8 / 10
Oratorio for Living Things completely reshapes what a theatre performance can be. Featuring 12 performers and six musicians, composer Heather Christian's immersive musical work is a sweeping aural experience that blends jazz, soul, blues, and gospel. It moves fluidly between the cosmic and the intimate, zooming out to the Big Bang and in to the small moments that make life worth living.
6 / 10
First, let’s hear it for the highly effective elements: Christian’s music is both sumptuous and austere. That’s to say, its presentation as a modern-day oratorio sounds exactly right, certainly as conducted by Jane Cardona and interpreted by the six-part orchestra playing unseen above the end of the room where audience members enter and exit. The resultant overarching spirituality catches listeners in the palm of its many, many pages of exacting measures.
Signature Theatre's Oratorio For Living Things, written by Heather Christian and directed by Lee Sunday Evans, has extended its run. Performances were originally set to run through November 16, and will now continue through November 23.
Signature Theatre is presenting Oratorio For Living Things, written by Heather Christian and directed by Lee Sunday Evans. See what the critics are saying about the production here.
Signature Theatre will present Oratorio For Living Things, written by Heather Christian and directed by Lee Sunday Evans. Learn more about the cast for the production here!
| 2020 | Off-Broadway |
Ars Nova Off Broadway Premiere Off-Broadway |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Drama League Awards | OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL | Lee Sunday Evans |
| 2026 | Drama League Awards | OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL | Oratorio for Living Things |
| 2026 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Direction of a Musical | Lee Sunday Evans |
| 2026 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical | Oratorio for Living Things |
| 2026 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Orchestrations (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Fraser Campbell |
| 2026 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Orchestrations (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Jane Cardona |
| 2026 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Orchestrations (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Ben Moss |
| 2026 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Orchestrations (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Odetta Hartman |
| 2026 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Orchestrations (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | John Murchison |
| 2026 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Orchestrations (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Peter Wise |
| 2026 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Score (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Heather Christian |
| 2026 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Sound Design | Nick Kourtides |
