CHURCH & STATE
HOW RELIGION, GUNS, AND SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCE OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM.
ABOUT THE SHOW
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 the senator’s belief in God. As his devoutly Christian wife and liberal Jewish campaign manager try to contain the damage, this look at how religion, guns, and social media influence our political system is simultaneously funny, honest, heartbreaking, and uplifting.
Originally developed with Artistic Director Ralph Meranto from JCC CenterStage, CHURCH & STATE had readings in D.C., NJ, and NC, as well as a reading in NYC to benefit Sandy Hook Promise. The play was then selected to be produced as a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere by The Skylight Theatre in L.A. (June 24-August 14, 2016), JCC CenterStage in Rochester, NY (Oct. 20-Nov 6, 2016), and New Jersey Rep in Long Branch, NJ prior to an Off-Broadway run in NYC in 2017.
Recently published, CHURCH & STATE is slated for 10 productions across the country.
CAST
ROB NAGLE (Senator Charles Whitmore) is a proud member of the Antaeus Theatre Company and the Troubadour Theater Company. Recent credits include the world premieres of Jason Odell Williams’ Church & State (Skylight Theatre Company), Meghan Brown’s The Kill-Or-Dies (Electric Footlights and Moving Arts), Melissa Ross’ Of Good Stock and Samuel D. Hunter’s Rest (both at South Coast Repertory), as well as James Still’s Appoggiatura at Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Other recent credits include Samuel D. Hunter’s Pocatello at Rogue Machine, Itamar Moses’ Completeness at Vs. Theatre Company, and James Joyce’s The Dead at Open Fist Theatre Company. Other theaters include Portland Center Stage, Mark Taper Forum, Old Globe Theatre, Centerstage, San Jose Repertory and Shakespeare Theatre Company. Film includes Bad Samaritan, Mother’s Day, Boost, Fishing Naked, New Year’s Eve, Life As We Know It, The Soloist, Fun With Dick and Jane, Cellular, and American Wedding. Television includes recurring roles on “Eli Stone,” “Lincoln Heights” and “Dawson’s Creek,” as well as guest appearances on “The Librarians,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “CSI,” “Criminal Minds,” “Castle,” “Major Crimes,” “NCIS,” “Mad Men,” “Cold Case,” “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” “Without A Trace,” “Everwood,” “The Guardian,” and “Buffy The Vampire Slayer.” Training: Northwestern University. Wife: Heather Allyn. Pug: Roosevelt. Geek: RobNagle.com
NADIA BOWERS (Sara Whitmore) was most recently seen in The Way West by Mona Mansour at Labyrinth Theatre. Other credits include BROADWAY: The Farnsworth Invention, Doubt, Metamorphoses. NEW YORK: Collapse (Women’s Project), The Netflix Plays (Second Stage), Wildflower, The Delling Shore (Sundance Theater Lab), Julius Caeser (Public Theater), The Way West (Lark Theatre), Dog and Wolf (Watson Arts @ 59 E. 59), Tempest Tossed (Continuum Company), Romania. Kiss Me!?/Fuck You, Europa! (The Play Company), Eyes of the Heart (NAATCO), Doubt (Manhattan Theater Club), Not Waving (SPF), In Your Shoes (NY Fringe). REGIONAL: Chapter Two (Bucks County Playhouse), Sideways (LaJolla Playhouse), Circle Mirror Transformation (Huntington Theatre), Tartuffe (Westport County Playhouse). FILM & TELEVISION: “The Strain” (FX), “Orange is the New Black” (Netflix), “NCIS,” “Law & Order,” “Law & Order Criminal Intent,” “Law & Order SVU,” “The Young and The Restless,” “As The World Turns,” “All My Children,” “Non-Stop, Little Ones,” “Year of the Sublets (web series),” and “Every Dogs Day.” NadiaBowers.com
CHRISTA SCOTT-REED (Alex Klein) was most recently seen starring opposite Richard Dreyfuss in Mark St. Germain’s Relativity at TheatreWorks. BROADWAY: The Pitmen Painters. NATIONAL TOUR: C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce. OFF-BROADWAY: The Great Divorce (Fellowship for Performing Arts); The Talls (world premiere, Second Stage); The Freedom of the City (Irish Repertory Theatre); Celebration and The Room, The Bald Soprano and the Lesson, (Atlantic Theater Company); Beasley’s Christmas Party, Museum, Pullman Car Hiawatha (Keen Company); Deathbed (world premiere, McGinn-Cazale); Marion Bridge (Urban Stages); The Voysey Inheritance (Mint Theater Company). REGIONAL THEATRE: On Golden Pond (with Keir Dullea, Bucks County Playhouse); Argonautika and Honour (with Kathleen Chalfant, Berkeley Rep); Restoration Comedy and The Food Chain (The Old Globe); The Little Dog Laughed (Intiman Theatre); As You Like It, Crimes of the Heart, and the world premiere of Charles L. Mee’s Limonade Tous les Jours (Actors Theatre of Louisville). Other Regional: Paper Mill Playhouse, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Pioneer Theatre, Barrington Stage, Syracuse Stage, Denver Center, Cleveland Playhouse, and more. FILM & TV: “30 Rock,” “The Impossibilities,” “Eden,” “Gossip Girl,” “666 Park Avenue,” “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Love Life,” “New Amsterdam,” “As the World Turns.” ChristaScottReed.com
JONATHAN LOUIS DENT (Tom/Marshall) is a New York based actor and writer. Jonathan appeared in Sons of the Prophet at the Roundabout Theatre. Regional: Romeo and Juliet (Hartford Stage Company), Sons of the Prophet (The Huntington Theater Company), The Good Negro (Company One), The Etymology of Bird (The Providence Black Repertory Company). Jonathan wrote and performed in The Broken Record, which won an award for Best Overall Play at the 2015 International New York Fringe Festival. Credits at NYU include Free Man of Color and Describe the Night (Rajiv Joseph world premiere). TV: “Elementary.” Training: NYU Grad Acting.
