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12/16/2015Theater: 'God' Comes to Broadway; Sinners Still Prefer Patti LuPone | Evernote Web
https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=883ec90a-bc51-467b-9fad-46e684f71bdf&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&1/3Theater: 'God' Comes to Broadway; Sinners StillPrefer Patti LuPoneTheater: 'God' Comes to Broadway; Sinners Still Prefer Patti LuPoneAN ACT OF GOD ** out of **** STUDIO 54In the last 40 years or so, we've seen the Almighty embodied by a nice old man (George Burns), an authoritativeblack man (Morgan Freeman) and now a gay man (Jim Parsons). This is progress. The stand-up act/sketchcomedy that is An Act Of God is proving a hit thanks to the pull of Parsons. If they decide to extend the run,perhaps Caitlyn Jenner will be next?As a sketch on Saturday Night Live et al, God would have been low-hanging fruit. Surely he'd always havesomething to say about current events on "Weekend Update?" As a persona for a comedian called over for achat on talk shows, God might have been an inspired career move. As the main attraction of a full blownBroadway show, God proves very mild entertainment.Written by David Javerbaum, this is essentially a one-man show. But since God can be seen as embodied inthree persons, here we have Jim Parsons as God; Tim Kazurinsky as the archangel Gabriel, a sort of narratorwho reads out certain passages from the Bible when called upon; and Christopher Fitzgerald as a kvetchy,questioning archangel Michael. While Michael's desire to get answers to burning questions like "Why do peoplesuffer" are meant to drive the evening forward, it's not really what this show is about.What An Act Of God is really about is God's act, the routine he might offer up in Las Vegas: a splashy entrance,a monologue and then questions from the audience. Like Carol Burnett with less Tarzan yelling. Happily,Parsons makes this mild conceit sort of work. He's genial, pointed, sharp-tongued and sassy in the way youhope God might really be, if your God is the kind of god embodied by Jesus (tells good stories, always open to ateaching moment) and shares the values of liberal New Yorkers. If you prefer the Old Testament God of wrathand judgment and smiting of enemies (like the older man in front of me who sat stone-faced throughout theentire evening and bristled when God cursed about Sarah Palin), well, you might want to stick to televangelists.As for what God actually says here, it's just riffs on what you might expect: the silliness of Noah's ark if you try totake it seriously, how he feels about gays (spoiler alert: he's a fan) and the fact that, no, God is NOT rooting foryour football team to win the Super Bowl. And stop telling him to bless America. America has been blessedenough!So, harmless but not very engaging. At two points, An Act Of God reaches for more. First, Parsons does anexcellent job threading the needle when discussing how God ordered Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac.Here, the text by Javerbaum looks to go a little deeper, a little more serious, without ever losing the fun orneedlessly offending. Parsons explains that God chooses to keep himself in the dark sometimes (it's more funthat way) so God really isn't sure if Abraham will go through with it. His genuine fascination when realizing thatAbraham is really going to do it -- really going to kill his own son -- proves a compelling, dramatic moment. It'sactually a rather touching passage and hints at how a better show might have done so much more, especiallywith Parsons in the lead.The other, less successful attempt to be bold involves Michael's increasingly agitated concerns about the
12/16/2015Theater: 'God' Comes to Broadway; Sinners Still Prefer Patti LuPone | Evernote Web
https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=883ec90a-bc51-467b-9fad-46e684f71bdf&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&2/3presence of evil, why suffering, why hunger, why pain and so on. He tries to confront God and while Moses andothers have gotten away with this on occasion, it ain't easy and Michael doesn't get very far. Then, ratherabruptly, the show is over.While Fitzgerald and Kazurinsky were perhaps welcome faces for Parsons to play off, Kazurinsky in particularhas virtually nothing of note to do. They seem more distraction than anything else. Joe Mantello's direction can'tmake them seem essential and his talents aren't stretched here. As modest as this effort feels, it would certainlyseem far more tepid if Parsons weren't holding it together with his charm and presence.The scenic design by Scott Pask combined with the lighting of Hugh Vanstone and sound design of Fitz Pattonproves ultimately a disappointment. It looks sort of Vegas flashy at first. But the dark clouds and thunder whenGod gets moody feel cliche and the finale -- scraps of paper started whirling around for no apparent reason -- isbizarre and pointless in its staging. Actually, the finale kind of feels like the Book Of Revelations: you've gotsome flashy imagery but once it's over you sit back and think, "Huh?"THEATER OF 2015Honeymoon In Vegas ** The Woodsman *** Constellations ** 1/2 Taylor Mac's A 24 Decade History Of Popular Music 1930s-1950s ** 1/2 Let The Right One In ** Da no rating A Month In The Country ** 1/2 Parade in Concert at Lincoln Center ** 1/2 Hamilton at the Public *** The World Of Extreme Happiness ** 1/2 Broadway By The Year 1915-1940 ** Verite * 1/2 Fabulous! * The Mystery Of Love & Sex ** An Octoroon at Polonsky Shakespeare Center *** 1/2 Fish In The Dark * The Audience *** Josephine And I *** Posterity * 1/2 The Hunchback Of Notre Dame ** Lonesome Traveler ** On The Twentieth Century *** Radio City Music Hall's New York Spring Spectacular ** 1/2 The Heidi Chronicles * The Tallest Tree In The Forest * 1/2 Broadway By The Year: 1941-1965 *** Twelfth Night by Bedlam *** What You Will by Bedlam *** 1/2 Wolf Hall Parts I and II ** 1/2 Skylight *** Nellie McKay at 54 Below *** Ludic Proxy ** 1/2 It Shoulda Been You **
