By: Ella Willmot, Contributing Writer
On Thursday, at 7:30 p.m., Gettysburg College’s Owl and Nightingale Players alongside the Theatre Arts Department, presented their rendition of “The Christians,” a play by Lucas Hnath. Performers told the story of a pastor and his community, grappling with religion, love, and uncertainty. Students, community members and family members of the cast came out to Kline Theater in Brua Hall to support the production.
The play started with a powerful monologue by Hudson Podielsky ’28, a French and international & global studies double major, and a theater and political science double minor, who played Pastor Paul. Surrounded by a church pulpit style set, Podielsky gave a passionate sermon to the audience, as if they themselves were members of the church.
The audience was then introduced to Associate Pastor Joshua, played by Christopher Peters ’30, who clashed with Pastor Paul’s notions about the existence of Hell. This was the beginning of the main conflict of the story, as the disagreement ended with Associate Pastor Joshua leaving the church, taking many of the church members with him.
The disagreement led to a council member of the church, Elder Jay, played by Andrew Blackburn ’30, a political science and philosophy double major, expressing the church’s concerns about Pastor Paul preaching about such a dividing issue, one that serves as the foundation to many of the member’s faiths.
Further conflicts ensued between Pastor Paul’s wife, played by Anna Hurley ’30, and church member Jenny, played by Charlotte Garcia ’30, who both challenged Pastor Paul’s preachings about the existence, or rather non-existence, of Hell.
The division between beliefs of Pastor Paul, his wife, peers and community, led him to question his own faith and relationship with God, ending the play in ambiguity. This invited audience members to ponder their own beliefs, ideas, and relationships to not only religion but their relationships with those around them.
An audience member and student, Rowan Sandhu ’30, expressed how impactful it was to see cast members act out such realistic uncertainty in scenes of conflict, saying, “the part where Hudson’s [Podielsky’s] character, Pastor Paul, didn’t know what to say…I think that’s what struck me the most.”
(By Grace Jurchak/The Gettysburgian)
Another audience member, Oliver Boyles ’30, mentioned how the show did a “really good job at portraying different perspectives,” and did not try to paint any one character as the villain of the story, further emphasizing the themes of ambiguity and complexity surrounding belief systems in the modern day.
The show was directed by Susan Russell, an Associate Professor of Theater Arts at the College. Lucas Hnath, the writer, is an award-winning playwright and professor at NYU, where he earned his BFA and MFA. His works have appeared on and off-broadway, with “The Christians” winning an award for 2016 Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play.
“The Christians” will be performed by the Owl and Nightingale players from Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m., with a matinee showing on Sunday at 2 p.m.
