- The New York Times
- Variety
- Colorado Springs Independant
THIS BEAUTIFUL CITY
Written By: Steve Cosson
Music and Lyrics By: Michael Friedman
Directed By: Steve Cosson
This Beautiful City is a play with music, created from interviews, 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.
Written by:
Steve Cosson and Jim Lewis
Music & Lyrics by:
Michael Friedman
Interviews conducted by:
Emily Ackerman
Marsha Stephanie Blake
Brad Heberlee
Stephen Plunkett
Alison Weller
and the authors
Commissioned and developed by the Civilians, Steve Cosson, Artistic Director, Kyle Gorden, Producing Director, with the assistance of the Sundance Institute, Colorado College, and Center Theatre Group. Development supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and Z-Space Studio, San Francisco, CA
Developed in a residency January 8th thru February 14th, 2007 at Colorado College, Tom Lindblade, Drama and Dance Department Chair, with Chris Benz, Katherine E. Dawson, Ellen J. Evers, Christine Gonzalez, Vincent Gumlich, Alexandra Hesbrook, Robin Hutchins, Hugh Johnson, Elizabeth Kancilia, Annie Kelvie, Sarah Lee, Meghan Murrah, and Adam Stone.
The Civilians is deeply grateful to the people of Colorado Springs who participated in the creation of this play, generously shared their time, offered their guidance, and invited us to attend their meetings, church services and family dinners. While it is impossible to list all the individuals and organizations who participated in this project, we would like to thank those organizations that offered significant and ongoing support: New Life Church, The Mill, the Revolution House of Prayer, Vanguard Church, The Citizens Project, Emmanuel Baptist Church, Woodmen Valley Chapel, and Coloradans for Fairness and Equity
This Beautiful City received its world premiere at the Actors Theatre of Louisville Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville, Kentucky, in a co-production with Studio Theatre, opening on March 5, 2008. It was directed by Steve Cosson, with the following cast: Emily Ackerman, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Ian Brennan, Brad Heberlee, Dori Legg, and Stephen Plunkett.
The play was subsequently presented at Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C., in a co-production with the Actors Theatre of Louisville, opening on June 11, 2008. It was directed by Steve Cosson, with the following cast: Emily Ackerman, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Aysan Celik, Matthew Dellapina, Brad Heberlee, and Stephen Plunkett.
It was subsequently produced by Center Theatre Group, at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles, California, in a co-production with Vineyard Theatre, opening on September 21, 2008. It was directed by Steven Cosson, with the following cast: Emily Ackerman, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Brad Heberlee, Brandon Miller, Stephen Plunkett, and Alison Weller.
It was subsequently produced by Vineyard Theatre in New York, in a co-production with Center Theatre Group, opening on February 22, 2009. It was directed by Steve Cosson, with the following cast: Emily Ackerman, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Brad Heberlee, Brandon Miller, Stephen Plunkett, and Alison Weller.
Theatremania.com “The Civilians Return to Colorado Springs With This Beautiful City”
Broadwayworld.com “In keeping with the company’s focus on investigative theatre, the group compiled hundreds of hours of interviews over the course of 10 weeks in Colorado Springs.”
Colorado Springs Independant “A Springs—created and—based play returns for an encore religious inquiry.”
ColoradoSprings.com “The Civilians created that cultural perspective by relying exclusively on comments taken verbatim from their own interviews with subjects, as well as public statements and media interviews.”
Colorado Springs-Gazette “The musical examines the evangelical movement in Colorado Springs by using the exact words of evangelical and liberal residents interviewed in 2007.”
Intentional Disciples “This town may be a media by-word but it is also a town where the Christian faith is lived. In remarkable ways.”
The New York Times “An engaging, inquisitive and moving work of theater.”
Time Out New York Feature and Video Piece
The New York Times Feature in the Sunday Art section
NY1 “Enlightening, engrossing and entertaining.”
The New Yorker “Vivid, agenda-free and marked by a benevolent irony.”
Backstage “A striking piece. Compassionate and Admirable.”
Variety “Wicked Smart. Laughter turns to slack-jawed astonishment.”