B Street Theatre Presents THE CHRISTIANS

B Street Theatre is excited to open the 2017 B3 Series Season with Lucas Hnath's The Christians.

In the spirit of the B3 Series' commitment to powerful and thought-provoking work, this piece is both an epic drama as well as an intimate look at faith in modern America. Ambitious and highly theatrical, The Christians features a live choir on stage, as much of the play emmulates a Sunday morning service.

The break-out hit of the 2014 Humana Festival of New Plays at Actor's Theatre of Louisville, Lucas Hnath's The Christians has been met with critical and popular success at theatres across the country. After being showcased at the 2014 Humana Festival, The Christians went on to receive an Off-Broadway run at Playwrights Horizons. The New York Times called this production one of the best plays of the season and referred to playwright Hnath as one of the brightest new voices of his generation.

Since its successful Off-Broadway run, Hnath's timely and captivating play has been produced at numerous theatres including the Mark Taper Forum, Denver Theatre Center, and Syrcause Stage.

"I've wanted to produce Hnath's play The Christians since I was captivated by it at the 2014 Humana Festival," says Producing Artistic Director Buck Busfield. "The upcoming B3 Season features plays that call to question the core aspects of life such as faith, marriage and family. The plays we've selected explore the uncertainty and divisiveness surrounding these issues in a contemporary society. I'm excited for our audiences to experience an evocative, final B3 Season in our current location."

B Street Theatre's 2017 B3 Series Season

The Christians by Lucas Hnath
January 11 - February 12, 2017
The breakout hit of the 2014 Humana Festival, The Christians by Lucas Hnath examines faith in America and the challenge of changing one's mind.

Lungs by Duncan MacMillan
May 17 - June 18, 2017
This off-kilter love story by the author of Every Brilliant Thing is at once blisteringly funny and unbearably poignant. Should a couple have a child in these uncertain times, and will their relationship survive the debate?

An Act of God by David Javerbaum

Starring Nick Cearley of The Skivvies (B Street's Buyer and Cellar)
July 1 - July 29, 2017
In this uproarious comedy, God has come to Earth and He's more than a little annoyed at how we've twisted His words. With the help of a couple of His angels, and an actor, He's here to amend the commandments and whip us back in shape.

A World Premiere - To Be Announced
August 9 - Septembver 1, 2017
The B Street will treat Sacramento audiences to a never-before-seen World Premiere!

Lucas Hnath - Lucas Hnath's plays include The Christians (2014 Humana Festival), Red Speedo (Studio Theatre, DC), A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay about the Death of Walt Disney (Soho Rep), Nightnight (2013 Humana Festival), Isaac's Eye (Ensemble Studio Theatre), Death Tax (2012 Humana Festival, Royal Court Theatre), and The Courtship of Anna Nicole Smith (Actors Theatre of Louisville). His plays are published by Dramatists Play Service. Lucas has been a resident playwright at New Dramatists since 2011, and is a proud member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre. Lucas is a winner of the 2012 Whitfield Cook Award for Isaac's Eye and received a 2013 Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award Citation for Death Tax. He has also received commissions from the EST/Sloan Project, Actors Theatre of Louisville, South Coast Repertory, Playwrights Horizons, New York University's Graduate Acting Program, and The Royal Court Theatre. Lucas holds a BFA and an MFA from New York University's Department of Dramatic Writing.

The Director:

Dave Pierini - David Pierini began working for the B Street Theatre in 1990. He started as an actor for the B Street Theatre School Tour (then called The Fantasy Theatre), then started to write and direct for the Tour. David has acted steadily in B Street productions from its inception in 1991. In 2004, B Street Producing Artistic Director Buck Busfield suggested David try to write an adaptation of the beloved children's book, The Boxcar Children. Thus began a long fruitful relationship with the B Street Family Series.

Cast:

Paul: Kurt Johnson - Kurt has been a regular at the B Street Theatre since completing its acting apprentice program in the 1993-94 season. As a member of the B Street Theatre Acting Company, he has appeared in numerous productions, including Below the Belt, Lobby Hero, Lune Pronounced Loony, Rabbit Hole, Doubt, Escanaba In Da Moonlight, The Seafarer, The 39 Steps, The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence and Speed-the-Plow. In addition, he directed Betty and the Yeti, F-Stop and Vigil. Kurt has been on other stages in the Sacramento area, including Music Circus, Sacramento Theatre Company and Capital Stage. In addition to his stagework, he acts in commercials, industrial videos, radio voiceovers and film. He also teaches acting and improvisation.

