The Christians (play)

The Christians is a dramatic stage play by American playwright Lucas Hnath that follows a megachurch pastor who surprises his congregation by announcing he no longer believes in Hell. The production premiered in 2014 at the Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville, Kentucky, and subsequently transferred Off-Broadway to Playwrights Horizons in 2015.

Plot

The play follows Pastor Paul, the leader of a megachurch as he makes a shocking sermon amid celebration of the church paying off its debts. He preaches to the congregation that he no longer believes in Hell, upending the church and causing associate pastor, Joshua, to stand against him. As the church splits into two sides, Paul must navigate a failing congregation he built up and a marriage to his wife, Elizabeth, that is falling apart. Structured as a Sunday church service, the play is backed by a live church choir.

Production history

2014 Louisville premiere

After seeing Lucas Hnath's play Death Tax in the 2012 Humana Festival of New American Plays, Les Waters, then artistic director of the Actors Theatre of Louisville, approached him about a commissioned play. This would later become The Christians, which would make its world premiere at the 2014 Humana Festival. Directed by Waters and starring Andrew Garman as Pastor Paul, Larry Powell as Joshua, Linda Powell as Elizabeth, Richard Henzel as Jay and Emily Donahoe as Jenny. The play received mixed to positive reviews, with Louisville Public Media praising the performances, though lamenting that the script "struggles with big questions of salvation and grace without ever definitively delivering a writer's verdict."

2015 Off-Broadway production

The play then transferred Off-Broadway where it premiered at Playwrights Horizons in 2015, running from August 28 to October 25, 2015. Directed again by Waters, all the cast reprised their role except for Henzel, who was replaced by Philip Kerr as Jay. The production received critical acclaim, with The New York Times naming it a Critic's Pick, calling it "ingeniously staged" and lauding Hnath as "one of the freshest playwriting voices to emerge in the past five years." The New York Post echoed these praised, calling it "deeply affecting" and "emotionally devastating."

The production won the 2016 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play and two Obie Awards for Hnath and Donahoe, along with nominations for two Drama Desk Awards and two Lucille Lortel Awards.

Cast and characters

Awards and nominations

2014 Louisville production

2015 Off-Broadway production