"directed exquisitely by David Cromer, is another of Hunter’s public explorations of his own private Idaho: a post-boom, existential vastness in which emotional and economic collapse are conjoined. ... And though 'A Case' makes the connection between personal and societal calamity more explicit than ever — can it be just an accident that it’s set in Twin Falls? — it may also be the purest example yet of Hunter’s approach to playwriting as an experiment in empathy."
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"Hunter has a gift for telling stories of ordinary people at crossroads and in crisis. He has an ear for dialogue that stubbornly rings true. On paper the title smacks of something on a grand scale; on stage the story is small and big at the same time."
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"The playwright has reduced his components to the bare minimum, offering us Hunter superfans a chance to marvel at his elegant way with exposition and the stealthy way he lures us down into the deep end of the emotional pool. He keeps warning us that he’s going to do it: He has Keith teach Ryan the word 'harrowing,' and you dutifully make a note — but then the pain comes as a surprise anyway."
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" Among the many moving aspects of the play is how Mr. Hunter and his actors distinctly etch the profound love both the characters have for their young girls. Fatherhood has made them more aware of the frailties of the world, and the vulnerability they see in each other awakens them to their own uncertain hold on what they value in life."
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"If the title doesn't scare you, then the one-line plot synopsis might. Samuel D. Hunter's new play at the Pershing Square Signature Center is called 'A Case for the Existence of God,' and it's about a man trying to get a loan in rural Idaho. Cast those aspersions aside, though — this 90-minute two-hander, which David Cromer directs, is one of the most moving new plays of the year."
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"The production boasts two beautifully calibrated performances. As the self-described pretentious Keith, Beltran affectingly reveals the everyday terrors of living that he conceals underneath his professional and carefully controlled demeanor. Brill's Ryan could easily tip over to stereotypically former-jock, straight-male oafishness, but the actor rejects easy characterizations. They are perfectly matched, and their every strained utterance and awkward gesture are completely believable."
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"'A Case for the Existence of God,' receiving its world premiere at the Signature Theatre, represents theater at its most humanistic and features two performances so symbiotic they almost become one."
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"The warmhearted riches and laughter contained within the 90-minute span—along with surprises in writing and staging formulated by Hunter and his director, David Cromer—are such that it’s best not to further describe them. 'A Case for the Existence of God' will surely hold up on second viewing, when the conceptual choices are already known. But rather than spill the proverbial beans, it’s preferable for the viewer to discover the play as it unfolds."
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