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An Act of God
Reviewed by Neal Weaver
The Ahmanson Theatre
Through March 13
RECOMMENDED
According to playwright David Javerbaum, God lives in heaven with his wife Ruth and His three children, Zach, Jesus and Cathy.
Javerbaum’s play is a visit by God (Sean Hayes) and a couple of His handsomely-winged archangels, Gabriel (James Gleason) and Michael (David Josefsberg). The Almighty informs us that He’s here to answer some of the difficult questions that have troubled mankind through the ages. Michael is assigned to gather queries from the audience. The first question is the old saw: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
“Obviously,” God replies, “the rooster came first.”
Asked why he allows bad things to happen to good people, He replies, “To balance out all the good things that happen to bad people.” But he dodges some of the thornier problems by simply saying, “I move in mysterious ways.”
Javerbaum’s play is not only a funny, irreverent and amiably blasphemous comedy, it’s also a tongue-in-cheek critique and de-construction of what some call the Judeo-Christian mythology. His God may be almighty, but He has His share of human foibles. He is a God of Wrath, blasting off one of Michael’s wings in a fit of exasperation. And He is a jealous God, who resents all the attention given to the Virgin Mary, claiming that the familiar trope, “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee,” reduces Him to the status of a side-kick. He claims to disapprove of gossip, but that doesn’t prevent Him from curling up on his couch with a goblet of wine to dish about Leonardo de Caprio.
He tells us that He has created a new and up-to-date Ten Commandments, including, “Thou shalt not tell others who they can fornicate with.” And He revises some of the familiar Bible stories. He did not, He says, tell Noah and his wife Nameless to take two of every kind of animal on the ark because the logistics of that would have been impossible. He did tell them to take a puppy, because if they were cooped up on the ark for many weeks, getting on each other’s nerves, they’d need a puppy.
God also debunks the traditional tales of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the creation of Eve. In his revised version of the latter, He explains that He had to create a companion for Adam, to distract him from his epic masturbation. The first companion was a man named Steve, intended to assist with managing Eden. But the Serpent introduced them to gay sex, along with the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam and Steve became so preoccupied with each other that they were neglecting their duties. So He had to turn Steve into a woman.
Though Javerbaum’s humor is sometimes facile, it’s also clever and entertaining, while Joe Mantello’s direction is discreet and sure-footed. Hayes’ God is laid-back, funny, engaging, and full of sly charm. Gleason and Josefsberg provide sterling support, and the production design is unexpectedly large, with a huge celestial set by Scott Pask, and some startling special effects by Gregory Meeh, including projections by Peter Negrini.
David Zinn’s costumes are handsome and witty, and Adam Schlesinger provided the music, including a song that serves as a musical finale.
Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N, Grand Avenue, downtown; Tues.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 and 8 p.m.; Sun., 1 and 6:30 p.m.. (213) 972-4400 or www.CenterTheatreGroup.org. Running time: 90 minutes with no intermission.
