by Paula Kaplan-Reiss
The title, A Case for the Existence of God playing at Chester Theatre Company gives little hint to the theme of this moving play between two actors. Playwright, Samuel D. Hunter, best known for his Oscar winning screenplay adaptation of his play, The Whale, opened this play at the Steppenwolf Theatre in 2022. Director, Daniel Elihu Kramer, and actors Kayode Soyemi (Keith) and Steven Lee Johnson (Ryan) are all MFA graduates of the Yale School of Drama and demonstrate their keen dramatic skills, where each actor rarely leaves his chair.
Most of this play takes place in Keith’s cubicle where he serves as a mortgage broker while Ryan comes in looking to get a mortgage. What becomes obvious is Ryan has little understanding of financial terms and contracts or exactly what Keith’s role is. Ryan is hoping to buy land to build a home for him and his young daughter. He and his wife are in the midst of a divorce and he is hoping for joint custody. He needs a home.
Keith is, we learn, an old classmate of Ryan’s, gay and fostering a toddler in hopes of adopting her as a single parent. He fears this little girl who has been in his care for over a year will be adopted by her biological aunt.
While Keith was ignored and often bullied as a child, Ryan was popular, yet not a high achiever, with a violent and dysfunctional family background. Working in a yogurt factory, Ryan questions Keith when he uses the words ‘harrowing’ and ‘tacitly,’ not understanding the meaning of either. The more they talk, the more Ryan tries to get close to Keith, while Keith, who is guarded, keeps him at a distance. Hunter, in the program notes, states he is eager to depict male relationships which are platonic, without toxic masculinity. Indeed, we see Keith and Ryan developing their relationship, based on what they share in common, yet fearful of crossing boundaries.
We see each actor exploring a wide range of emotions through this ninety-minute play, with Soyemi as Keith breaking down more frequently and unexpectedly at the prospect of losing his foster daughter. He moves from professional and helpful to erupting in anger and physical destruction of his office. Johnson as Ryan starts out as naïve and ignorant, moves to compassionate and then frustrated, while hiding essential information from Keith to receive a mortgage. Both actors have well-developed characters.
While both appear to be sitting in the cubicle, a change of lighting (well designed by Lara Dubin) and props find them sitting in a living room sharing a whiskey while talking about their personal lives. Both express jealousy and resentment for what the other had. Ryan, especially, apologizes frequently when he talks out of turn.
A moving and perfect parental scene occurs when both (still in the cubicle) appear to be watching their toddlers play with each other on the playground, with both fathers concerned about their children’s safety, while encouraging them to share. Keith eagerly attempts to get a photo of their children holding hands. Both hope for a bright future.
Sitting to the far left, it was difficult to see the whole cubicle as only the back of the desktop monitor was visible. Given that Director Kramer likely used the original stage directions, we wish the characters would move around more on this ample stage. As viewers, we want to see more physical action to maintain interest, although these actors are never boring.
As for the ‘Existence of God,’ the play does not end neatly and happily. Was God playing a role in bringing these two men together? Does divine intervention play a role in bringing their children together which is implied at the conclusion? There is a strong case to see A Case for the Existence of God, where life does not always turn out as we hope, yet friendship can prevail despite strong differences in circumstance.
“A Case for the Existence of God” by Samuel D. Hunter, directed by Daniel Elihu Kramer, runs July 24-August 3, 2025, at the Chester Theatre Company, 15 Middlefield Road in Chester, MA. CAST: Kayode Soyemi as Keith and Steven Lee Johnson as Ryan. Lighting design by Lara Dubin. TICKETS