CREATIVE TEAM
MARKUS POTTER (Director) is a NYC-based director and the producing artistic director of NewYorkRep, which is dedicated to developing and producing new plays and musicals. Recent directing: Stalking the Bogeyman off-Broadway at New World Stages (Outer Critics Circle Award nomination, NY Times Critics Pick), Lost Boy Found In Whole Foods by Tammy Ryan at The Portland Stage Company, Why You Beasting by David Don Miller (Best of FringeNYC – transferred to the Players Theatre off-Broadway), North Carolina Stage Company, Pasadena Playhouse, Luna Stage. As an actor: Guthrie Theatre, Long Wharf, American Conservatory Theatre, Berkeley Rep, San Francisco Shakespeare, Cherry Lane Theatre, Tour of Death of a Salesman with Christopher Lloyd, Studio Theatre DC, Denver Center. MFA: Columbia University, Proud SDC member, MarkusPotter.com, NewYorkRep.org
JASON ODELL WILLIAMS (Playwright) is an Emmy® Award-nominated writer and producer (“Brain Games“) as well as an award-winning playwright, novelist and screenwriter. His latest play, Church & State will be produced as a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere this year at The Skylight Theatre in L.A., JCC CenterStage in Rochester, NY and NJ Rep in Long Branch, NJ. His play Handle With Care (published by Dramatists Play Service) ran for over 100 performances Off-Broadway and has been produced 18 times in the last five years in the U.S. and Canada. The play was a New York Times Critics’ Pick where they raved, “Mr. Williams has achieved something special: He has written a hilarious and heartwarming romantic comedy…which exudes gobs of comic energy and insight.” His other plays have been produced or developed at NC Stage, the cell, the DR2, Primary Stages, The Blank Theatre, The Lark, and EST. Jason’s first novel, Personal Statement, was optioned for a three-picture deal and he is currently adapting it for the screen with his wife and collaborator Charlotte Cohn. Their TV script, Birdland, was a Top 10 Finalist in The Tracking Board’s 2015 Pilot Competition. More at jasonodellwilliams.com.
CHARLOTTE COHN (Producer) was born in Denmark and raised in Israel where she served in the Israeli Army as a Commanding Officer. She is a founding producer of the New York Music Theatre Festival (NYMF) and Mainstreet Musicals. Other producing credits include: Baltimore in Black and White (the Cell Theater), Rated P for Parenthood, The New York Times Critics’ Pick Handle With Care (both at the Westside Theater Off-Broadway), and the upcoming Church & State. Charlotte has collaborated with her husband Jason Odell Williams on a variety of writing projects including their screenplay Personal Statement (optioned by former Miramax executive Steve Hutensky) and their TV pilot Birdland, which was a Top Ten Finalist in the Tracking Board’s 2015 Launch Pad Pilot Competition. Charlotte’s screenplay By the Book was also a finalist in the NYWIFT 2015 competition, sponsored by Meryl Streep.
BRIERPATCH PRODUCTIONS (General Management) is the partnership of Laura Janik Cronin and Scott Newsome providing general management services for theatrical productions, tours and events. Current and previous productions include: Cagney the Musical; One Funny Mother; Dan and Phil: The Amazing Tour Is Not On Fire; Phoenix; Handle With Care; Grounded; Tennessee Williams’ The Two Character Play; Inner Voices III & IV; Sleeping Rough; Triassic Parq; 7th Monarch; Rest In Pieces; Wallenberg; Tales From The Tunnel; Glimpses of The Moon; The Actors’ Studio Drama School MFA Repertory Season (2011 – current). Under Development: The Stone Witch (World Premiere at Berkshire Theatre Group summer 2016).
