Lucas Hnath's THE CHRISTIANS Begins Tonight at Mark Taper Forum

Center Theatre Group welcomes singers from across the greater Los Angeles area to perform as members of the church choir in the West Coast premiere of THE CHRISTIANS written by Lucas Hnath and directed by Les Waters. THE CHRISTIANS is presented by CTG and Playwrights Horizons at the Mark Taper Forum, tonight, December 2, 2015, through January 10, 2016. The opening is set for December 13.

THE CHRISTIANS is staged as a church service with the live accompaniment of a choir of approximately two dozen singers per night. The singers will come from a pool of 50 local vocalists. The singers range from established performers with Broadway credits to USC students and range in age from their 20s to 60s.

Led by music director Scott Anthony (who is also portraying the role of Choir Director), the choir features Allison Aoun, Dedrick Bonner, Lisa Bode, Adrienne Brown, Gabriela Carrillo, Adante Carter, Kirstin Charney, Molly Chiffer, Isaac Clay, April Colon- Haywood, Maxwel Corpuz, Erin Leigh Crites, Gina D'Acciaro, Celina Dean, Andrew Diego, Zoran Duke, Melinda Ehrlich, Tal Fox, Turner Frankosky, Gabriela Garcia, Simone Longoria Garcia, Randy Guiaya, David Hadinger, Rae Dawn Hadinger, Nancy Hale, Jennifer Haydn-Jones, Jesimiel Jenkins, Jinwoo Jung, Maura M. Knowles, Karen Lew, Kenneth Lopez, Cynthia Marty, D.T. Matias, Shane McGhie, Philip McNiven, Tiffany Moon, Gregory North, Kila Packett, Pjay Phillips, Andrea Press, Christena Rich, Krystle Simmons, Adrian Smith, Chris Spicer, Kimberly Ann Steele, JC Tompkins, Lisa Webb, Jennifer Weiss, Grace Yoo and Justin Yu.

Directed by Obie Award-winning Les Waters ("Marjorie Prime" at the Taper and "Girlfriend" at the Kirk Douglas Theatre), this production of THE CHRISTIANS will feature four cast members from the world premiere at the Actors Theatre of Louisville: Emily Donahoe ("33 Variations" on Broadway and "Homeland"), Andrew Garman ("Salome" on Broadway), Larry Powell ("While I Yet Live" and "Broke-ology" off- Broadway) and Linda Powell ("On Golden Pond" and "Wilder Wilder Wilder" on Broadway), joined by Philip Kerr ("A Time to Kill," "Macbeth" and "Tiny Alice" on Broadway, opposite Dame Judith Anderson's "Hamlet" at Carnegie Hall).

In THE CHRISTIANS Pastor Paul (Andrew Garman), the leader of a large and wildly successful church has a startling message for his congregation. After 20 years of growing his church members into the thousands, the pastor does some soul searching and reaches a conclusion that shakes the church's very foundation with a message that challenges one of the basic tenets of his ministry.

As the pastor summons the courage to lead his flock in a new direction, he faces questions about his motivations, and his personal and professional relationships begin to fray. THE CHRISTIANS is a compelling drama that conveys the deep emotions and consequences of one man's personal revelation.

Tickets are available by calling (213) 628-2772 or visiting online at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org. Tickets range from $25 - $85 (ticket prices are subject to change). The Mark Taper Forum is located at the Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A. 90012.

Pictured: Members of the choir in a scene from THE CHRISTIANS at Playwrights Horizons. Photo by Joan Marcus.