“A Case for the Existence of God" at Riverside Theatre -- January 19 through February 4.
Friday, January 19, through Sunday, February 4
Riverside Theatre, 119 East College Street, Iowa City IA
Lauded by Vulture magazine for the playwright's "elegant way with exposition and the stealthy way he lures us down into the deep end of the emotional pool," Samuel L. Hunter's A Case for the Existence of God enjoys a January 19 through February 4 run at Iowa City's Riverside Theatre, this moving and magical drama by the writer of last year's Oscar winner The Whale also hailed by the New York Times as a "must-see heartbreaker of a play."
A thoughtful and meditative two-hander that explores themes of parenthood, financial insecurity, and empathy, A Case for the Existence of God unfolds in a cubicle where two seated people unexpectedly choose to bring one another into their fragile worlds. Keith, a mortgage broker, and Ryan, a yogurt plant worker seeking to buy a plot of land that belonged to his family many decades ago, realize they share a "specific kind of sadness." At this desk in the middle of America, loan talk opens up into a discussion about the chokehold of financial insecurity and a bond over the precariousness of parenthood. With humor, empathy and wrenching honesty, playwright Hunter commingles two lives and deftly bridges disparate experiences of marginality in this stage work that the Wall Street Journal labeled "easily one of the best of the year."
Riverside's producing artistic director Adam Knight returns to the directing chair for A Case for the Existence of God, his recent other presentations including The Trip to Bountiful, The Weir, and Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Featured in his cast are Barrington Vaxter as Keith and Scot West as Ryan, and with the play's producing sponsors Mickey’s Irish Pub and the Robert E. Yager Charitable Trust, the evening sponsors are familiar Riverside talents Jody Hovland and Ron Clark. Sophie Young serves as the production's stage manager, with additional members of Knight's creative team including: scenic designer Marianna Coffey; costume designer Marc Marcos; lighting designer Haven Haywood; sound designer Tyler Salow; dramaturg Rob Silverman Ascher; and board operator Hannah Green.
A Case for the Existence of God runs in Iowa City from January 19 through February 4, with performances Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Admission is $15-39, and more information and tickets are available by calling (319)259-7099 and visiting RiversideTheatre.org.