https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=883ec90a-bc51-467b-9fad-46e684f71bdf&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&1/3Theater: 'God' Comes to Broadway; Sinners StillPrefer Patti LuPoneTheater: 'God' Comes to Broadway; Sinners Still Prefer Patti LuPoneAN ACT OF GOD ** out of **** STUDIO 54In the last 40 years or so, we've seen the Almighty embodied by a nice old man (George Burns), an authoritativeblack man (Morgan Freeman) and now a gay man (Jim Parsons). This is progress. The stand-up act/sketchcomedy that is An Act Of God is proving a hit thanks to the pull of Parsons. If they decide to extend the run,perhaps Caitlyn Jenner will be next?As a sketch on Saturday Night Live et al, God would have been low-hanging fruit. Surely he'd always havesomething to say about current events on "Weekend Update?" As a persona for a comedian called over for achat on talk shows, God might have been an inspired career move. As the main attraction of a full blownBroadway show, God proves very mild entertainment.Written by David Javerbaum, this is essentially a one-man show. But since God can be seen as embodied inthree persons, here we have Jim Parsons as God; Tim Kazurinsky as the archangel Gabriel, a sort of narratorwho reads out certain passages from the Bible when called upon; and Christopher Fitzgerald as a kvetchy,questioning archangel Michael. While Michael's desire to get answers to burning questions like "Why do peoplesuffer" are meant to drive the evening forward, it's not really what this show is about.What An Act Of God is really about is God's act, the routine he might offer up in Las Vegas: a splashy entrance,a monologue and then questions from the audience. Like Carol Burnett with less Tarzan yelling. Happily,Parsons makes this mild conceit sort of work. He's genial, pointed, sharp-tongued and sassy in the way youhope God might really be, if your God is the kind of god embodied by Jesus (tells good stories, always open to ateaching moment) and shares the values of liberal New Yorkers. If you prefer the Old Testament God of wrathand judgment and smiting of enemies (like the older man in front of me who sat stone-faced throughout theentire evening and bristled when God cursed about Sarah Palin), well, you might want to stick to televangelists.As for what God actually says here, it's just riffs on what you might expect: the silliness of Noah's ark if you try totake it seriously, how he feels about gays (spoiler alert: he's a fan) and the fact that, no, God is NOT rooting foryour football team to win the Super Bowl. And stop telling him to bless America. America has been blessedenough!So, harmless but not very engaging. At two points, An Act Of God reaches for more. First, Parsons does anexcellent job threading the needle when discussing how God ordered Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac.Here, the text by Javerbaum looks to go a little deeper, a little more serious, without ever losing the fun orneedlessly offending. Parsons explains that God chooses to keep himself in the dark sometimes (it's more funthat way) so God really isn't sure if Abraham will go through with it. His genuine fascination when realizing thatAbraham is really going to do it -- really going to kill his own son -- proves a compelling, dramatic moment. It'sactually a rather touching passage and hints at how a better show might have done so much more, especiallywith Parsons in the lead.The other, less successful attempt to be bold involves Michael's increasingly agitated concerns about the
12/16/2015Theater: 'God' Comes to Broadway; Sinners Still Prefer Patti LuPone | Evernote Web
https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=883ec90a-bc51-467b-9fad-46e684f71bdf&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&2/3presence of evil, why suffering, why hunger, why pain and so on. He tries to confront God and while Moses andothers have gotten away with this on occasion, it ain't easy and Michael doesn't get very far. Then, ratherabruptly, the show is over.While Fitzgerald and Kazurinsky were perhaps welcome faces for Parsons to play off, Kazurinsky in particularhas virtually nothing of note to do. They seem more distraction than anything else. Joe Mantello's direction can'tmake them seem essential and his talents aren't stretched here. As modest as this effort feels, it would certainlyseem far more tepid if Parsons weren't holding it together with his charm and presence.The scenic design by Scott Pask combined with the lighting of Hugh Vanstone and sound design of Fitz Pattonproves ultimately a disappointment. It looks sort of Vegas flashy at first. But the dark clouds and thunder whenGod gets moody feel cliche and the finale -- scraps of paper started whirling around for no apparent reason -- isbizarre and pointless in its staging. Actually, the finale kind of feels like the Book Of Revelations: you've gotsome flashy imagery but once it's over you sit back and think, "Huh?"THEATER OF 2015Honeymoon In Vegas ** The Woodsman *** Constellations ** 1/2 Taylor Mac's A 24 Decade History Of Popular Music 1930s-1950s ** 1/2 Let The Right One In ** Da no rating A Month In The Country ** 1/2 Parade in Concert at Lincoln Center ** 1/2 Hamilton at the Public *** The World Of Extreme Happiness ** 1/2 Broadway By The Year 1915-1940 ** Verite * 1/2 Fabulous! * The Mystery Of Love & Sex ** An Octoroon at Polonsky Shakespeare Center *** 1/2 Fish In The Dark * The Audience *** Josephine And I *** Posterity * 1/2 The Hunchback Of Notre Dame ** Lonesome Traveler ** On The Twentieth Century *** Radio City Music Hall's New York Spring Spectacular ** 1/2 The Heidi Chronicles * The Tallest Tree In The Forest * 1/2 Broadway By The Year: 1941-1965 *** Twelfth Night by Bedlam *** What You Will by Bedlam *** 1/2 Wolf Hall Parts I and II ** 1/2 Skylight *** Nellie McKay at 54 Below *** Ludic Proxy ** 1/2 It Shoulda Been You **