, Ryan George as Associate, Mitch Tebo as Elder, and Jewel Blakeslee as Congregant. Riverside CEO Allen D. Cornell will direct and design the set.
“Twenty years ago, Pastor Paul’s church was a modest storefront," according to press notes. “Now it houses thousands, with a coffee shop in the lobby and a baptismal font as big as a swimming pool. But on the day they celebrate the end of their indebtedness, Pastor Paul is about to share some news his congregation isn’t used to hearing. It is a sermon that will shake the foundation of his congregation’s beliefs. How could one’s convictions change overnight? From one of America’s new, exciting playwrights, comes this mesmerizing play about faith and redemption and its power to unite or divide.”
Hnath’s play Red Speedo won the 2016 Obie Award for Playwriting. His work has been produced in New York and all over the country. He has received the Kesselring Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Whiting Award, two Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award Citations, and an Outer Critics Circle Award for Best New Play. The Christians was produced at the Humana Festival in 2014 and premiered Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in 2015.
The design and production crew includes Richard Crowell (lighting designer), Anna Hillbery (costume designer), Andrew Stroud (sound designer), and Kristin Sutter (production stage manager). Casting was done in New York City by Wojcik/Seay Casting.
Tickets, priced $45, are available by calling (772) 231-6990 or by visiting riversidetheatre.com.
