Review: What Would You Ask Satan About GOD, THE EARLY YEARS?

What if Satan was alive and decided to write his memoirs about GOD, THE EARLY YEARS? Just what would he have to tell us from his rather off-center point of view? And what would you like to ask him if you could?

Emily O'Meara and Renegade Theatre are giving you a chance to do just that during the World Premiere presentation of "GOD: THE EARLY YEARS" - Satan's Tell-All Memoir. Written and Directed by six time Emmy nominee Saul Ilson, the two-person comedy sketch stars Vince DonVito as TV interviewer Barry Literati and Dan Woren as Satan. It was great being in the first audience to see the show, laughing at such irreverent and politically incorrect humor - without a speck of guilt.

The play is a 40 minute conversation in one act with Satan, who is in town to promote his best selling book, "GOD: THE EARLY YEARS." We are the studio audience during the broadcast of an Interview-Call-In show titled "Book Talk" hosted by Barry Literati, a nebbish of a man who can't believe he has landed such an important guest. DonVito shows just the right amount of awe and fear dealing with the essence of evil ho appears to be just a regular guy.

From the beginning, each of Satan's observations generates lots of laughter, and you will certainly recognize updated classic comedy bits from "The 2000 Year Old Man' to "Who's on First?" Of course Satan promises not to take it personally if you laugh at him as he tells outrageous and irreverent anecdotes about the Almighty and other biblical characters in the Bible. Woren is perfectly cast as Satan, dressed in black without horns, cape, or fire spewing from his ears. But he definitely can express the persona of evil when he flashes a sideways glance or casts a knowing blink when he tells several of his many lies. He knows what he is doing and enjoys every second of it.

From their first hot handshake, DonVito and Woren are off and running with the ongoing gags, double entendres, and witty banter. The story is an imagination of what might have been, but from a very different and comical point of view. When questioned about his age, Satan calls himself a "well preserved relic" who now gets to do whatever he wants to do. After all, he shares, "What's God going to do to me if I tell my side of the story since he already kicked me out of heaven? And unlike Catholics and Christians, Jews don't believe in the Devil so I don't have much to worry about with them. And since I see priests and ministers walking out of bookstores with my book in brown paper bags, it gives me great pleasure to know I am costing them an extra dime for that bag so no one will know what they are reading."

Satan goes on to talk about how he started working in Heaven's mailroom before graduating to the rank of Angel. Along the way, the best lesson he learned was to never interrupt God when he was watching the Kardassians - a comment that generated some of the biggest laughs of the evening. It made me wonder whether God takes selfies and posts them on Facebook or Instagram? No doubt Satan would like us to believe that is true. "And did you know God was dyslectic? Why else would the Old Testament be written from right to left?"

Conversation cover the topics of public transportation in Heaven, how guilt has ruled Jewish mothers since the beginning of time which caused God to create both Happy and Unhappy Hours where people can go to kvetch about what's bothering them. Of course those hours are much better attended. Satan shares what God learned after he created all of us in his image, why Jews are the chosen people, how God began his life as Gerald Oscar Debinski, how he entertained Pharaoh's daughter Mia (get it?) during the parting of the Red Sea, and what "standard Jewish time" really means. And he thinks it is very clever of reform Jews to have created the "Shul by the Pool" for their heavenly temple. I'd be willing to worship there!

Running bits include taking incoming calls with questions from a variety of listeners, and even a few from audience members. DonVito and Woren both had a lot of fun with those improv answers, even though I am sure those people were plants. The there were on to dealing with bad children, how the yarmulke was created, and the scandal God faced after he was suspected of knocking up Mary, how the three wise men (Manny, Mo, and Jack) were sent to check on things, and how Jesus met Mary Magdalene on Match.com.

I could go on and on about the various bits in this clever comedy sketch routine, but that would spoil all the fun - and I definitely don't want Satan to be mad at me. So enjoy a perfect appetizer during Happy Hour, lifting your mood better than any half priced drink could, by seeing "GOD: THE EARLY YEARS" - Satan's Tell-All Memoir at The Renegade Theater, 1514 N. Gardner St., Los Angeles, CA 90046 (just north of Sunset Blvd), through December 13th on Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 6:00 p.m. Tickets are $20 with $15 tickets available for groups of 10 or more. ONLINE TICKETING: http://www.godtheearlyyears.eventbrite.com

Photographer Emily O'Meara

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