←Recommendations of #GodHatesYou

A brilliantly compassionate and introspective analysis into the mind of someone raised in a high control group. This play shows what we all know to be true: that openness and kindness are the best way to reach someone. The character of Laurel grows tremendously from beginning to end in a believable and enrapturing way. A great read!

When people use God to meet their own needs to oppress, there's a reckoning that will come form the outside world and you'll have to face the distortion you've been raised to promote. Well done.

Premiere Stages, the professional Equity theatre in residence at Kean University, is pleased to recognize “#GodHatesYou” by Emily Dendinger as a semifinalist for the 2020 Premiere Play Festival. “#GodHatesYou” rose through a competitive selection process conducted by Premiere staff and a panel of outside theatre professionals to become one of 26 semifinalists out of 939 submissions. The panel was particularly impressed by how balanced, smart, funny, and unsentimental this play is. The nuanced arguments between friends about belief are engaging and prompt meaningful self-reflection by Laurel. Our congratulations and thanks to Emily.

Dendinger finds humanity in each of the very flawed characters in this important and bold piece. Laurel's evolution as a character feels organic and plausible, while her fellow congregation members are rendered with a nuanced touch and in a way that helps get to the root of the misguided ways they act upon their beliefs. #GodHatesYou also moves briskly and with a good dose of situation humor to help lighten (and enlighten) some of the darker moments and character motivations throughout. Hope to see this produced far and wide soon!

Emily does the seemingly impossible in #godhatesyou - provides an opportunity to feel empathy for members of a cruel and extremist church. Laurel’s journey of self-discovery is easy to relate to, but the play doesn’t shy away from the abhorrent views and language espoused by her, her family and friends. It’s also the rare show that uses social media in a very dynamic way, and as a power for good. I’m excited to see this play done regionally in both red states and blue.

This is a smart, economically written play about a fascinating subject. It delves into the toxic environment that is cultivated when children are born and indoctrinated into a fringe religion. The family has always kept to their own church, protesting outside funerals and synagogues, indulging in their obscure and offensive beliefs. But when the protagonist Laurel tries to engage with a wider audience through social media, she suddenly realizes you can’t put your ideas out into the world, without also letting a bit of the outside world in.

Dendinger accomplishes something very difficult, which is to make us care about people we, for good reason, despise, while never losing sight of her own moral compass and tipping over into sentimentality. Her satire avoids cheap shots in favor of more grounded, precise observation of contradiction, making the journey into this world as cathartic as it is illuminating. The mix of ancient and contemporary, the tension of an old religion existing in a world of twitter and Death Cab, are all fascinating layers in this story of coming-of-age, spiritual doubt, and group toxicity.

Dendinger has crafted a thought-provoking play, peeling away the surface of an all too familiar type of character to expose a conflicted and nuanced individual. I admire Dendinger for writing into this conflict and exploring the underbelly of social media and the unfortunate side of religious fundamentalism. I would be really interested in seeing a production of this unique and relevant new play.

Dendinger has written a play that is difficult to read and I imagine more difficult to watch. But in things that are difficult, there can still be insight.

Do I like Laurel, the main character, or have sympathy for her? No. Could I forgive her for the pain she has brought others for the sake of being evocative? No. But Dendinger's play allows insight into this character whose world view is evolving. I understand Laurel better, and sometimes empathy is enough.