Storefront Church

“Some of Shanley’s sharpest comic writing in years… His intense engagement with questions of religion and ethics remains distinctive and invigorating.” — Charles Isherwood, New York Times

“There’s a deeper philosophical vein that the author mines, allowing his language to acquire the heft and timbre of a serious moral debate…We taste bitterness, but also much that is sweet.” — David Cote, TimeOut New York

“A postmodern morality play that’s as funny as it is bracing.” — Karen D’Souza, San Jose Mercury News

Concluding the “Church and State” trilogy of plays that began with Doubt and Defiance, Storefront Church tells the story of a Bronx Borough President who is forced by the mortgage crisis into a confrontation with a local minister. Blending earthy humor and philosophical reflection, this compassionate morality tale is an exploration of the often thorny relationship between spiritual experience and social action.

John Patrick Shanley is the author of Doubt: A Parable (Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Tony Award for Best Play), Outside Mullingar (Tony nomination for Best Play), Defiance, Danny and the Deep Blue Sea and Dirty Story, among many other plays. He wrote the teleplay for Live from Baghdad (Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing of a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special) and the screenplays for Congo, Alive, Five Corners, Joe Versus the Volcano, Doubt (Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay) and Moonstruck (Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay).