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 numerous plays, including Doubt: A Parable (winner of the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for Best Play), Outside Mullingar (Tony Award Nomination for Best Play), Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, Beggars in the House of Plenty, Dirty Story, Where's My Money?, Four Dogs and a Bone, Defiance and Storefront Church. His sole television outing resulted in an Emmy nomination for Live from Baghdad (HBO). In the arena of film, Moonstruck garnered him an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Mr. Shanley wrote and directed both Joe Versus the Volcano and Doubt; the latter earned five Oscar nominations, including Best Adapted Screenplay. In 2008, the Writers Guild of America recognized Mr. Shanley's contribution to film with a Lifetime Achievement Award.