WOJCIK | SEAY CASTING (Casting Director) is Scott Wojcik & Gayle Seay. Along with Holly Buczek they cast all mediums. Tours: Vocalosity, Flashdance, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Jekyll & Hyde (National & Korean), Joseph…Dreamcoat, Oklahoma! and A Chorus Line. Off- Broadway includes: Tennessee Williams’ The Two Character Play with Amanda Plummer and Brad Dourif, Handle With Care with Carol Lawrence, Triassic Parq, 666 and more. Regional: Multiple seasons/shows for Riverside Theatre-FL, Arvada Center – CO, The Engeman Theatre – NY, Theatre Raleigh-NC, Stages St Louis-MO, Theatre Aspen-CO and Tuacahn PAC-UT. Pilots: “Upstate” and “Stand – In.” Films: Best Man In The Dark, Tommy Battles The Silver Sea Dragon, My Prologue. Webseries: “The Fuzz.” Currently: “The Hunt” with John Walsh on CNN. www.WScasting.com
NEWYORKREP/THE TELLING COMPANY (Producer) is an award-winning company committed to telling innovative stories that inspire and compel social change. Recent productions include Stalking The Bogeyman at New World Stages (Outer Critics Circle Award Nomination for New American Play, NYtimes Critics pick). NewYorkRep.org, thetellingcompany.org
PHOTOS
PRESS
OFF-BROADWAY REVIEWS
Times Square Chronicles
“Definitely on my list for one of the best plays of the year”
Front Row Center
“Packs surprising philosophical punch”
OFF-BROADWAY PRESS
BroadwayWorld
Jason Odell Williams’ CHURCH & STATE Begins Tomorrow Off-Broadway
BroadwayWorld
CHURCH & STATE To Have New York Premiere In March 2017
National New Play Network
NNPN Announces Church & State as its 60th Rolling World Premiere
Broadway World
Interview with Jason Odell Williams
LOS ANGELES REVIEWS
Los Angeles Times
“Proudly propagandistic, ‘Church & State,’…offers a didactic political message in the theatrical tradition of ‘Waiting for Lefty”
Arts is L.A.
“A mesmeric production of a captivating, thought-provoking new play”
“…brightly intelligent and often hilariously on-target script, it is deserving of high praise!
“If Williams’ exceptional play does nothing else, let’s hope it makes its point and sparks further desperately needed debate.”
“Brilliant…impassioned… dazzling…spectacular… takes our breath away!”
Huffington Post
“Church and State will be heading East soon as it makes its well deserved journey across country.”
“A powerful, often humorous, and highly contemporary piece”
“The play has several surprises, four fascinating characters, and so many lines that resonate.”
Edge Media Network
“Every now and again a brilliant play comes your way, strong enough to knock you off your complacent ledge, inspiring social and political change within you, and entertaining us like not much you’ve ever seen before. Such is the world premiere of ‘Church & State.”
“You must not skip this production of a timely drama reflecting the times we live in and see acted out daily.”
Stage Scene L.A.
“A powerful, thought-provoking, button-pushing ‘gun-control comedy’ (that’s right, comedy!) WOW!”
Stage Raw
“Williams’ timely political drama…truly is flawless and sweeps us to a stirring catharsis! Oh, how satisfying it is to watch!
TOP TEN PICK! RECOMMENDED”
L.A. Theatre Bites
“Funny, human, devastating, brave and powerful… [With] very clear characters and tight writing, Church & State speaks to the lunacy of modern politics. ”
L.A. Splash
“A timely and thought-provoking piece of entertainment…”
“Williams has taken some highly controversial issues and framed them in very personal and often amusing ways.”
“The humor and the pain coalesce, just as they often do in real life.”
Beachcomber Newspaper
“When a play is performed that touches our emotions while broaching the struggles of our era, it becomes a sort of prayer. So it is with the marvelous new play by Jason Odell Williams, ‘Church & State.’”
“…As timely as the nightly news, and just as troubling….”
“For those who are devoted to theater that is absorbing, relevant and controversial ‘Church & State’ is a show for you.”
L.A.Weekly
“A pinpoint production… Stellar, engaging…Superb!”
Santa Monica Daily Press
“Keep your eye on playwright Jason Odell Williams. If he keeps writing plays as extraordinary and impassioned as his latest play, ‘Church and State,’ he may in time be hailed as this country’s newest Eugene O’Neill. Powerful… real… amazing, impeccable… flawless… exquisite.”
LOS ANGELES PRESS
Huffington Post
Top Ten 2016 L.A. Theatre Productions
TimeOut Los Angeles
5 Must-See Theatre Productions
Hollywood Revealed
Interview with Jason Odell Williams
AWARDS
Off-Broadway Awards
Los Angeles Awards
Nominated for 3 Ovation Awards
Best Production of a Play (Intimate Theatre)
Playwriting for an Original Play
Lead Actor in a Play (Rob Nagle)