THE SAVIORS: Two Young Catholics in a Miraculous New Play — Review

On the eve of their confirmation, puppyish Michael has been thinking about God’s plans for him and Paul. Surely, there’s a reason his family relocated to this new town, where he landed at the same Catholic school as his now-best friend, with whom he can’t wait to go on to college. Wouldn’t it be sweet, Michael thinks, to honor this obviously divine friendship and choose each other’s name for their confirmation? Paul isn’t so sure; his devotion faltering both on earth and above.

In The Saviors, Bubba Weiler’s sophomore play, issues of grace, commitment and calling are explored through a tightly woven quartet whose relationships (to each other and to the narrative) remain thrillingly mercurial. While centered around a latent queer kid’s coming of age in the Catholic church, it also evades cliches and any trappings that might’ve made this a dreary, trauma-forward experience.

The play is something of a miracle, both in the terrain it covers and the way it manages to do so without constricting itself to convention or condescension. It begins with the tragicomedy of Michael’s clear attraction to Paul before deepening their duality and complicating their small world. Michael (Ivan Howe), who spouts bible facts with earnest fervor, might not be the godliest of the two, as evidenced when an unhoused man Julian (Stanley Simons) arrives seeking shelter. (Director Jack Serio nicely utilizes the entirety of the Linda Gross theater, a neo-Gothic former church, beyond David Zinn’s detail-perfect set.) It’s Paul (Julius Rinzel) who doesn’t hesitate to help the man, and the two develop a bond he must keep hidden from Judy (Crystal Finn), the leader of their rapidly dwindling youth group.

I did not care for Well, I’ll Let You Go, Weiler and Serio’s previous collaboration. Despite Weiler’s talent for well-realized characters, his genuine interest in humanity was frustrated by that play’s writerly withholding of information, and made it a fundamentally dishonest work. Serio’s direction similarly trafficked in lack-as-purposeful-minimalism. The two have seriously sharpened their skills.

Serio draws profound performances from his cast, especially his two child actors. Rinzel is a sharp young performer and, with the slighter larger role, Howe is a serious talent to watch—a massive empathy machine able to sell a laugh and a tear. On those grounds, he’s matched by Finn, already a 2026 MVP for her turn in Cold War Choir Practice, again combining her knacks for kookiness and devastating pathos. Simons, a recent screen star best known for The Iron Claw, more than acquits himself as a warm, watchable presence in his stage debut.

Weiler extends an overwhelming grace to each of his characters, and to the contentious space they inhabit. There’s not a whiff of disdain towards faith or religion, even as Weiler charges a powerful undercurrent of tragedy to Michael’s arc; we know his dual devotions must, at least to some degree, reach an intense turmoil. We glimpse some of that during The Saviors, though there’s more than enough emotion and story to contemplate throughout. With this as his latest offering, Weiler’s undoubtedly a playwright worthy of devotion.

The Saviors is in performance through August 15, 2026 at Atlantic Theater Company on West 20th Street in New York City. For tickets and more information, visit here.