Historically, religion and homosexuality have gone together like peanut butter and chives. Leave it, then, to provocateur Kate Fodor, cartographer of the Heidegger-Arendt moral maze Hannah and Martin, to address the conflict between desire and belief in subtle and compassionate terms and to demonstrate both surprising theological literacy and rare good taste.
100 Saints You Should Know follows two threads: First, there's Janel Moloney as Theresa, a single mom who cleans the rectory for soon-to-be-disgraced priest Matthew. Theresa's surly 16-year-old daughter, Abby (Zoe Kazan), resents her mother and openly deplores the increasing possibility that Theresa may simply be her older self. For her part, Theresa is tired down to the core of her being and is ready to listen to someone. She's desperate enough to settle for a televangelist healer, but she'd rather listen to Matthew.
Second, we see Matthew at his mother's home, on "vacation" for a nebulous but potentially damning sin, at least in terms of his career. His mother, Colleen (the spectacular Lois Smith), knows that something is afoot with her son, but the intricate dance of not-quite-picking-on and not-quite-biting-back has become so entrenched that neither knows how to reach out to the other.
The catalyst that drives these two worlds together is a teenage boy named Garrett (played by Will Rogers, who will have to deal with countless "never met a man I didn't like" jokes). Garrett, after a horrible accident, becomes the focus of twin debates: First, unless he causes it to happen, what role does God play in tragedy? Second, how can we be good?
They're gigantic questions, but they're so gently addressed by Fodor and director Ethan McSweeny — and the actors' portrayals are so nuanced — that it's almost impossible not to be entranced by this carefully written, flawlessly acted production.
Presented by and at Playwrights Horizons, 416 W. 42nd St., NYC. Sept. 18-30. Tue.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2:30 and 8 p.m.; Sun., 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. (212) 279-4200 or www.ticketcentral.com. Casting by Alaine Alldaffer.