Even more gratifying than watching the nicely directed, ably acted local production of "Hand to God" is the pleasure of seeing such a blasphemous black comedy at Phoenix Theatre, where one is more likely to find Dolly Levi making matches for the millionth time.
A co-production with Stray Cat Theatre, Robert Askin’s comic gem continues Phoenix Theatre’s savvy courting of younger, hipper audiences. For Stray Cat, "Hand to God" is business as usual: dark, frantic, vulgar, and occasionally hilarious.
Set in a church basement that will raise goose bumps on anyone who ever attended an after-school religious education class, "Hand to God" brings us wound-too-tight Margery, played by Elyse Wolf, recently widowed and working through her grief by coaching church kids on the fine art of puppet making. There’s Michelle Chin’s Jessica, intently over-stuffing her puppet’s bosom, and Timothy, played by Vaughn Sherman, an ill-tempered bully who sneers at everything, especially Margery’s son, Jason. Jason has already finished making his puppet, a mop-haired perv named Tyrone, who bellows anti-Christian smears and various vulgarities about Jason’s affection for Jessica, and whom Jason can’t seem to remove from his right arm.
As Jason becomes increasingly unhinged, the action and comedy surrounding him become more frantic, and director Ron May’s talent for distilling a mania into comedy becomes apparent. Much of Hand to God plays like an especially ill-disciplined hurricane, and the eye of that hurricane is Eric Zaklukiewicz he plays Jason, whose performance inspires both awe and pity he plays mild-mannered Jason and demon puppet Tyrone, whiplashing between slapstick and fury, a striking technical feat in a sometimes simultaneous pair of performances.
It’s left to the viewer to decide if the boy is possessed of anything other than grief over the death of his father, another neat trick of this mysterious, high-velocity train of a play. Lazy-minded audiences in search of comic diversion will be as happy with "Hand to God" as those who will enjoy its commentary on what’s rotten about organized religion. Bravo, on both counts, to all concerned.
Robrt Pela’s reviews appear in the Phoenix New Times.