Hand to God
LSU Studio Theater
Baton Rouge
2/25-3/1
“Sesame Street” meets “The Exorcist”: That’s how New Yorker staff writer Michael Schulman described Robert Askins’ “Hand to God” when it premiered on Broadway in 2015. The irreverent play about a fictional puppet ministry gone wrong has made its rounds since then; now it’s playing at LSU’s theater, directed by Ethan Hood.
The play tells the story of mother-son duo Margery (Sophie Rollins) and Jason (Hunter Nastasi) as they work together in the church’s puppet ministry. Jason’s father has recently passed away. Margery has thrown herself into this oddly specific church outreach program as a way to cope. Awkward and shy teen Jason has become so attached to his puppet, it has developed its own – perverted – personality. And everyone in this five-actor play has the hots for each other: The pastor is in love with Margery. So is Jason’s (also underage) frenemy,Timothy. Jason has a crush on girl-next-door character Jessica (Morgane Campbell).
Oh yeah, and there are puppets, and Jason’s might be possessed.
Opening night, delayed by a day because of illness, was the beginning to a joyful and profane run at LSU. Hunter Nastasi, playing both Jason and his vulgar puppet, Tyrone, makes playing the two characters look seamless and easy. There are more than a few dialogues between Jason and Tyrone, and it’s easy to forget you’re just watching someone talk to himself. Likewise, the rest of the cast is on it and committed to the bit. At one point, Drew Snyder, playing Timothy, jumped into the air and kicked a folding chair over with both feet and his whole body, temporarily becoming parallel to the ground. (The stage directions don’t ask for this; I checked.)
But for all the humor, the heart of “Hand to God” is a story about growing up and processing grief and evil, both one’s own capacity for it and that of those around you. Pastor Gregg (Hunter Sparacino) pursues a romantic relationship with Margery, a grieving widow whom he for some reason has been counseling alone. Margery sleeps with a minor. That minor, Timothy, seems to be confused about love. Jason is horny and doesn’t know what to do with it. The elephant in the room throughout the whole play is the grief and guilt that Margery and Jason feel after losing Jason’s dad.
Jason’s puppet, Tyrone, acts out. He says nasty things to Jessica, disrespects Pastor Gregg, and even attacks Timothy. It’s not clear if this is the result of actual demon possession, as believed by the characters, or just Jason fighting his own non-satanic, figurative inner demons.
This play might offend some Christians. It certainly has drawn detractors throughout its many iterations on stages all over the country. But it is clear through the writing that Robert Askins is notcritiquing Christianity or the institution of church without firsthand experience. There are in jokes. There’s rage.
But the play misses the opportunity to explore these deeper themes. Instead “Hand to God” is a play that relies on shock value. You can watch only so many scenes of people randomly passionately making out, simulating sex (between humans or puppets) and screaming while destroying a church basement in a room packed full of strangers before it gets old. “Hand to God” manages to walk this line, and this cast carries us home.
LSU’s production of “Hand to God” manages to turn something as unserious as puppets into an exploration of relationships and grief. It’s worth experiencing at least once.