Jay: Greg Alexander - has appeared in numerous B Street Theatre productions including The Explorers Club, I Am My Own Wife, The Big Bang!, Around The World In 80 Days, Escanaba In Da Moonlight, and Outside Mullingar. He also wrote and directed Walk In Our Shoes - a show promoting mental health awareness - for B Street Theatre's School Tour. Sponsored by the California Mental Health Services Authority, Walk In Our Shoes was performed at over 100 schools throughout the state. Most recently, he directed the previous Family Series show Anansi the Spider. Additional regional theatre credits include work at The Jewish Theatre of San Francisco, Sacramento Theatre Company, Capital Stage, Actor's Theatre of Louisville, Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Philadelphia Theatre Company and People's Light and Theatre Company in Malvern, Pa. Greg lives in Sacramento with his wife Sean and their Westies, Milo and Magoo.

Jenny: Tara Sissom - Tara is a B Street Theatre Company Member and former intern who was seen most recently in A Christmas Carol, Clever Little Lies, Mud Blue Sky, 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche and The Jacksonian for the Mainstage Series. Tara recently appeared at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music in The Iceman Cometh, with Brian Dennehy and Nathan Lane, having also appeared in the same production at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. She is a company member of the New Colony, with whom she's written two plays - Pancake Breakfast and 11:11. She received a Joseph Jefferson Award for original music composition for That Sordid Little Story. Other B Street credits are Make Someone Happy; Jack Goes Boating; Gulf View Drive, Go, Dog, Go! and Cinderella. In Chicago, Tara has appeared in Frat, Tupperware: An American Musical Fable and 11:11 with the New Colony, and Literally Sexy II, III and IV, One-Minute Play Festival and Walk of Shame with the Fresh-Squeezed Series at Victory Garden's Biograph Theatre. Regional credits include The Man Who Came to Dinner, Children of Eden and Beauty and the Beast at Flat Rock Playhouse. Tara has a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Music Theatre from Elon University.

Joshua: To be announced.

Elizabeth: To be announced.

B3 Series Background

The newest series of the B Street Theatre has a more serious and dramatic focus and features new contemporary plays for the more adventurous theatregoer. The B3 Series opened with a Pulitzer Prize winning drama on September 25, 2007 and presents four to five new plays each season. The B3 Series currently operates in the 112-seat theater space at alternate times than the scheduled Family Series productions.

More about B Street Theatre: B Street Theatre is a non-profit, professional theatre company producing primarily new work for adults, families and children. The two-theatre playhouse on B Street in Midtown Sacramento is home to the Mainstage Series, B3 Series and Family Series, each created to feature intimate, quality theatre for audiences year-round. Recognized as one of the nation's top professional theatres, B Street Theatre has produced more than 160 world premieres written by B Street playwrights and numerous productions which were world, national, West Coast or regional premieres.

B Street Theatre was originally founded in 1986 with the purpose of bringing the excitement of live performance to children through the B Street Theatre School Tour. This educational outreach program still serves over 200,000 students in Northern California annually.

B Street Theatre programs include the Mainstage Series, B Street Theatre Family Series and Family Series Student Matinees (for school field trips), the B3 Series, B Street School Tours, Sketch Comedy, B Street Acting Conservatory and Studio for Young People, and the B Street Theatre Internship program for pre-professional/post-college training.

In 2014, B Street brought its most popular play ever, "Around the World in 80 Days", to India. The original cast performed in three Indian cities, furthering the organization's mission by bringing high quality theatre to an international audience, while also raising money for Indian educational enrichment and schools and partnering with an overseas performing arts center with the hope of future international collaboration. B Street Theatre has produced over 250 professional productions since 1986.

More information at www.bstreettheatre.org.

The mission of B Street Theatre is to promote education and literacy, social interaction, and cultural enrichment by engaging children and adults in the highest quality theatre arts and playwriting.

Photo by Rudy Meyers

To post a comment, you must register and login.