The Civilians to Present West Coast Premiere of 'This Beautiful City'

The Civilians (Steven Cosson, Artistic Director), the acclaimed New York-based experimental theater troupe, today announced a special, one-night-only event in celebration of the West Coast Premiere of their latest work, This Beautiful City to be held on the final preview Saturday, September 27, 2008.  The evening will begin at the Kirk Douglas Theatre at 6:30 p.m. with a special “Meet The Civilians” reception where Artistic Director Cosson and Composer Michael Friedman will talk about the development of this exciting new work surrounding the explosion of America’s evangelical Christian movement.  Attendees will then be treated to premium seats at that evening’s 8:00 p.m. performance of the show.  This Beautiful City opens Sunday, September 28, at the Center Theatre Group/Kirk Douglas Theatre and is scheduled to run through October 26, 2008.

This Beautiful City is a play with music, created from interviews with actual persons, that explores the Evangelical movement and its unofficial U.S. capital.  Because of the presence of several national Evangelical headquarters, the influential megachurch New Life (formerly led by Ted Haggard), and numerous and diverse churches, questions surrounding religion and civic concerns are brought to the foreground of everyday life in this city.  The Civilians’ project looks at Colorado Springs as a microcosm of issues facing the country as a whole—the shifting line between church and state, changing ideas about the nature of Christianity and how different beliefs can either coexist or conflict within a community.

In keeping with the company’s focus on documentary theatre, the group compiled hundreds of hours of interviews over the course of 10 weeks in Colorado Springs.  Every leading church in the area participated in the project, as did numerous civic organizations, progressive activists and individuals from all walks of life.  An initial presentation took place at Colorado College in February, 2007 with the title Save This City.  This Beautiful City was further developed at the Sundance Theatre Lab in the Summer of 2007 and premiered at Washington, DC's Studio Theatre this past June.  Following the Kirk Douglas Theatre engagement, the Vineyard Theatre will present the New York debut of the show this winter.

Tickets are $45 for the September 27 event and are only available by calling AnnaCatherine Rutledge at 212-730-2019.  To purchase tickets for all other performances, please call 213-628-2772 or visit www.centertheatregroup.org.

The New York-based Civilians, whose other works include the musical hit Gone Missing and their recent Paris Commune, was founded in 2001 by Artistic Director Steven Cosson. The renowned company develops original projects inspired from investigations into real life, using methods that combine documentary and artistic practices.  The Civilians’ 7 original shows have been presented by numerous regional theatres, arts festivals and a range of venues that include La Jolla Playhouse, The Public Theater, A.R.T., HBO’s US Comedy Festival, the Humana Festival, London’s Soho Theatre, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Fringe First Award, 2006) and other venues worldwide.

www.centertheatregroup.org

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