Kingdom City

by Sheri Wilner

When her husband Daniel is awarded a year-long residency at small Missouri college, New York theatre director Miriam Bloom accompanies him there and gets a freelance job directing The Crucible at Kingdom City High School. But when young, evangelical paramours Katie and Matt are cast as John and Elizabeth Proctor, their youth minister’s concerns cause the play to be shut down. The fallout creates a crucible of...

When her husband Daniel is awarded a year-long residency at small Missouri college, New York theatre director Miriam Bloom accompanies him there and gets a freelance job directing The Crucible at Kingdom City High School. But when young, evangelical paramours Katie and Matt are cast as John and Elizabeth Proctor, their youth minister’s concerns cause the play to be shut down. The fallout creates a crucible of its own, in which Miriam and Daniel find themselves on opposite sides of a cultural war, and the strength their marriage is tested; as are their prior concepts of personal fulfillment. Based on actual events that occurred in 2006, Kingdom City strives to present an even-handed examination of the fears and concerns that arise when the welfare of children is at stake. But overriding all political issues, the play’s main question is how we can free ourselves from our fears and find our real place in the world.

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Kingdom City

Recommended by

  • Elizabeth A. M. Keel: Kingdom City by Sheri Wilner
    “

    Kingdom City is based on actual events that occurred in 2006 around a Midwest high school production of Grease. Ms. Wilner has built something remarkably even-handed and human. Although the theatricality of the play and its liberal use of The Crucible lend the arguments more strength on the left, I appreciated the dignity and complexity of her religious characters. The script feels like a hybrid of Glee and Riverdale, and not in a bad way! You will want to binge your way to the end, however. :)

    Kingdom City is based on actual events that occurred in 2006 around a Midwest high school production of Grease. Ms. Wilner has built something remarkably even-handed and human. Although the theatricality of the play and its liberal use of The Crucible lend the arguments more strength on the left, I appreciated the dignity and complexity of her religious characters. The script feels like a hybrid of Glee and Riverdale, and not in a bad way! You will want to binge your way to the end, however. :)

    ”
  • Jacob Juntunen: Kingdom City by Sheri Wilner
    “

    This play takes the issues of The Crucible and applies them to the present-day Midwest, particularly Missouri. I especially appreciated that the New Yorkers, who were presented as the "fish out of water," were far from perfect, and that the Missouri residents were more than stereotypes. Wilner handles all her characters with care, and creates a strong play with an ending I think audiences will really enjoy.

    This play takes the issues of The Crucible and applies them to the present-day Midwest, particularly Missouri. I especially appreciated that the New Yorkers, who were presented as the "fish out of water," were far from perfect, and that the Missouri residents were more than stereotypes. Wilner handles all her characters with care, and creates a strong play with an ending I think audiences will really enjoy.

    ”

Development History

  • Workshop, Launch Pad at the University of California, Santa Barbara, 2010

Production History

  • University, Franklin and Marshall College, 2019
  • University, Boston College, 2017
  • University, Florida International University, 2016
  • University, University of Illinois, Champage-Urbana, 2016
  • Professional, La Jolla Playhouse, 2015
  • University, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2010