Review: HAND TO GOD at CV Rep

First of all I want to say, this is a very good production of Hand To God at a very good theater company, and if you've never seen the play you should absolutely go. There is simulated puppet sex, and terrific performances. There is also simulated puppet sex - did I already say that? So, here's my caveat when it comes to this play. My very favorite show of the 2019/2020 season was Hand To God at a different theater, and in pandemic time, that was last year, so I was quite surprised to find Adam Karsten had chosen it for his first season at CVRep. It was fairly fresh in my mind. Maybe, I thought, Karsten always wanted to direct this play, but no - it was directed by Craig Wells. So, I don't get it but here we are.

After the mesmerizing Once that just left their stage after a hugely successful run, I was pretty stoked to take a friend of mine with me to see Hand To God. I told him all of the things that I loved about the show and how much I laughed at the set reveal in Act II. I really sold it. Of course, I'm an idiot. It was the same play, but it was not the same. Now I know how the judges on The Voice feel during the battle rounds. Choosing between two equally good contestants singing the same song in a completely different style has to be agonizing (I imagine the paycheck takes the sting out of it though.).

Of course, I am not going to choose, I don't have to and no one can make me. But I will tell you that while I saw the same funny play I saw in 2020, CVRep gives us a show grounded in reality rather than the balls out madcap comedy I saw at my virgin viewing of the show in 2020. This production explores the deeper meaning to less comedic results which makes it sound like it's not funny, but it is. But Wells has chosen a more realistic production - a little more dramedy than comedy.

Here's a brief synopsis: Margery (Aleisha Force) is recently widowed and has channeled her grief into a puppetry class she is teaching to kids in the basement of Pastor Greg's (Kenny Stevenson) church. The pastor has fallen for Margery and attempts to woo her, but she's not ready and likely never will be when it comes to the pastor.

Margery also has a sullen son named Jason (Luke Wehner) who she is pushing to perform with Tyrone, the puppet he has created. Tyrone makes his debut singing Yes Jesus Loves Me for the rest of the class which consists of only two others: Timothy (Blake Kevin Dwyer) a teenager who is also "in love" with Margery, and Jessica (Lea Madda) who's kinda sweet on Jason.

As things get progressively and hilariously worse, Tyrone emerges as his own demonic force while the grownups are trying to exorcize Tyrone from Jason's arm. Jason's pretty unnerved by Tyrone too, and after he initially tries to get rid of Tyrone, he finds out Tyrone has not even begun his rampage.

Force's Margery is believable as a strong but barely holding it together widow teetering on the brink of sanity so her sudden lack of judgment and what the church might call a "possession' was not a shocker but it was still delightful to watch.

Pastor Greg is less of an outward lech in this production, and there is a great deal of sincerity in his quest to win Margery. He does not take any of her physical or verbal cues seriously and can't seem to comprehend why she's not interested in him. It's a very nice performance by Stevenson.

Timothy is the quintessential teenage bad boy who - much to her consternation - constantly flirts with Margery. Her attitude towards Timothy changes completely once Tyrone shows up and because you have no way of knowing your teacher might have been 'compelled by a demon' Timothy is completely on board when she takes things too far.

All of this certainly speaks to the problem with power - the power of adults over children, the power of pastors and teachers over the flock or students. Something I felt much more aware of in this production. It doesn't beat you over the head, but it's there.

The voice of reason in the show is, surprisingly, the awkward Jessica who is that dark and brooding girl in zombie films who seems slightly deranged until you realize she might be the only person with a plan. This is the second time I have seen Madda play an awkward character, and she does a great job. I'm hoping to see what else she's got in future productions.

That brings us to our lead, Luke Wehner as Jason/Tyrone. Interestingly, to me, although Jason/Tyrone is being accused of being a demon, it is the adults' humanness that fails them, not the "demon puppet" on a child's hand. Wehner never loses the sad and scared little boy that lost his dad and was forced by his mother to create a puppet he never wanted to make that manages to take on a life of its own. Jason is terrified of Tyrone, but not because he exists outside of him, but because he exists within him. So there is not that complete separation of puppet from boy which works well for this production.

Jimmy Cuomo's set is not as dynamic in the act two reveal as it was in the other production I mentioned earlier, but it does work well given the tone of this one. The pastor's office elevated above the basement workshop is a nice effect, and Moira Wilke Whitaker's lights fit the bill.

The old " devil made me do it" trope is, of course, a lame excuse for succumbing to our desires but mix in some demonic puppetry and you've got the comedic mayhem of the very funny Hand To God.

Now playing at CVRep Tues-Sun through April 9, 2023

Tickets

Photographer: David A Lee

Director: Craig Wells

Cast:

Timothy: Blake Kevin Dwyer

Margery: Aleisha Force

Jessica/Jolene: Lea Madda

Pastor Greg: Kenny Stevenson

Jason/Tyrone: Luke Wehner

Crew:

Jimmy Cuomo: Scenic and Set Design

Costume Design: Emma Bibo

Properties Design: Gus Sanchez

Sound Design: Joshua Adams

Lighting Designer/Tech Director: Moira Wilkie Whitaker

Fight Director Matt Franta

Stage Manager: John M. Galo

Assistant Stage Manager: Melina Ginn

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