Mosaic Theater Company presents the DC premiere of A Case for the Existence of God, a deeply moving and critically acclaimed play by MacArthur Genius Samuel D. Hunter. Directed by Danilo Gambini, performances run November 13-December 7, 2025, at the Atlas Performing Arts Center.
“It is an honor to welcome legendary writer Sam Hunter to Mosaic for the first time with this extraordinary play that has swept the nation and will now wow DC audiences, too,” said Mosaic Theater Artistic Director Reginald L. Douglas. “A Case for the Existence of God invites us to see ourselves in one another, across our differences, and to hold on to hope, even when hope feels hard to find. It is a timely reminder of the power of empathy and connection, which is at the core of Mosaic’s mission.”
“The DC theater scene has always loomed large for me – I was a resident writer at Arena Stage for a year and my first major production was at Woolly Mammoth back in 2011. This play is very personal to me, stemming from my own experience of becoming a father, and I feel very proud that Mosaic will be bringing this story to DC audiences.” said playwright Samuel D. Hunter.
“A Case for the Existence of God is a wonderfully sophisticated play that exists in the intersection of race, class, fatherhood, and masculinity, while looking into these characters’ desires and desperations, dreams and nightmares, trying to find their way through love, friendship, hope, and connection,” said director Danilo Gambini.
About A Case for the Existence of God
MacArthur “Genius” grant recipient Samuel D. Hunter’s intimate, powerful play is a thoughtful meditation on human resilience. Inside a small office in southern Idaho, two men struggle to understand the confounding terms of a mortgage loan while connecting over the joy and pain of fatherhood. The pair form an unlikely friendship, using humor to find hope in the face of heartbreak.
Hailed as a New York Times Critic’s Pick, this moving new play is a testament to the power of finding one’s own community in the face of loneliness.
About the Artists
Samuel D. Hunter (Playwright) grew up in Moscow, Idaho and lives in New York City with his husband and daughter. His full-length plays include The Whale (Drama Desk Award, Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play, GLAAD Media Award, Drama League and Outer Critics Circle nominations for Best Play), A Case for the Existence of God (New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play, Hull-Warriner Award), A Bright New Boise (Obie Award, Drama Desk nomination for Best Play), Greater Clements (Drama Desk nomination for Best Play, Outer Critics Circle Honoree), Lewiston/Clarkston (Drama Desk nomination for Best Play), The Few, A Great Wilderness, Rest, Pocatello, The Healing and The Harvest, among others.
His screenplay adaptation of The Whale, directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Brendan Fraser, was nominated for the 2023 BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and received two Oscars, including Best Actor. He was also a writer and producer on all four seasons of FX’s Baskets.
He is the recipient of a 2014 MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellowship, a 2012 Whiting Writers Award, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Idaho. His work has been produced off-Broadway in New York City by Lincoln Center Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, LCT3, Signature Theatre, Page 73 Productions, Clubbed Thumb and Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre. Elsewhere, his work has been produced by Theatre Royal Bath, Theatre Rotterdam, Dallas Theatre Center, Seattle Rep, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, South Coast Rep and Victory Gardens, among others.
Two published anthologies of his work are available from TCG Books, and two more are forthcoming. He is a current Resident Playwright at the Signature Theatre in New York City and he serves on the executive board for the Dramatists Guild of America. He holds degrees in playwriting from NYU, The Iowa Playwrights Workshop and Juilliard.
Danilo Gambini° (Director) is a director and producer originally from São Paulo, Brazil. Recent directing credits include Wipeout by Aurora Real de Asua and The Heart Sellers by Lloyd Suh at Studio Theatre, the world premiere of Ni Mi Madre at Rattlestick Theater (OBIE Award Winner, Drama Desk Nomination, NYT Critics Pick), as well as The Rake’s Progress and Iolanta at Yale Opera. His production of Agreste (Drylands) at Spooky Action Theater received six Helen Hayes Awards Nominations, including Outstanding Director. Other credits include the world premiere of the musical Sabina at Portland Stage Maine; Fun Home, The Tempest, Rock Egg Spoon at the Yale School of Drama; and Agreste (Drylands), Bakkhai, The Swallow and the Tomcat, and Truck at Yale Cabaret. Operas include Don Giovanni, Ariadne Auf Naxos, Eugene Onegin at Theatro São Pedro. He has held the positions of Associate Artistic Director at Studio Theatre, Associate Artistic Director at Rattlestick Theater, and Co-Artistic Director at Yale Summer Cabaret. He is a member of Roundabout Directors Group, ITA (Immigrant Theatermakers Advocates), and of TPOC – Theater Producers of Color. He has developed work at The Public Theater, Joe’s Pub, The Old Globe, Ars Nova, Milwaukee Rep, Woolly Mammoth, Chautauqua Opera, Gulfshore Playhouse, Latinx Playwrights Circle, amongst others. Danilo holds an MFA in Directing from the Yale School of Drama, a BFA in Film and Television and an artist diploma as an actor from the School of Dramatic Art, both at the University of São Paulo.
