‘The Christians’ at The Wayward Artist

OC Theatre Guild
1 hour ago
4 min read

What happens when faith falters and voices rise?

From left, Allison Regen and Kelly Frannett. Photo courtesy of Jon Ingal

by MaryAnn DiPietro

As The Wayward Artist prepares to close its 2025 season, founding artistic director Craig Tyrl is stepping onto sacred ground. His upcoming production of “The Christians” by Lucas Hnath will unfold not in a black box theater but within the walls of a church. This is most fitting for a play that asks audiences to confront questions of belief, doubt and community.

For Tyrl, the show merges between personal life and artistic life. He is a longtime professor in the Department of Theatre & Dance at California State University, Fullerton. In 2023 he left his full-time teaching career to become an administrative pastor. “I’m working toward ordination now,” he says, “and I’m passionately exploring how ministry and theater go together.”

That union of pulpit and stage seems almost inevitable with “The Christians,” a drama that begins like a Sunday worship service. The play follows Pastor Paul, the charismatic leader of a thriving megachurch, who delivers a sermon that radically upends his congregation’s theology. He no longer believes in hell. The fallout that follows from Pastor Paul’s friends, family and fellow believers forms the emotional and moral heart of Hnath’s award-winning work.

“The Christians” won the 2016 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play, and Lucas Hnath received an Obie Award for playwriting.

From left, Kelly Franett and Allison Regen. Photo courtesy of Jon Ingal

“I was looking for a show that didn’t have a lot of scenic elements,” Tyrl explains, “and ‘The Christians’ just calls for a choir. What a wonderful way to combine and be faithful to both church and theater.”

The production’s opening weekend will feature a full choir, with a smaller praise quartet performing on other nights. “Coordinating a 30-person choir has been one of our biggest challenges,” Tyrl admits. “It’s almost like directing two shows at the same time, but the result will be moving and inspirational. The music adds an entirely new emotional layer.”

Tyrl, who founded The Wayward Artist in 2017, is known for programming bold, provocative shows with an edge. However, he acknowledges that “The Christians” represents something of a tonal shift. “People have asked whether we’ll still do our R-rated shows now that we’re based in a church,” he says with a laugh. “Those will be back in 2026, but for our first season here, I took a slightly safer route. ‘The Christians’ felt like the right play at the right time and in the right place.”

Hnath’s script is written with the cadence of a real church service and as though the audience itself were part of the congregation. “It’s more immersive than any show we’ve done,” Tyrl says. “You are the audience but also members of the church service. It will be a theatrical experience unlike anything even a seasoned theater-goer has ever experienced before.”

Stacey Stallard. Photo courtesy of Jon Ingal

Tyrl hopes the production will draw both believers and nonbelievers, conservatives and progressives, anyone who has wrestled with faith. “I wanted a play that had something to say about both progressive and conservative sides. I wanted to bring both sides together for conversations,” he says. “Faith, church and community dynamics are at the center of everything we’re doing.”

To encourage dialogue, each performance will be followed by a talkback, allowing audiences to unpack the play’s themes with the cast and creative team. “So much of our political discourse is grounded in Christianity,” Tyrl says. “This play is an invitation to a conversation about belief, doubt and how we live together in our current world.”

In preparing the production, one line from the play has continued to resonate deeply for Tyrl, “I have a powerful urge to communicate, but I find the distance between us insurmountable.” He reveals, “I chose this line because it captures the emotional heart of the play and, I think, our current moment. Pastor Paul’s struggle isn’t just theological. It’s about the painful divide that opens up when people who love each other can no longer hear one another. That sense of distance, even in our most sincere efforts to connect, feels especially relevant in a world where polarization runs so deep.”

From left, Kelly Franett and Max Lund. Photo courtesy of Jon Ingal

Tyrl hopes the show will prompt understanding across religious, political and personal divides. “I’m most looking forward to conservative Christians and other church communities coming to see it,” he says. “I want them to see community and conversation with people outside their walls.” To sum it up, Tyrl says, “‘The Christians’ gives us a chance to sit with tension and maybe rediscover what it means to truly listen.”