A Drama of Belief and Disbelief

The trip out to Next Act Theatre happens over the opening credits. There’s a drive through a Milwaukee night followed by entry through the lobby past concessions and into the theatre. There in the darkened theatre David Cecsarini stands in darkness. The camera approaches him. He gazes into the camera and suddenly the location shifts to Gethsemane United Methodist Church in Pewaukee. That church serves as the set for Next Act’s production of playwright Lucas Hnath's The Christians. It’s a very organic production of a drama that explores a church’s search for identity in the face of intellectual and philosophical change.

The play opens on a sermon by Cecsarini as Pastor Paul. Cecsarini radiates a warmth about him in the role of a man who questions the exclusivity of the church. He tells the story of an honorable person who has died without believing in Christ. He doesn’t believe that the person in question went to hell. He asserts that one does not have to believe in Christ to avoid damnation. He knows this is revolutionary talk. Precisely HOW revolutionary it is becomes apparent after he finishes his sermon. Andrew Muwonge is charismatically resolute as Associate Pastor Joshua, who Paul freely welcomes into an open debate about the church in front of the congregation after his sermon.

Though he cannot refute Paul’s logic, Joshua believes in his heart that Paul is wrong. A vote is held. The majority side with Paul. Joshua must leave the church to pursue his beliefs, but all is not perfectly at peace with the church’s new direction as Paul finds out over the course of the rest of the drama.

The first disharmony that Paul is confronted with comes in the form of a meeting with church elder Jay (Rick Richter.) The church elders are completely behind Paul, but they’re concerned with how quick he was to let Joshua go. A conversation follows about a possibility of a schism that may result from Joshua’s departure. Richter navigates his way through a very sophisticated political conversation with careful attention to the intricate gravities of the situation.

The second disharmony approaches Paul in the form of a dialogue with a congregant named Jenny (played by Emily Vitrano.) She’s a single mother who has questions. Joshua is forming his own church and there are congregants who are leaving. A man that she had been dating had gone off to that church and left her with uncertainty. Vitrano treads a careful path through the concerns of a woman who is looking for answers. She's also looking for a reason to stay with a church that seems to have alienated some of its congregants.

The final disharmony comes in the form of a conversation with his wife Elizabeth. Marti Gobel glides through an intricate and articulate conversation about Paul’s sermon. A conversation between husband and wife mixes with that of a congregant and her pastor. It’s a complicated talk on very intimate politics between two people who have been sharing a life together without necessarily sharing a spiritual understanding.

Director Edward Morgan has done a good job of bringing stage actors into the frame for a very compelling theatrical video presentation. The mood and motion of the drama feels very fluid for its entire 83 minutes. Passionate statements made in casual conversation are delivered by microphone in the church as voices reverberate through a vast space. The frequent cuts from intimate conversation to church oratory could seem a bit disconnected. Under Morgan's direction, those moments are edited together in a way that feels very natural...firmly rooted in the emotionality of what’s being said.

As good an actor as Cecsarini is onstage, it’s really nice to see him in action as a screen actor. The conversation between Paul and elder Jay allows for a few close-ups that amplify subtle nuances in Cecsarini’s performance. In the comfort of an office set he can speak just above a whisper. The screen may lack the intimacy of Next Act’s space, but it allows for a different kind of immediacy for Next Act. For audiences that have been going to see Next Act shows for years, this is a bit of a revelation. It's deeply satisfying to see the same energy that makes a Next Act show so distinct put in the service of drama inside a glowing rectangle.

Next Act’s production of The Christians is available through December 23. For more information, visit Next Act online.