Lee Osorio* (Ryan) is an award-winning actor and playwright. A seven-time Suzi Bass Award nominee, Lee won Best Lead Actor for Richard II. Select television credits include True Detective, Your Honor, The Resident, and Found. In 2024, two of Lee’s plays received world-premiere productions: Prisontown at Savannah Rep and A Third Way (Winner of the Del Shores Foundation Best Play, 2023) at Actor’s Express. Lee is a graduate of the Brown/Trinity MFA program (RIP) and a proud member of Actors’ Equity Associate and SAG-AFTRA.
Jaysen Wright* (Keith) is a DC native who returns to Mosaic following three seasons at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Credits include The Till Trilogy at Mosaic; The Merry Wives of Windsor, Into the Woods, Macbeth, Born With Teeth, Twelfth Night and The Three Musketeers at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival; Downstate, Choir Boy, Wig Out!, and The Rocky Horror Show at Studio Theatre; Beauty and the Beast at 5th Avenue Theatre; Smart People and Jubilee at Arena Stage; The Royale co-production at Olney Theatre and 1st Stage; Take Me Out at 1st Stage; The Importance of Being Earnest at Everyman Theatre; Actually and Sons of the Prophet at Theatre J; Macbeth at the Folger Theatre; The Wiz and A Christmas Carol at Ford’s Theatre.
The creative and production team for A Case for the Existence of God includes Nadir Bey (Scenic Designer), Danielle Preston++ (Costume Designer), Colin K. Bills++ (Lighting Designer), Sarah O’Halloran++ (Sound Designer), Pauline Lamb (Properties Designer), Sierra Young (Resident Intimacy and Violence Director), and Shayna O’Neill* (Production Stage Manager).
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
° Member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society
++ Member of United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829 of the IATSE.
Additional Events Mosaic continues its Reflection Series, started in 2022 in conjunction with The Till Trilogy, with year-round programming that provides inroads for deep engagement with the themes of its plays. Events for A Case for the Existence of God include:
- Artist Talkback with Sam Hunter: November 15 at 7:30 PM. Curious about what went into the making of A Case for the Existence of God? Come join playwright Samuel D. Hunter to hear about the process behind the production and his artistic practice.
- Intergenerational Matinee: November 20 at 11:00 AM. After watching A Case for the Existence of God together, students and seniors will engage in a post-show conversation with Mosaic’s artists and one another.
- Alone in the Togetherness: The Intersectionality of Isolation: November 21 at 7:30 PM. In an age where we’re more interconnected than ever, how is it that we’re also feeling more isolated? Join Mosaic alongside thought leaders in the fields of psychology and more to reflect on the themes of A Case for the Existence of God and dive into the whys behind our loneliness epidemic – and how we might move past them.
- Adoptee/Adoptive Parents Affinity Performance: November 23 at 3:00 PM.
- Intergenerational Matinee: December 4 at 11:00 AM. After watching A Case for the Existence of God together, students and seniors will engage in a post-show conversation with Mosaic’s artists and one another.
- Binge Bar Happy Hour: December 5 at 5:30 PM. Mosaic is back at Binge Bar – Washington’s premier alcohol-free destination – for a special happy hour featuring food and drink specials before the performance.
- Open-Captioned Performance: December 6 at 7:30 PM: This performance is open captioned.
- Open-Captioned Performance: December 7 at 3:00 PM: This performance is open captioned.
A Case for the Existence of God runs November 13-December 7, 2025, in the Sprenger Theatre at Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Performances areThursdays–Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. (except November 27 and 28); Saturdays at 3 p.m. (except November 15); Sundays at 3 p.m.; and Thursday, November 20 and December 4, at 11 a.m. Tickets range from $50.50-$83.50 and are available online or through the box office. The Box Office can be reached at (202) 399-7993 or boxoffice@atlasarts.org from 12PM–6PM Tuesday through Sunday, or one hour prior to a performance.
Discounts
- Rush Tickets: A limited number of $20 rush tickets are available via walk-up cash purchase at the box office beginning one hour before the start of each performance. Cash preferred.
- Senior Rate (65+): Save 10% with code: SENIOR
- Student Rate: $20 tickets with code: STUDENT
- Educator Rate: $20 tickets with code: EDUCATOR
- Military and First Responder Rate: Save 10% with code: HERO
- Furloughed and Laid Off Federal Workers: Get $20 tickets with code: SOLIDARITY
- Under 30: Patrons 30 and younger can access $25 tickets to Mosaic mainstage performances. Use code UNDER30. Restrictions: One ticket per order. Discount is not available on weekend matinees.
About Mosaic Theater Company of DC Mosaic Theater Company of DC produces bold, culturally diverse theater that illuminates critical issues, elevates fresh voices, and sparks connection among communities throughout our region and beyond. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Reginald L. Douglas and Managing Director Serge Seiden, Mosaic produces plays that both entertain and enlighten, using art to build empathy amongst diverse people united by the magic of theater, and hopes to build community by reflecting the many cultures that call DC home.
