Next Act Offering Online Performance, Curbside Concessions for THE CHRISTIANS
Milwaukee, WI - Next Act Theatre opens its 31st season with the Wisconsin premiere of THE CHRISTIANS by Tony Award nominee Lucas Hnath, running virtually from November 23 - December 13, 2020. Next Act subscribers will get access to the online presentation as part of their subscription package. Tickets for single patron viewing will cost $30, or $40 per household. These viewing tickets will go on sale November 1st at nextact.org or by calling 414-278-0765.
Additionally, Next Act will be offering Curbside Concessions, a service that allows audience members to pick up their favorite snacks and drinks from the theatre or order from a limited menu for home delivery. Viewers who purchase more than $50 in concessions will receive an additional gift pack, which will include exclusive items and keepsakes designed to enhance the show-viewing experience.
THE CHRISTIANS by Lucas Hnath
Twenty years ago, Pastor Paul's church was a modest storefront. Now he presides over a congregation of thousands with Sunday school classrooms, a vestibule coffee shop and a baptismal font the size of a swimming pool. Today's mortgage burning should be a day to celebrate. But Paul is about to deliver a sermon that will shake the faith of his flock to the core. Will the rock on which they stand be cracked or strengthened by Paul's powerful change of heart?
"I love the author's device of setting the debate within a live church service - with leadership, power and reputation on the line. The audience becomes the congregation and witnesses deeply moving confessions of truth. It's unusual and very powerful theatre." says Producing Artistic Director David Cecsarini.
This is the first play by Lucas Hnath to be performed by Next Act. Hnath's 2017 play, A DOLL'S HOUSE, PART 2, was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play. Frequent Next Act collaborator Edward Morgan, who directed LAUGHTER ON THE 23RD FLOOR in Next Act's 2019-2020 season, will direct this production, and David Bonofiglio [Skylight Music Theatre, In Tandem Theatre) will provide music direction. The cast will feature David Cecsarini [Next Act Producing Artistic Director) as Pastor Paul, along with Marti Gobel [THE TAMING, NO CHILD), Emily Vitrano [A SMALL FIRE), Andrew Muwonge [UNSILENT NIGHT) and Rick Richter [THE EXONERATED).
The production team will include Costume Designer Amy Horst, Properties Mistress Heidi Salter, Lighting Designer and Sound Engineer Michael Van Dreser and resident Production Stage Manager Jessica Connelly. The production will be filmed and edited by videographer Timothy Moder.
THE CHRISTIANS is generously sponsored, in part, by the Milwaukee Arts Board, Angela Jacobi and The Einhorn Family Foundation. Next Act Theatre is a proud member group of the United Performing Arts Fund [UPAF). Next Act Theatre's 2020-21 season is supported in part by a grant from the Milwaukee Arts Board, the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts and the support of the Herzfeld Foundation.
In the 2020-21 season, Next Act Theatre celebrates 31 years of producing professional theatre. The mission of Next Act Theatre is to engage the hearts and minds of audiences with compelling and intimate theatre productions intended to stimulate thought, foster the exchange of ideas and promote the development of new perspectives and understanding.