The Skivvies' Nick Cearley to Lead AN ACT OF GOD at B Street Theatre

A series of tweets on the parody account @TheTweetofGod landed American comedy writer David Javerbaum a book deal. Eventually that book, The Last Testament: A Memoir By God, was adapted for the stage and renamed as An Act of God. The stage version premiered at Broadway's Studio 54 Theatre in 2015 with Big Bang Theory sitcom star Jim Parsons in the leading role. A second run featured Will & Grace's Sean Hayes in the leading role, and now the B Street Theatre will give the holy role to Nick Cearley (Buyer & Cellar).

After the success of B Street Theatre's production of Buyer & Cellar, the theatre has kept an eye out for opportunity to invite Nick Cearley back to the stage. An Act of God, given its premise and past performers in the leading role, is that play. David Javerbaum's irreverently funny play grapples with something that everyone can related to: the never-ending folly of man-kind's attempt to understand God's wishes. The New York Times called Javerbaum's wit "almost as infinite as God's wisdom" and the B Street Theatre is thrilled to have this witty, pertinent piece on the B3 Series Stage.

"Javerbaum's An Act of God is such a great follow-up to Lungs," says B Street's Producing Artistic Director, Buck Busfield. "While Lungs is more a subtle, contemporary drama, there is nothing subtle about Act of God. A full-blown, irreverent comedy, it's a great way to kick-off the summer portion of the B3 Series. We're also so thrilled to have Nick back on the B Street stage after a sold-out run of Buyer & Cellar. Nick is able to capture both the humor and heart in these larger-than-life characters, so this is the perfect role."

Also, with Robert Askin's Hand to God running on B Street's Mainstage, it's sure to be a holy summer at the B Street Theatre.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Playwright David Javerbaum is an American comedy writer and currently an Executive Producer for Fusion Network (a joint venture network between ABC and Univision) to oversee development of a news satire block of programming. As the former Executive Producer of Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, his work for that program, including four years as Head Writer, has earned him 11 Emmys, two additional Emmy nominations, two Peabody Awards, and Television Critics Awards for both Best Comedy and Best News Show. He is one of the primary authors of the show's textbook parody America (The Book), which sold over 2.5 million copies, spent a year on The New York Times Bestseller List (including 15 weeks at #1), won the James Thurber Prize for American Humor (his second), won the 2005 Quill Awards for Best Humor Book and Audiobook, and was named Publishers' Weekly's 2004 Book of the Year; the audiobook won a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. The book's sequel, Earth: A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race, was released in September 2010. He was also Emmy-nominated for his work as a writer for The Late Show with David Letterman and wrote for the 2006 Academy Awards. He spent three years writing for the satirical newspaper and website The Onion, conceiving its 1999 New York Times #1 bestseller Our Dumb Century and contributing numerous articles to it and two other Onion books. His first book as sole author, What to Expect When You're Expected, was published by Random House in 2009. In 2011, his book The Last Testament: A Memoir by God was published by Simon & Schuster, and his affiliated Twitter account @TheTweetOfGod has over 1 million followers. Javerbaum and his frequent collaborator Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne) have won two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for their songs featured in the 2011 and 2012 Tony Awards, both times performed by Neil Patrick Harris. They also received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Original Lyrics and Music for A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!, which won a Grammy for Best Comedy Album. On the stage, David and Adam also earned a 2008 Tony nomination for their songs in the Broadway adaptation of John Waters' film Cry-Baby, itself nominated for Best Musical. Javerbaum is a winner of the prestigious Kleban Award for Lyrics, and was the lyricist and co-librettist of SUBURB, which won the Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theater, as well as Best Off-Broadway Musical nominations from the Outer Critics Circle, the Lucille Lortel Awards, and the Drama League. Javerbaum is a graduate of NYU's Graduate School of Musical Theater Composition and Harvard University, where he wrote for the humor magazine The Harvard Lampoon and co-wrote two of that school's Hasty Pudding musicals. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Debra and their daughters Kate and Sara. His hobbies include the succinct encapsulation of his achievements.

Director David Pierini began working for the B Street Theatre in 1990. He started as an actor for the B Street Theatre School Tour (then called The Fantasy Theatre), then started to write and direct for the Tour. David has acted steadily in B Street productions from its inception in 1991. In 2004, B Street Producing Artistic Director Buck Busfield suggested David try to write an adaptation of the beloved children's book, The Boxcar Children. Thus began a long fruitful relationship with the B Street Family Series.

