Cast, Creatives and Dates Set for THE CHRISTIANS at Dallas Theater Center

Dallas Theater Center announced today complete details for The Christians at the Kalita Humphreys Theater. Directed by Joel Ferrell, The Christians begins on Thursday, Jan. 26 with a Pay-What-You-Can performance and runs through Sunday, Feb. 19. Press Night will be Friday, Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. Tickets to The Christians are on sale now at www.DallasTheaterCenter.org and by phone at (214) 880-0202.

"The Christians looks with great compassion at a community of faith and asks a question that intrigues and troubles me: Can we and should we allow our beliefs to evolve? This unique new play by Lucas Hnath is an even-handed, unbiased take on faith in modern America and will intrigue and engage you no matter what you believe," said Director and DTC Associate Artistic Director Joel Ferrell. "The Christians has become one of the most produced plays in the country because it dares to investigate deeply held beliefs without prejudice. It is rare to find a play about religion or faith that can speak to such a wide, diverse audience. I am thrilled to be directing The Christians at Dallas Theater Center and it is my hope that patrons will leave entertained and ignited in conversation."

Written by Lucas Hnath, The Christians is staged as a church service and follows Pastor Paul, who spent 20 years successfully growing his church from a small, mom-and-pop operation into a full-blown mega-church with thousands of members, a coffee shop and a parking lot so big you could get lost in it. But now, Pastor Paul has a new message for his devoted flock-one that will turn the entire congregation on its head. You'll recognize the hymnals, the live choir made up of volunteers from across Dallas-Fort Worth and the preacher at the pulpit, but there's never been a sermon quite like this.

Starring in the leading roles are Diane and Hal Brierley Resident Acting Company members Chamblee Ferguson (A Christmas Carol, Deferred Action, All the Way) as Pastor Paul and Steven Michael Walters (Deferred Action, All the Way, The Book Club Play) as Associate Pastor Joshua. Other cast members include Tyrees Allen as an elder church leader named Jay; Christiana Clark (The Trinity River Plays) as the Pastor's wife, Elizabeth and Southern Methodist University student lindsay Ryan as a congregant named Jenny.

The scenic design by Bob Lavallee (Dreamgirls, The Mountaintop, The Rocky Horror Show) will convert the Kalita Humphrey's Theater into a full church interior. Volunteers from choirs across Dallas-Fort Worth will bring hymns to life under music director Vonda K. Bowling. Costume designer Beth Goldenberg; sound supervisor BrIan McDonald (Bella: An American Tall Tale, The School for Wives, Medea) and lighting designer Yi Zhao (Romeo and Juliet) complete the creative team.

DTC's Come Early sponsored by Wells Fargo, a pre-show lecture about the play, will take place one hour before every performance and DTC's Stay Late, a post-show discussion led by a member of the cast, will take place after each performance.

One of the leading regional theaters in the country, Dallas Theater Center (DTC) performs to an audience of more than 100,000 North Texas residents annually. Founded in 1959, DTC is now a resident company of the AT&T Performing Arts Center and presents its Mainstage season at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, designed by REX/OMA, Joshua Prince-Ramus and Rem Koolhaas and at its original home, the Kalita Humphreys Theater, the only freestanding theater designed and built by Frank Lloyd Wright. DTC is one of only two theaters in Texas that is a member of the League of Resident Theatres, the largest and most prestigious non-profit professional theater association in the country. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Kevin Moriarty and Managing Director Jeffrey Woodward, DTC produces a seven-play subscription series of classics, musicals and new plays and an annual production of A Christmas Carol; extensive education programs, including the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award-winning Project Discovery, SummerStage and partnerships with Southern Methodist University's Meadows School of the Arts, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and South Oak Cliff High School; and community collaboration efforts with the Sixth Floor Museum, the City of Dallas, North Texas Food Bank, the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Public Library, Dallas Holocaust Museum, Dallas Opera, Dallas Black Dance Theater, and leading the DFW Foote Festival. Throughout its history, DTC has produced many new works, including The Texas Trilogy by Preston Jones in 1978, Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men, adapted by Adrian Hall, in 1986, and recent premieres of Deferred Action by Lee Trull and David Lozano, Clarkston by Samuel D. Hunter; Moonshine: That Hee Haw Musical by Robert Horn, BRandy Clark, and Shane McAnally; FLY by Rajiv Joseph, Bill Sherman and Kirsten Childs; Fly by Night by Kim Rosenstock, Michael Mitnick and Will Connolly; Giant by Michael John LaChiusa and Sybille Pearson; The Trinity River Plays by ReGina Taylor; the revised It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Charles Strouse and Lee Adams; Give It Up! (now titled Lysistrata Jones and recently on Broadway) by Douglas Carter Beane and Lewis Flinn; Sarah, Plain and Tall by Julia Jordan, Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin; and The Good Negro by Tracey Scott Wilson. Dallas Theater Center gratefully acknowledges the support of our season sponsors: Texas Instruments, American Airlines, Lexus, City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs, Time Warner Cable and WFAA.

IF YOU GO:

The Christians

By Lucas Hnath

Directed by Joel Ferrell

January 26 - February 19 at the Kalita Humphreys Theater, 3636 Turtle Creek Blvd. Dallas, Texas 75204

Director Joel Ferrell

Assistant Director Rob McCollum

Music Director Vonda K. Bowling

Set Designer Bob Lavallee

Costume Designer Beth Goldenberg

Lighting Designer Yi Zhao

Associate Lighting Designer Elizabeth Mak

Sound Supervisor BrIan McDonald

Cast: Diane and Hal Brierley Resident Acting Company members Chamblee Ferguson and Steven Michael Walters. Tyrees Allen, Christiana Clark and lindsay Ryan

Pay-What-You-Can Thursday, January 26 at 7:30 p.m.; tickets on sale online beginning Thursday, January 19.

Website: www.DallasTheaterCenter.org

Box Office: Phone (214) 880-0202

Admission: $20 - $99, subject to change

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