Bucks County Playhouse Opens Season With AN ACT OF GOD

In an era where seemingly everything from "Roseanne" to "Will and Grace" has received a reboot, God also has decided to take a fresh look at one of his greatest cultural achievements, The Ten Commandments, in the hilarious Broadway comedy, "An Act of God." Directed by Tracy Brigden, the comedy runs at Bucks County Playhouse May 18 - June 16. The official opening night performance is Saturday, May 19 at 7:30 pm. The 2018 Bucks County Playhouse Season is sponsored by Bank of America.

Executive Producer Robyn Goodman, Producing Director Alexander Fraser and Producers Stephen Kocis and Josh Fiedler recently announced details on the production's casting and creative team. Returning to earth, the Supreme being has chosen to take the form of acclaimed New York actor, Harry Bouvy. He is joined onstage by two archangels, Ashley D. Kelley as Michael and Joe Kinosian as Gabriel.

Executive Producer Robyn Goodman looks forward to bringing the hit Broadway comedy, "An Act of God," to the Playhouse and said, "When I saw this play on Broadway, after wiping the tears of laughter off my face, I thought of producing it at Bucks County Playhouse. The wit with which God reinvents his commandments could only be written by a master like Javerbaum."

God is back. And God has a lot to say. Flanked by ever-faithful archangels, the Supreme Being gifts humanity with an entirely new set of Ten Commandments in a sinfully funny whirlwind of comedy heaven. Written by 13-time Emmy Award winner David Javerbaum ("The Daily Show"), "An Act of God" is an exceptionally witty comedy that delivers a new meaning to the phrase "divine intervention."

Bouvy most recently played Dr. Dillamond in the national tour of "Wicked." He played Sir Robin in "Spamalot" and Carmen Ghia in "The Producers." In NYC, Harry played Dr. Chilton in the off-Broadway smash, "Silence! The Musical," and can be heard on the original cast recording.

Born and raised in New York, Kelley is a graduate of Philadelphia's Temple University. She most recently starred in the title role in "Bella: An American Tall Tale" at Playwrights Horizons. She has appeared on "Marvel's Luke Cage" (Netflix) and in a recurring arc in the same network's new show, "Insatiable." Kinosian returns to the Playhouse having previously appeared in "Murder for Two: Holiday Edition" and "The Nerd." Kinosian co-wrote "Murder for Two" with writing partner Kellen Blair. He has performed the show more than 600 times.

"An Act of God" is based on David Javerbaum's 2011 book, "The Last Testament: A Memoir by God," and his Twitter account @TheTweetofGod, which had more than two million followers before he discontinued the feed in 2016. Javerbaum is the recipient of 13 Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award and three Peabody Awards for his work on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." Javerbaum is the co-creator of the Netflix sitcom "Disjointed" starring Kathy Bates and worked on "The Late Late Show with James Corden" and "The Colbert Report."

"An Act of God" features scenic design by Reid Thompson. Gina Scherr is lighting designer. Projection designer is Brad Peterson. Costume design is by Michael Krass. Liz Atkinson serves as sound designer. Ryan Looke is Production Stage Manager.

The production will play the following schedule: Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m., Wednesdays at 2:00 pm (plus an additional evening performance Wednesday June 13 at 7:30 pm), Thursdays at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8:00 p.m (except Friday, June 1 at 7:00 p.m.), Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. The opening night performance on Saturday, May 19 will be at 7:30 p.m. The Playhouse will hold a special post-show talkback on the first Tuesday evening performance, May 22.

Single tickets to "An Act of God" are on sale now. Tickets range from $40 - $75. Special rates for groups of 10 or more. Season ticket packages are still available. For complete details, and to purchase tickets, please visit buckscountyplayhouse.org, call 215-862-2121, or visit the box office at 70 South Main Street, New Hope, PA.

Located between Philadelphia and New York, Bucks County Playhouse opened in 1939 in a converted 1790 gristmill after a group of community activists, led by Broadway orchestrator Don Walker and playwright Moss Hart, rallied to save the building. The Playhouse quickly became one of the country's most famous regional theaters, featuring a roster of American theatrical royalty including Helen Hayes, Kitty Carlisle, George S. Kaufman, Grace Kelly, Robert Redford, Bert Lahr, Walter Matthau, Angela Lansbury, Bernadette Peters, Alan Alda, Tyne Daly, Liza Minnelli and Audra McDonald and remained in continuous operation until December 2010. In 2012, the Playhouse re-opened thanks to the efforts of the Bridge Street Foundation, the nonprofit family foundation of Kevin and Sherri Daugherty, and Broadway producer Jed Bernstein.

Since its renovation, significant productions include Terrence McNally's "Mothers and Sons" starring Tyne Daly, which moved to Broadway and was nominated for two Tony Awards, and "Misery" by William Goldman based on the Stephen King novel which also went on to a Broadway run in the 2015-16 season. Two of the Playhouse's recent productions -- "Company" starring Justin Guarini, and William Finn's "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" -- were named by Wall Street Journal to its "Best of Theatre" list for 2015. The Playhouse's productions of "Steel Magnolias" and "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story" broke box office records in 2016. Those records were broken again in 2017 with a return engagement of "Buddy" as well as a new production of "Guys and Dolls" directed by Hunter Foster.

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