Lucas Hnath‘s intriguing 2014 drama The Christians, now receiving its Chicago premiere in a finely acted production at Steppenwolf Theatre, is unlike any play I’ve ever seen about religion. There’s no nun boldly overstepping her authority to expose a suspected pedophile priest; no charismatic hypocritical preacher bilking the gullible faithful; no philandering phonies or self-hating homos, preaching traditional family values while pursuing their own illicit lusts. Instead, The Christians concerns a basic question that might seem better suited to a scholarly lecture: Is God’s love for humanity so great that it encompasses everyone, not just Christians?
This process is played out as a series of dialogues between Paul and his passionate young associate pastor Joshua (Glenn Davis), his supportive but perplexed church elder Jay (Robert Breuler), a confused congregant (Jacqueline Williams), and his wife, Elizabeth (Shannon Cochran), who finds herself torn between her love and admiration for her husband and her inability to accept his message.
Through 1/29: Wed-Fri 7:30 PM, Sat 3 and 7:30 PM (no shows 12/24), Sun 3 PM (no show 12/25), Tue 7:30 PM (no show 1/3); also Sun 12/18, 1/1, and 1 /8, 7:30 PM; Wed 1/11, 1/18, and 1/25, 2 PM Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Downstairs Theatre 1650 N. Halsted 312-335-1650steppenwolf.org $20-$89
