SMASH Star Wesley Taylor to Ascend to Heaven in AN ACT OF GOD in Denver

Denver Center for the Performing Arts Broadway/Cabaret announces today that Wesley Taylor, Broadway star and fan favorite in the NBC TV show "Smash", will play God in the new comedy AN ACT OF GOD making its Denver debut at the Garner Galleria Theatre starting October 15.

Tickets start at $35 and are on sale now at denvercenter.org. Please be advised that the Denver Center for the Performing Arts is the ONLY authorized online ticket provider for the Denver engagement of AN ACT OF GOD.

The King of the Universe is tackling His greatest challenge yet: the Mile High City. God takes the form of Wesley Taylor in AN ACT OF GOD, a 90-minute comedy where the Almighty and His devoted Angels answer some of the deepest questions that have plagued mankind since Creation. He's finally arrived to set the record straight ... and He's not holding back!

Directed by Geoffrey Kent, AN ACT OF GOD also includes Steven Cole Hughes as Michael and Erik Sandvold as Gabriel with Steven J. Burge(understudy God/Michael). The entire cast and director make their DCPA Broadway/Cabaret debut with AN ACT OF GOD.

AN ACT OF GOD creative team features DCPA Broadway/Cabaret veterans, Lisa M. Orzolek (scenic design), Meghan Anderson Doyle (costume design) and Charles R. MacLeod (lighting design). Making his DCPA Broadway/Cabaret sound design debut is Anson Nicholson.

AN ACT OF GOD is based on the critically acclaimed book written by God and transcribed by David Javerbaum. Javerbaum is a 13-time Emmy Award winner for his work as a head writer and executive producer for "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart."

The play premiered on Broadway on May 7, 2015 and ran in an acclaimed, limited run through August 2, 2015 starring God in the body of Jim Parsons. It was the first Broadway production of the 2015-2016 season to recoup its initial investment. The play is currently playing a return engagement on Broadway starring Sean Hayes. This production in Denver is one of the first regional productions of the hit comedy.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

WESLEY TAYLOR (God) most recently starred as 'the Emcee' in Signature Theatre's acclaimed production of Cabaret. On Broadway, he created the roles of "Lucas Beineke" in the original cast of The Addams Family and "Franz" in the original company of Rock of Ages, which garnered him a Theatre World Award (Outstanding Broadway Debut) and an Outer Critics Circle Nomination (Best Featured Actor). He has performed internationally and all over the United States, with extensive credits in Off-Broadway and Regional theatre. On Television, he's been seen on "The Good Wife" (CBS), "Looking" (HBO), "The Tomorrow People" (CW), "One Life to Live" (ABC), "The Tony Awards" (CBS) and 26 episodes as 'Bobby' on "Smash" (NBC).

As a writer, Taylor has created countless sketch comedy for the web (including the YouTube series, "Billy Green") and is the Co-creator/Writer/Star of "It Could Be Worse," which was sold to Participant Media and acquired by Hulu (and is now available on Vimeo on Demand). After his play "Cuckold" became runner-up in Manhattan Repertory Theatre's one act competition, The Actor's Fund produced a sold-out evening of six of his short plays last October, featuring Stockard Channing, Nathan Lane, and Debra Messing. In November of 2016, they will produce seven new shorts by Taylor. Anonymous Content is developing his series "Basics" for digital platforms. Twitter: @WesTayTay IG: @sirwestaytay

GEOFFREY KENT (Director)is an actor, director and fight director based out of Denver Colorado. Recent directing work includes A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest and The Comedy of Errors for the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, 39 Steps, Grapes of Wrath, The Lying Kind and You Can't Take it With You for Theatreworks, Metamorphoses and She Kills Monsters for the Aurora Fox. Geoffrey has worked as the resident fight director for CSF and the DCPA for fifteen years and stages action across the US including the Utah Shakespeare Festival and the Orlando Shakespeare Theater. As an actor Geoffrey has appeared with the DCPA Theatre Company (Hamlet, Richard III, Othello, Eventide, Superior Donuts), CSF (Mercutio, Iago, Benedick, Achilles) and numerous professional Colorado theatres. He teaches for the University of Denver and is a former instructor for the National Theatre Conservatory.

