Crowded Fire Theater Presents Young Jean Lee’s CHURCH

Young Jean Lee (author of 2016’s THE SHIPMENT) returns to Crowded Fire with CHURCH, the second revolutionary production in Crowded Fire’s 20th Anniversary Season of new and contemporary plays. CHURCH runs at the Potrero Stage, 1695 18th Street in San Francisco September 13 through October 6 (press opening Monday, September 17).

In CHURCH, Young Jean Lee transforms her lifelong struggle with Christianity into an exuberant church service. A traveling group of earnest reverends testify through narrative, song, and dance, testing the expectations of religious and non-religious alike. Young Jean Lee strips faith free of recognizable institutional baggage, choosing instead to examine where faith truly lies in the modern world. In the process, she breaks through our isolation and provides a space to reach out in celebration to others. In its New York City premiere, Time Out New York described CHURCH as “no cheap satire of piety. Instead, it is an earnestly warped attempt to explore what gives religion its insidious appeal.”

Crowded Fire’s Artistic Director Mina Morita chose CHURCH as a perfect complement to the show that opened Crowded Fire’s 20th Anniversary season, REVOLT. SHE SAID. REVOLT AGAIN. “While this production builds off the incendiary and rage-filled intensity of REVOLT,” she stated, “it also brings us back to a place of wonder, and inspires us to battle within ourselves to find faith in new and questionable places. Young Jean Lee insists on complexity and the existence of two possibly competing truths.”

Director Morita will lead a cast that includes Jordan María Don, Nkechi Emeruwa, Lawrence Radecker, and Alison Whismore . Designers and the creative team include James Ard (sound), Mark Allen Davis (choreographer), Sonia Fernandez (dramaturg), Min Kahng (music director), Nailah Harper-Malveaux (assistant director), Rachel Mogan (stage manager), Alice Ruiz (costume), and Randy Wong-Westbrooke (scenic).

PERFORMANCES: Thurs-Sat 8 PM with Special Opening Night Performance on Monday, September 17, 8PM and Sunday Matinees at 2pm on September 23 and 30. (no performance Thursday, September 20; additional performance on Wednesday, October 3)
Tickets: Prices range from $10-$35 progressively during the course of the run. We offer Pay-What-You-Can Preview performances and student/senior/group rates.
Tickets: Visit www.crowdedfire.org for more information and to purchase tickets.

Box Office by phone (415) 523-0034 ext 1
www.crowdedfire.org or (415) 523-0034 ext 0