Interview: Mitchell Greco of A CASE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD at Stages Houston

Brett Cullum: I am talking with Mitchell Greco, an associate artistic director at STAGES HOUSTON. He is directing A CASE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, which opens May twenty-fourth and runs through June thirtieth. Everything I've read about this show says it is just a two-person play. Is that right?

Mitchell Greco: That's right. It's a it's a fairly new play by Samuel D. Hunter. For those of y'all who watched THE WHALE, the movie came out about two years ago with Brendan Fraser. He wrote that. So he also wrote this. It's a two-person show about two single fathers living life in Idaho. And they want to make a better life for themselves and their families. One is gay, one is straight. The gay father is trying to adopt a 2-year-old he is fostering, and the straight father is going through a divorce. It is a play about fatherhood, friendship, and hope.

Brett Cullum: I read somewhere that it is about empathy a lot and that the author considers this part of a cycle about empathy, and he includes THE WHALE as part of it.

Mitchell Greco: Oh, absolutely yes; I'm not sure how you can experience Samuel's work like A CASE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD and not be empathetic. The play tears open your heart and is such a cathartic experience that you see both sides of both characters and it is a fully moving experience.

Brett Cullum: What made you wanna direct this one? What was it that spoke to you and said, “Hey, I am going to take on this play.”

Mitchell Greco: I've long enjoyed Samuel D. Hunter's work and am a fan. We've never produced him at STAGES. So this is. This is the first time he's been on our stage. I think the thing that caused me to jump up and say, “I want to do this!” is it's wildly different from anything I've worked on.

And it's also deeply human in a way that I think audiences and me as an artist, need right now. It is fully empathetic. I think that is such an incredible word to describe this work. But it's fully human, and that excited me to work on this two-person play where they never leave the stage. There aren't any moving sets. They don't change costumes. It is just two people in a room talking over the course of a couple of months. And that challenge is thrilling and really fulfilling.

Brett Cullum: And I think that STAGES lends itself to that kind of intimate two-person discourse, whereas, if you've got something at TUTS or THE ALLEY, the space is so much bigger, and it just doesn't. You have to mic everybody and do all this crazy stuff. But STAGES … I feel like you get in there, and they're right in front of you.

Mitchell Greco: Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, intimacy, as you may know, is one of our core values at STAGES. And I think intimate is a perfect way to describe this piece. These two men reveal themselves to each other and the audience in a very intimate way. And that is amplified on our stage, in our spaces.

Brett Cullum: Who are your actors for this one? 

Mitchell Greco: Adam Gibbs. He is a local Houston actor. If you have been to a theater in the past, I don't know, thirteen or fourteen years. You've probably seen Adam and a show here and there and everywhere. He's he's been at ALLEY. He's been at TUTS. He's been, of course, at STAGES before as well. An incredible, credible actor and a wonderful human. 

The other actor is Bradley Atuba. He is an actor from Dallas. He is also just a gem of a person and a very talented actor. And they make up the cast.

Brett Cullum: Well, I can't wait to see this. I see you as a big, splashy, musical kind of guy. You have done LITTLE SHOP and XANADU, and this is something unique. I am so glad to see you taking this on. 

A CASE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD runs at STAGES HOUSTON until June 30th. STAGES has its own parking garage that runs $15 to utilize. There are drinks and refreshments available as well as several restaurants within walking distance.  

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