GOD (Playwright) is a circle whose center is everywhere and circumference is nowhere. His previous novels, The Old Testament, The New Testament, and The Koran, have sold an impressive five billion copies, with the first two in particular coming to be collectively regarded as something of a bible of their field. An Act Of God will be his first work written directly for the stage, although his 1827 comic romp The Book of Mormon was recently adapted into a successful Broadway musical. God lives in heaven with his wife, Ruth, and their children, Zach, Jesus, and Kathy.

DAVID JAVERBAUM (Playwright) is a 13-time Emmy-winning former head writer and executive producer of "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart." He is the co-author of that show's bestsellers America: The Book and Earth: The Book, and the sole author of An Act of God: A Memoirand What to Expect When You're Expected: A Fetus's Guide to the First Three Trimesters. His recently retired Twitter account @TheTweetOfGod has more than 2.3 million followers. He is also a Tony-nominated lyricist whose collaborations with songwriter Adam Schlesinger include the Broadway musical Cry-Baby, the Grammy-winning songs for Stephen Colbert's Christmas special The Greatest Gift of All and Neil Patrick Harris' opening number for the 2011 Tony Awards, "Broadway Is Not Just for Gays Anymore." He created the talk show "No, You Shut Up!" with Henson Studios for Fusion. He served as a writer-producer for "The Late Late Show with James Corden," writing the opening to this year's Tony's. He is the co-creator with Chuck Lorre of "Disjointed," an upcoming pot-themed television show for Netflix.

STEVEN COLE HUGHES (Michael/understudy Gabriel) has spent eleven seasons as an actor with the Denver Center for the Performing Arts Theatre Company, appearing in Just Like Us, Pride and Prejudice, All My Sons, Blue/Orange, The Lonesome West, The Three Sisters, The Misanthrope, Scapin, Measure for Measure, Love's Labor's Lost, Hamlet and Tantalus. He has spent six seasons with Creede Repertory Theatre and three seasons with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. Other theatres include Curious Theatre Company, Arvada Center, Theatreworks, Theatre Aspen, Gulfshore Playhouse, Baltimore Centerstage, Portland Center Stage and Ensemble Studio Theatre. He has appeared on television in "Law & Order" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." He has an MFA in Acting from the Denver Center's National Theatre Conservatory.

ERIK SANDVOLD (Gabriel) is an honors graduate of Northwestern University, Erik Sandvold has frequently performed major roles with the leading theatre companies in Colorado, including the Denver Center for the Performing Arts Theatre Company, the Arvada Center, the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, and Curious Theatre Company, where he's an Artistic Council Member. Notable roles include: the title roles in Nicholas Nickleby and the world-premiere musical Ichabod!; Lloyd Crowder in the world-premiere of Plainsong; and Mason Marzac in Take Me Out, for which he was named Top Actor by the Rocky Mountain News and awarded The Denver Post's Ovation Award for Best Comic Performance. He also won Ovation Awards for Best Solo Performance for playing all 36 characters in I Am My Own Wife and for the world premiere of Bubs: A One Man Musical, which he also performed at Fringe NYC in 2009. Erik has narrated more than 1000 books for the Library of Congress, including the Harry Potter series.

STEVEN J. BURGE (understudy God/Michael), a multi-award winning character actor, landed in Denver following national tours of ...And Then They Came for Me and A Christmas Carol. Since making his Colorado debut in 2003 as Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, Steven has appeared on stages throughout the Denver-Metro area including the Denver Center, Curious Theatre, the Arvada Center, Lannie's Clocktower Cabaret, and many others. He was the recipient of The Denver Post Ovation Award for Best Solo Performance in Fully Committed (Aurora Fox), a one-man show in which Steven portrayed more than 30, different characters. The piece also earned him a Henry Award nomination, Westword's Best of Denver Award and an Out Front Colorado Marlow Award. Steven has also been recognized for his work in Contrived Ending (Buntport Theatre) and Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead (Avenue Theatre).

AN ACT OF GOD is part of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts' 2016/17 Broadway Season which is generously sponsored by United Airlines and Murray BMW. Media sponsorship is provided by The Denver Post and CBS4. Denver Center for the Performing Arts is supported in part by the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). For nearly 30 years, the SCFD has enabled the DCPA to offer world-class theatre and educational programs, and has contributed to the vibrant, flourishing entertainment scene in Colorado. The show will be entirely subsidized by angels. As the nation's largest non-profit theatre organization, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts is dedicated to creating unforgettable shared experiences through beloved Broadway musicals, world-class plays, educational programs and inspired events. Follow the DCPA on social media @DenverCenter and through the Denver Center for the Performing Arts News Center.