God: Nick Cearley - Nick is thrilled to return to Sacramento and B Street for this "heavenly" role. Mr. Cearley is one-half of the critically acclaimed "undie"-rock comedy duo known as The Skivvies (theskivviesnyc.com), co-created with Lauren Molina. Most recently, he completed seven regional premieres across the country of the one-person play Buyer & Cellar which kicked off at B Street in 2015. Mr. Cearley's Off-Broadway credits include Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Pageant: The Musical (original cast album on Jay Records, Drama Desk nomination) and Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man. He appeared in the Broadway First National Tour of All Shook Up. Mr. Cearley's extensive regional credits include Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors at Portland Center Stage and and the two time Tony Award Winning Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Twelfth Night (dir. Scott Schwartz), Next to Normal, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Plaid Tidings (dir. Gordon Greenberg), The Rocky Horror Show (dir. Hunter Foster) and productions a A.C.T, San Francisco, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Bay Street Theater, Huntington Theatre Company, American Stage Theatre Company, TheatreWorks, New York Stage and Film, City Theatre, Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, Berkshire Theatre Group, Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, Rubicon Theatre Company and Bucks County Playhouse. His TV credits include pilots for Fox, WE and A&E. Nick was named on the OUT100 list of most intriguing and compelling LGBT Actors of the Year. Follow Nick on Instagram/Twitter: @clearlycearley @theskivviesnyc. www.nickcearley.com

Gabriel: Amy Kelly - Amy is an actress, comedian, voice-over artist and impersonator. Her film credits include Nick and Tristan Go Mega Dega (2010) and West Hollywood Motel (2013) and she has starred in numerous independent cult classics that have screened internationally. Amy guest starred in the Comedy Central series Free Radio and VH1's reality series New York Goes to Hollywood. As a B Street Theatre company member, Amy's performances include Treatment; Well; 39 Steps; The Snow Queen; Extraordinary Things: Through the Eyes of Anne Frank; The Young Tom Edison; Hansel and Gretel; The Conductor: Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad; Alexander and The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day; Robyn is Happy; The Ladies Foursome; Dia de los Cuentos; 5 Lesbians Eating A Quiche; The Garden of Rikki Tikki Tavi and A Christmas Carol.

Michael: Greg Alexander - Greg has appeared in numerous B Street Theatre productions including The Explorers Club, I Am My Own Wife, The Big Bang!, Around The World In 80 Days, Escanaba In Da Moonlight, and Outside Mullingar. He also wrote and directed Walk In Our Shoes - a show promoting mental health awareness - for B Street Theatre's School Tour. Sponsored by the California Mental Health Services Authority, Walk In Our Shoes was performed at over 100 schools throughout the state. Most recently, he directed the previous Family Series show Anansi the Spider. Additional regional theatre credits include work at The Jewish Theatre of San Francisco, Sacramento Theatre Company, Capital Stage, Actor's Theatre of Louisville, Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Philadelphia Theatre Company and People's Light and Theatre Company in Malvern, Pa. Greg lives in Sacramento with his wife Sean and their Westies, Milo and Magoo.

B Street Theatre is a non-profit, professional theatre company producing primarily new work for adults, families and children. The two-theatre playhouse on B Street in Midtown Sacramento is home to the Mainstage Series, B3 Series and Family Series, each created to feature intimate, quality theatre for audiences year-round. Recognized as one of the nation's top professional theatres, B Street Theatre has produced more than 160 world premieres written by B Street playwrights and numerous productions which were world, national, West Coast or regional premieres.

B Street Theatre was originally founded in 1986 with the purpose of bringing the excitement of live performance to children through the B Street Theatre School Tour. This educational outreach program still serves over 200,000 students in Northern California annually.

B Street Theatre programs include the Mainstage Series, B Street Theatre Family Series and Family Series Student Matinees (for school field trips), the B3 Series, B Street School Tours, Sketch Comedy, B Street Acting Conservatory and Studio for Young People, and the B Street Theatre Internship program for pre-professional/post-college training.

In 2014, B Street brought its most popular play ever, "Around the World in 80 Days", to India. The original cast performed in three Indian cities, furthering the organization's mission by bringing high quality theatre to an international audience, while also raising money for Indian educational enrichment and schools and partnering with an overseas performing arts center with the hope of future international collaboration. B Street Theatre has produced over 250 professional productions since 1986.

More information at www.bstreettheatre.org.