Photo Flash: CHURCH & STATE Celebrates Opening Night Off-Broadway

The New York Premiere of Church & State, the critically acclaimed play by Jason Odell Williams, opened last night at New World Stages (340 W. 50th Street - between 8th & 9th Avenues) for an open-ended engagement. BroadwayWorld has photos from the opening bows and festivities below!

Directed by Markus Potter (Stalking the Bogeyman), the cast features Rob Nagle ("Castle," "Mad Men"), Nadia Bowers (The Farnsworth Invention, "Orange is the New Black"), Christa Scott-Reed (The Pitman Painters, Relativity) and Jonathan Louis Dent (The Broken Record, Romeo and Juliet).

Church & State is a fast-paced, seriously funny take on faith, politics, and "The Twitter." Three days before his bid for re-election in North Carolina, a Republican U.S. Senator makes an off-the-cuff comment to a blogger that calls into question his belief in God. The Senator's devoutly Christian wife and liberal Jewish campaign manager try desperately to contain the damage with mixed results. This brutally honest and surprisingly funny new play sheds light on how religion, guns, and social media influence our politics and our politicians.

The creative team includes David Goldstein (scenic design), Burke Brown (lighting design), Dianne K. Graebner (costume design), and Erik T. Lawson (sound design). Sofia Montgomery is Production Stage Manager.

Photo Credit: Russ Rowland