A love story between the lonely, the troubled, the forgotten and the radical believer who can save them.
“ . . . He who through faith is righteous shall live.” – Romans 1:17
 | ||||
When looking through scripts for our inaugural production, we knew we didn't want to start quietly. We've been a fan of Tim Blake Nelson's script for several years now, but never quite had the right home for it. The opening production for Theatre East is the perfect home. In 1997 in Chicago, under Lisa's direction, Eye of God had an incredibly successful 6 month run and picked up 3 Jeff Award Nominations and 1 win. Over a decade later we feel that Eye of God is even more relevant and needed. Sunday, May 31st, while on his way to church, Dr. George Tiller was assassinated by Scott Roeder for being an abortion provider. Roeder would later say that, "the entire motive was the defense of the unborn." He’s receiving fan mail for his crime, and the abortion clinic is now permanently closed. On Wednesday, June 10th, James von Brunn, another right wing extremist, walked into the Holocaust Museum with a rifle and opened fire. And just a couple of weeks ago, according to The New York Times, in Louisville, Kentucky, Pastor Ken Pagano, told his New Bethel Church congregation in his sermon titled, “God, Guns, Gospel and Geometry” to wear or carry their firearms into the sanctuary to “celebrate our rights as Americans!” The fact is we must find a way to discuss faith. With Eye of God we intend to do that. What Spring Awakening did for sex, Eye of God is going to do for faith.
BY
DIRECTED BY
to get advance notice on rush tickets and discounts
It can save. It can heal. It can bring strength. It is what we cling to. It is what we question.
It can divide us. It can isolate. It can breed singular vision.
It can justify the murder of the innocent.
Faith.
| ||||
Every day there is an occurrence where we question God. If God is so powerful, why does he allow such bad things to happen to good people? ....
Why is the message of Eye of God so relevant now? We are living in an age where religion is used as a weapon. Where people will strap a bomb to themselves or a loved one – walk out their front door and never return. But they are doing God’s work we are told....
Why produce Eye of God now? Because in America we are on the cusp of a change and we are more ready now to look at this controversial situation from more than one perspective. Over my career, I have learned that theater is more than a place to tell stories. There is a higher power and a higher reason for the theater. It is one place that we have in our culture that we can bridge differences, whether it is our
ethnicities, generations, faiths or ideologies. There is more to this script than a brutal murder and watching characters being forced to
deal with it....
Dig deeper: read the full text of Lisa Devine’s relevance statement here.
