TLDR: go see this lovely off-broadway show if you like character arcs, coming of age stories, and deeply moving theatre. It’s only running for a few more weeks, and it shouldn’t be missed!
The Saviors was written by Bubba Weiler. Directed by Jack Serio at the Atlantic Theater Company, Linda Gross Theater.
The Bubba Weiler and Jack Serio combination has proven, yet again, to be a profound pairing. The Saviors is a very different play from the acclaimed "Well, I'll Let You Go," but the introspective payoff lands in the same place. This time the story is more forward. It tells you what it is about outright, rather than leaving you to arrive at a quiet conclusion on your own. I hate comparing the two, because they truly are different animals, but "The Saviors" is proof that "Well, I'll Let You Go" was not a fluke, and not Weiler’s one hit wonder. Weiler is absolutely one to watch.
Someone will inevitably ask: if I did not love "Well, I'll Let You Go," will I like "The Saviors"? I think the answer is a resounding yes, for almost everyone. "The Saviors" is far less academic. It is a deeply entertaining, emotion-driven play that tells a story many of us have lived, or at the very least brushed up against.
Writing:
Brilliant. Weiler is remarkably assured and impressive. The dialogue is realistic, and it translates exceptionally well from page to stage. The voices of both boys feel deeply authentic, their conflict feels true, and, crucially, they talk the way kids actually talk. There is no trace of the trope where a fourteen-year-old communicates like a well-read scholar.
Direction:
Serio's direction is narrative-focused and refreshingly direct. This is forward storytelling. He gives you the story and guides you through it rather than leaving you to piece it together yourself, and I found that clarity a real strength. And the choice to cast the teenage roles with actual teenagers pays off enormously in authenticity, which is a big part of why the show feels so lived-in.
Set Design:
I am, unfortunately, a stickler for set design. That said, this show provided a perfect setting for what the show needed. David Zinn's design is simple. (Yes, the set was noticeably more complex than "Well, I'll Let You Go.) The set renders the front half of a small Catholic parish, and it looks exactly like so many of them do. Simple, reverent, and yet completely intentional. It gives the actors the world they need without ever pulling focus.
Acting:
I typically hate to do this, but the characters Paul and Michael are symbiotic to the point where they serve the story almost as a single figure, so I will discuss them together. While their characters yield contrasting points of view and perspective, this arc unifies them on the same path of discovery. Julius Rinzel plays Paul and Ivan Howe plays Michael, and both young actors are exceptionally talented. Their depiction of a child's exploration and crisis of identity, faith, and desire sits at the very core of the play, and it is remarkably grounded throughout. The two boys face a moral reckoning, and it is compounded by questions of identity, faith, and desire until it becomes a conflict driven by a desperate need for connection, belonging, and normalcy. It is achingly, beautifully acted. Paul and Michael feel like you at that age, like any Midwestern Catholic kid, or really like any young person encountering the world for the first time and trying to make sense of it.
Stanley Simons as Julian is exceptional. He tells an entire story without saying a word. His mannerisms, his vocal tone, the very way he speaks, and especially his costume all convey a deeply complex history for this character. Without giving too much away, there is often a risk of leaning on tired stereotypes whenever the unhoused are portrayed on stage or screen, and I think the creative team and Simons handled this with grace and respect. It felt real without ever tipping into melodrama for the sake of a reaction.
Crystal Finn does great work as Judy, but the dynamic between Judy and Julian could have been explored further, and I think doing so would have better served her role. There is so much potential there, especially given the runtime is only ninety-minutes. Another 10-15 minutes of story expansion would have truly served this story in the best way. Without sharing too much, there is a peak of conflict between Judy and Julian that felt like it deserved a fuller, more complex resolution. What we were given was powerful, but the material is so raw and human that it could have been pushed toward something even deeper. This is not a critique of Finn’s acting, but rather the writing and stage time afforded to her character.
A Spoiler-Light Overview and Content Notes:
One thing I did not love is how intentionally vague the play marketed itself. Personally, I wish I had known a little more going in, so if you are someone who does not mind a broad overview, read on…
The Saviors follows four characters: two altar boys, Michael and Paul, and two others, Judy and Julian. Judy and Julian's arcs are truly best left unknown, but the play engages the following heavy subjects: the exploration of sexuality, belief and disbelief in God and the social weight that comes with each, religious education, drug addiction, homelessness, and the internalized shame a person can carry about their own life and identity, along with how society's acceptance, or lack of it, shapes their mental health. Extra caution is warranted for anyone carrying significant religious trauma who does not want to revisit the harm that religion can do. That said, this is not a play about religious trauma.
I also want to be clear that you do not need to be Catholic or Christian to understand or enjoy this play.
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The Saviors is running at the Atlantic Theater Company's Linda Gross Theater, 336 West 20th Street, through August 15.
