Horizon Theatre Presents World Premiere of OTHER PATHS TO GOD, Oct. 9 – Nov 8
Acclaimed Atlanta playwright Kelundra Smith follows award-winning The Wash with a funny,
poignant new play inspired by interviews with Atlanta nurses
Scandal meets The Pitt at Horizon Theatre Company in the world premiere of Other Paths to God, a juicy hospital whodunit and dramedy by acclaimed Atlanta playwright Kelundra Smith, running Oct. 9–Nov. 8, with a press opening Oct. 16 at Horizon’s home in Inman Park/Little Five Points. Directed by Alexis Kulani Woodard and inspired by interviews with Atlanta nurses, the play follows five resilient ICU nurses at Morey Medical. When $3 million goes missing, fingers point in their direction and everyone begins behaving outrageously. This wild ride through the lives of five nurses in Atlanta is funny, poignant and just the right amount of scandalous, while revealing that the path to healing and redemption is never a straight line.
For the five nurses at the center of Other Paths to God, the pressures of the ICU are only the beginning. Charge nurse Renée (Tonia M. Jackson) has just returned from leave under secretive circumstances. Her right hand, Colleen (Amer-Marie Woods), is a breath away from divorce after a salacious affair with a doctor. Rel (Trevor Rayshay Perry) is trying to stay out of the drama while preparing to adopt a baby with their partner. Kai (Kenedi Deal), the youngest of the group, is digging herself out of debt after being left at the altar, while supervisor Amy (Arizsia Staton) is doing her best to contain an impending scandal and maintain peace at home.
Smith explains, “Other Paths to God is a play, but it’s also a spiritual reckoning about the way we tie our value to our labor. For Black women whose ancestors were brought to this country for their labor, the idea that our work is the only thing that pleases God is ingrained in how we live. Because of this, it can be easy to forget that it’s okay to rest, reset and reconsider.”
Behind the fictional drama are the real experiences of Atlanta women. Smith developed Other Paths to God through conversations that explored work, faith, relationships and the realities of caring for others while navigating complicated lives of their own. Inspired in part by interviews with Atlanta nurses, the resulting play pairs the intrigue and outrageous behavior of a favorite medical drama with deeper questions about belief, resilience and what sustains us when life doesn’t go according to plan.
Other Paths to God was commissioned by Horizon Theatre Company in 2021 through its New Georgia Woman Project: Black Women Speak program, which develops new works by Black women inspired by conversations with Black women across Georgia. The program commissioned nine playwrights to bring their stories, lives and concerns to the stage, drawing inspiration from a series of virtual “Coffee Chats.”
“Through a series of coffee chats with Black women—covering everything from sex to racism to parenting—we listened and gathered ideas for our new plays. The coffee chats that resonated with me the most were about religion and work,” explained Smith. “I created characters inspired by women I knew (and wish I knew) who embodied various faiths, beliefs, struggles and hopes. I wanted the play to move like an episode of your favorite medical drama but also feel deeply personal.”
Smith returns to Atlanta audiences following the success of The Wash, which received a 2024 National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere and earned five Suzi Bass Awards and four AUDELCO Awards. Her other plays include Monarchs, part of the 2026-27 Alliance Theatre Reiser Lab and Florida Rep PlayLab Festival; Anybody’s Game, commissioned by Out of Hand Theater Atlanta; and The Vote from Hush Harbor Lab. Other Paths to God is part of a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere, beginning at Horizon Theatre in Atlanta with this production in October 2026, then Coalescence Theatre Project and Perceptions Theatre in Chicago in November 2026 and Celebration Theatre in Sacramento, CA in 2028.
A playwright and storyteller, Smith was born and raised in Atlanta and has a passion for southern historical narratives and writing stories about people who no one else sees. Smith has been a fellow at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center’s National-Critics Institute, a guest critic at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival and a resident artist at both Hambidge Arts Center and Crosstown Arts Center. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild and the American Theatre Critics & Journalists Association. Smith earned bachelor’s degrees in theatre and journalism from the University of Georgia and a master’s degree in arts journalism from Syracuse University.
Other Paths to God features an ensemble of top-notch Atlanta actors portraying the nurses and others whose lives intersect at Morey Medical Center. Tonia M. Jackson returns to Horizon as charge nurse Renée, the leader and protector of the unit. An Atlanta veteran, her previous Horizon credits include Wild With Happy, Shakin’ the Mess Outta Misery and And Her Hair Went With Her alongside many roles at Theatrical Outfit, Alliance Theatre and theaters across the country. Her film and television work includes Atlanta, Black Lightning, Greenleaf, The Resident and Outer Banks.
The ensemble also includes Arizsia Staton (Nell in Horizon’s Dog Mom last spring) as hospital DEI director Amy, who’s put on the spot to defend her nurses. Amer-Marie Woods is Colleen, fiery, funny and not afraid to do what it takes to get to the bottom of the missing money. Seen onstage at Synchronicity, Onstage Atlanta and 7Stages, she brings authenticity to the role, having spent a decade as a neurophysiologist. Rel, played by Trevor Rayshay Perry (Horizon’s Hot Jambalaya this past summer) is ready to leave the ICU behind for a new less stressful job in plastic surgery. They’re mentoring Kai, played by Kenedi Deal (Horizon’s The House That Will Not Stand), the youngest, who is navigating love, life and this new job. Atlanta native Cheryl Booker brings to life Rel and Kai’s favorite patient, Mrs. Shorter, a wise and vibrant former dancer and nurse, sharing advice for a fulfilling life.
Director Alexis Kulani Woodard leads the production. A Princess Grace Award winner, Woodard is a graduate of Spelman College, served as an Alliance Theatre Directing Fellow and earned her MFA in Directing from the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. She is associate artistic director of Compagnia de’ Colombari and the 2025-26 Directing Fellow at Rattlestick Theater. She directed The Dark Lady at Synchronicity Theatre last summer and while at the Alliance, directed Hands Up: 7 Playwrights, 7 Testaments and Do You Love the Dark?. Hands Up received six Suzi Bass Award nominations, including Best Direction and won Outstanding Social Justice Production.
Performances begin Oct. 9, with a press opening Oct.16, running through Nov. 8. Performances are on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sunday at 5 p.m. plus Wednesday at 2 p.m. on November 4. Tickets start at $40* on Wednesdays and Thursdays and $45* for Friday, Saturday and Sunday shows. Prices will increase as performances fill, so patrons are encouraged to order early for the best pricing and availability. Student tickets are available for $20*. Groups of 10-24 receive $5 off the general admission ticket price, while groups of 25 or more receive $7 off. Ticket prices are subject to change. *Tax/fees are added to all orders. Horizon is a 160-seat theatre located at 1083 Austin Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA 30307, the corner of Euclid and Austin in Inman Park/Little Five Points.
For tickets and more information, visit horizontheatre.com or call the Box Office at 404.584.7450.
CREATIVE TEAM
Playwright – Kelundra Smith
Director – Alexis Kulani Woodard
Producer – Lisa Adler
Dramaturgy – Antonia LaChé McCain
Scenic Designers – Isabel and Moriah Curley-Clay
Costume Designer – Dr. L. Nyrobi N. Moss
Lighting Designer – Mary Parker
Props Designer – Annabell Sapp
Sound Designer – Jeremiah Davison
Stage Manager – Maya Hodges
CAST
Tonia M. Jackson* (Renée)
Arizsia Staton* (Amy)
Amer-Marie Woods (Colleen)
Kenedi Deal (Kai)
Cheryl Booker (Mrs. Shorter)
Trevor Rayshay Perry* (Nurse Rel Vaughn)
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association