CurtainUp
The Internet Theater Magazine of Reviews, Features,
Annotated Listings
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CurtainUp The Internet Theater Magazine of Reviews, Features,
Annotated Listings |
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A CurtainUp NJ Review
Act of God
Creationists may now take heart now that God has deemed it important to not only set the official biblical records straight but make certain corrections to scriptural laws that have been misinterpreted since the beginning of recorded time. A personal appearance at the George Street Playhouse is therefore deemed necessary. Well, it's not exactly the Lord himself but rather present in the guise of (to use God's own words) "the legendary star of stage and screen Kathleen Turner." Accompanied by two winged archangels, as played with subservient panache by Jim Walton and Stephen DeRose, Ms Turner presides as the officially anointed/appointed spokesperson for God. It appears that God has been doing a lot of reflecting about the world he created and that we have apparently desecrated in his name, so be prepared for a holy re-view and a mostly comical rebuke of the world from our creator who has lots of second thoughts. And if anyone thinks that the Lord can't be witty and twist and turn all our worries and concerns about survival and salvation into jokes then think again. Just don't expect to get reasonable answers to all the questions you've been asking since Sunday or maybe Saturday school. Dressed in a flowing white caftan with gold trimmings, SHE who must be attended is holding court in a reasonably celestial setting designed by Timothy R. Mackabee whose preferred palette is white on white. A clouded blue sky is the backdrop for a white chaise lounge, a small white round end table and a pair of white lecterns that sit atop a slightly raised white platform. The two archangels serve as go-betweens God and members of the audience who are invited to ask questions. Some are stumpers: "Why is there something rather than nothing?". . . "Do you have a plan for the universe?" We have to give the playwright and his extraordinary God de jour credit for making the gender switch for this production so acceptable. Kudos to director David Saint for his earnest guidance in making this primarily one-person comedy a satisfying, occasionally laugh-aloud diversion. An Act of God first appeared on Broadway a few seasons back with Jim Parson as God. The case can now be made that the wondrously husky-voiced Turner, is no less a terrific stand-up comedienne. Her exceedingly droll and often hilariously deadpan delivery of Javerbaum's often deliberately blasphemous text is always spot on and brilliantly calculated and timed to get the intended laugh. Outside of but also akin to political comedian Bill Maher's openly irreverent anti all religions rants, Javerbaum attempts to give a comedic platform to the rampant hypocrisy and religious hyperbole that has tainted our spiritual quests. I will refrain from quoting some of the funniest lines that had the opening night audience falling out of their seats. Best reveal God to be fiercely emotional and also unapologetically condescending. Willing as he is to admit that "panic and awe are two of my favorite emotions," God pulls no punches when asked to respond to questions about provocative issues such as slavery, human suffering and the debate over evolution. The answers are funnier than they have any right to be. God may go on the defensive explaining why things are and need to be the way they are, but we are eager and ready for the true (heavens, not those alternate facts you've been hearing from the media) revelations, explanations, recollections, recriminations, rebuttals and distortions that have confounded mankind since we left the trees...I mean those in the Garden of Eden. An Act of God is satire for better and for worse— sometimes stinging, often smart, but mostly just for fun. |
Search CurtainUp in the box below PRODUCTION NOTES An Act of God by David Javerbaum Directed by David Saint Cast: Kathleen Turner (God), Jim Walton (Gabriel), Stephen DeRosa (Michael) Set Design: Timothy R. Mackabee Costume Design: Esther Arroyo Lighting Design: Jason Lyons Original Music/Sound Design: Scott Killian Production Stage Manager: Christopher J. Bailey Running Time: 90 minutes no intermission George Street Playhouse, 103 College Farm Road 1, New Brunswick, N.J. Performances: Monday at 8PM, Tuesday at 7PM, Wednesday at 2PM and 8PM, Friday at 8PM, Saturday at 2PM and 8PM, and Sunday at 3PM. From 11/28/17 Opened 12/01/17 Ends 12/23/17 Review by Simon Saltzman based on performance 12/01/17 NJ CONNECTIONS NJ Theaters NJ Theatre Alliance Discount Tix Information REVIEW FEEDBACK Highlight one of the responses below and click "copy" or"CTRL+C"
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