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A church’s cookbook committee reaches for financial salvation and finds all-out war in this brand new comedy, all captured in ridiculously nuanced honesty by a mockumentary film crew straight out of Best in Show or The Office.
PURE Theatre will open its 24th season with the world premiere of Church Wars, a new comedy by Fred Thompson, directed by PURE Co-founder and Artistic Director Sharon Graci. The production runs August 28 through September 19 at the Cannon Street Arts Center, with a Pay What You Will preview on August 27.
Charleston audiences will remember Thompson as the playwright behind PURE’s hugely popular Atwater, which found notorious South Carolina political operative Lee Atwater at the gates of heaven, furiously lobbying Saint Peter to let him in. In Church Wars, Thompson turns that same uniquely comic and sardonic eye toward another institution built on faith, fellowship, ambition, and the deeply held conviction that somebody else is doing it wrong.
The church is in financial trouble. The solution? A cookbook.
Not just any cookbook, mind you. This one will be chock-full of cherished family recipes, lovingly collected and sold to an eager public. And if the committee’s planned first printing of 100,000 copies seems overly optimistic, well, that is exactly the kind of negativity the church does not need right now.
Everyone is happy to share a treasured family recipe until someone suggests changing it or leaving it out. Before long, project-managing the cookbook is creating far more trouble than it was meant to solve.
Church Wars unfolds as a live film-within-a-play mockumentary, blending onstage action with documentary video footage that catches the characters saying more than they intended and reacting before they can edit themselves.
“Fred has an extraordinary ability to expose the absurdity in people without ever losing sight of their humanity,” said Graci. “These characters are completely certain they are acting in the best interest of the church. Once the cameras start rolling, things go perfectly, gloriously off the rails.”
The production features PURE Theatre Core Ensemble members Camille Lowman, Emily Wilhoit, R.W. Smith, Anna Lin, and Michael Smallwood, joined by Julian Gordon, Ngaa Magombedze, Edie Allen, Tara Holwenger, Samantha Smith, and Mason Monti.
“PURE’s audience is amazing,” said Graci. “For 24 seasons, they have actively participated in the generative nature of professional theatre by showing up for new work and helping us bring new plays fully to life. Church Wars is our third world premiere in a row, following The Ocean We Swim In and Red Shirts, and it could not be more different from either of them. Fred has filled this church with characters who feel unmistakably Southern, from their fierce loyalties to the grudges tucked beneath all that fellowship. We know them, we love them, and, if we’re honest, most of us know exactly where we’d be sitting at that committee table.”
Tickets for Church Wars range from Pay What You Will to $53. Pay What You Will performances will be held on August 27 and September 2, with Pay What You Will tickets available for online purchase one week before opening. Student tickets are available for $12 for every performance.
Tickets are available now at puretheatre.org.
Additional information about Church Wars can be found on PURE’s website at puretheatre.org or by calling the box office at 843.723.4444, Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.
ABOUT PURE THEATRE
Founded in 2003, PURE Theatre is Charleston’s award-winning professional theatre company, now entering its 24th season. Built around a resident ensemble of actors, directors, and designers, PURE produces bold contemporary plays, often Southeastern and world premieres, that bring the most current voices in American theatre to Charleston. Known for exceptional ensemble work at close range, PURE offers audiences a boutique cultural experience that complements the city’s historic and culinary landscape.
PURE Theatre creates exceptional theatre experiences that enliven thought, ignite conversation, and heighten consciousness for a diverse gathering of artists and audiences.
PURE’s staff includes Sharon Graci, Co-founder and Artistic Director; Rodney Lee Rogers, Co-founder and Producing Director; David Mandel, Associate Artistic Director; Joy Vandervort-Cobb, Associate Artistic Director; Tippy Trombly, Patron Experience and Marketing Manager; and Isabella Gardner, Associate Patron Experiences Manager.
Serving on PURE Theatre’s board of directors are Stephanie Hunt, President; James M. Ward, CPA, Treasurer; Michael Culler; Amy Gaffney; David Smalls; Bea Wray; and Josh Wilhoit.
