Review - Hand to God

In the category of "yet another play I waited way too long to see," I finally finally saw Hand to God last night.  A handsome friend and I had talked about seeing it for months, then they posted a closing date, yet still we dragged our heels.  Finally, when the most recent press release announced a cast change, we knew we had to see it before the cast change happened.  I'll leave you to mull that on your own...

I'm normally not really a fan of smutty, dirty comedy filled with profanity (yes, in some ways, I am your grandmother and I would like you to get off my lawn) and for some reason I had in my mind that Hand to God would be like that and only like that.  Thankfully, I was wrong.  Yes, it's deeply disturbing, profanely funny and gory in places (and definitely has a potty mouth), but it's also subversively philosophical about the dangers of repressing your feelings, of not dealing with grief, and of letting your faith get in the way of your reason. 

front row!!

When we first got to our seats, we were a little wary because we were seated in the front row.  We thought it would be way too close and scoped out seats further back that we would move into at intermission.  Well, at intermission, we looked at each other and said, "No WAY are we moving!!"  We loved the show and loved being so close to the action!

I've been in many church basements that look like the opening set for Hand to God, so it was immediately familiar to me.  Everything that happens after?  Not so much.  The first scene takes place in that church basement, where a distracted woman is trying to get uninterested teens excited about Christian puppet shows.  These are some typical teens, with some disgustingly riotous dialogue and then we meet our lead character, Jason, a shy young man who is embarrassed by everything, including his puppet-show-instructor mom.  His sock puppet, named Tyrone, seems innocent enough at first, but then turns into something else entirely as the play goes on.

I can't really describe everything that happens, because (1) I'd hate to ruin the surprises, and (2) the show is so audaciously and wildly original, it sort of defies belief!  It certainly defied mine!  Just describing all the plot points do not do the script justice.  I could not see where the twists and turns of the script would take me, and I absolutely never imagined how moved I would be as we neared the end of the evening, nor how terrified I would be by the prospect of a future as described in the coda.  It was a seriously wild ride throughout Hand to God - I haven't laughed that hard in the theater in a long time, but there were so many layers going on, I was also stunned.  OK, I will mention three things that cracked me up:  graphic puppet sex, a rendition of Who's on First, and a sock puppet singing "Jesus Loves Me" with more and more anger because no one is paying attention...

photo credit: Joan Marcus

The performances are incredible, especially the lead gent, Steven Boyer as the shy Jason and his profane, violent sock puppet alter-ego, Tyrone.  His performance was simply spectacular - the two characters were so completely separate, and hello, one of the characters was a sock puppet!  I'm always predisposed to be taken in by a puppet, but the honesty of the performance was so touching.  I felt the pain of this kid, who didn't understand all of the feelings inside of him and he REALLY didn't understand when his ego/superego/id (I'm never sure which is which) came roaring out with such fury through Tyrone.  Geneva Carr is also spectacular as Jason's mom, who makes as many misguided decisions through her grief as Jason does.  Marc Kudisch finds a lot of shading in the character of the pastor, who seems to be one thing, but slowly becomes another.  Michael Oberholtzer and Pamela Bob are the other two teenage characters and they are delightful as well.  What a fantastically cast, wonderfully put-together production.

The subversive quality I talked about earlier intrigues me - the show seems to be rather an indictment on using religion as a panacea or as replacement for human connection or as shelter from reality.  I find it really interesting that the message seems to be palatable to audiences because the really tough stuff is mainly said by a sock puppet.  If we had a human character stating some of the dialogue, would audiences be on board as much?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  But the convention of a puppet getting away with dialogue that no one else can is used beautifully here.  As someone who is constantly amazed at what terrible things can happen in the world under the guise of 'religion', I find arguments/discussions like the ones in Hand to God fascinating.  They just added another brilliant level to a play that could merely be hysterically funny.  Instead it's hysterically funny and utterly thought-provoking.  The show runs until January 3 - seriously, run out there and get tickets.  And if you're lucky enough to sit in the front row like I was?  You'll be treated to some of the most fantastic acting going on in New York right now...  Oh, and if you go on a Tuesday night?  Head over to Marseille afterwards for Tapas Tuesday.  My handsome friend treated me to some delicious tapas - corn crozuettas, lamb albodingas, and duck cigares.  DELICIOUS.  What a terrific night.