Genesis
January 7, 2013Events

Genesis

It didn’t take long for Catherine Treischmann’s play, How the World Began, to sweep the theater world. Since its Los Angeles debut 15 months ago, the piece has been staged in New York, London and a few regional theaters. Its international popularity is no coincidence. The play tackles one of America’s most divisive issues – the conflict between religious belief and science – with a sense of grace and compassion. As the Guardian newspaper wrote of the London production, it speaks contrary to the idea that “as soon as we hear the belief, we cease to see the person.” Quite…

BY Paul Kosidowski
It didn’t take long for Catherine Treischmann’s play, How the World Began, to sweep the theater world. Since its Los Angeles debut 15 months ago, the piece has been staged in New York, London and a few regional theaters. Its international popularity is no coincidence. The play tackles one of America’s most divisive issues – the conflict between religious belief and science – with a sense of grace and compassion. As the Guardian newspaper wrote of the London production, it speaks contrary to the idea that “as soon as we hear the belief, we cease to see the person.” Quite appropriate for this impulsive digital era.
 
→ How the World Began (Jan. 16-Feb. 24). Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Steimke Studio. 108 E. Wells St., 414-224-9490, milwaukeerep.com.

Paul Kosidowski
Paul Kosidowski is a freelance writer and critic who contributes regularly to Milwaukee Magazine, WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio and national arts magazines. He writes weekly reviews and previews for the Culture Club column. He was literary director of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater from 1999-2006. In 2007, he was a fellow with the NEA Theater and Musical Theater Criticism Institute at the University of Southern California. His writing has also appeared in American Theatre magazine, Backstage, The Boston Globe, Theatre Topics, and Isthmus (Madison, Wis.). He has taught theater history, arts criticism and magazine writing at Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

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