In ‘Hand to God,’ devil is in the details
Alley’s staging nails overarching themes, but evil puppet — the spirit of Cypress native’s play — needs meatier purpose
In the beginning, there was chaos.
Without order, humans ate and killed and slept and defecated as they pleased, and it was wonderful.
But beastly pandemonium was not long for this world. Soon came the dawn of civilization, when laws were brought to the land, right was separated from wrong and all things sinful and villainous became personified by mankind’s greatest creation — the devil.
This is the essence of the electrifying monologue that opens “Hand to God,” a play by Robert Askins showing through Sept. 18 at the Alley Theatre. It’s delivered by a hand puppet rising out of a makeshift box pew, whose grand, cynical take on the invention of morality bookends a small and earnest drama about a teacher, a pastor and three teenagers living in Cypress.
So what if half of that monologue goes missing?
Technically, the scene is disposable. The play is about Jason (Steve Pacek), a troubled kid who has to prepare for a puppet-ministry show. He has a crush on a cute girl, Jessica (Emily Trask), he doesn’t know how stand up to the class bully, Timothy (Jay Sullivan), and he has unresolved issues with his mother (Elizabeth Bunch) related to the recent death of his father.
Judged on this level alone, Askins, himself a Cypress native, offers a compelling account of small-town mores and family dysfunction. But it’s the monologue, and the devilish puppet named Tyrone who possesses Jason, that embodies the true spirit of “Hand to God.”
Tyrone is surrounded by people who use words as shields, so he brandishes his like a spear. His monologue crackles with ideological subversion, and his devilish voice hangs over our shoulder throughout the play like, well, you know.
Without speculating what happened, or whether the delivery will change after opening night, Pacek’s first scene with Tyrone cuts short with no mention of the devil.
Then the play begins, and instead of delightful villainy, the feeling that hangs over the performance is a question mark. Watching the play without the invocation of Satan is like eating catfish without hot sauce — the meat’s all there, but it’s missing flavor.
Because these are professionals, the iffy first scene is glossed over, barely noticed by the audience, and all would have been well if the direction (by Mark Shanahan) wasn’t also a bit misplaced in tone. The play doles out tragedy and humor in equal sum, yet the Alley production had the feel of a physical- comedy farce.
One example: Timothy and his mother have a breakdown in a climactic scene. The boy resents his mother for his father’s death, and his grieving mother, Margery, is herself suffocated by the pressures of single parenthood and the church. Claustrophobia explodes into outrage. A violent act occurs between mother and son, and instead of stunned silence, the room giggles. But that laughter isn’t earned.
There are scenes in the script that get an audience roaring and others that can create pin-drop devastation. The cast leans heavily on the comedy, to great effect. They have fun. But they’re still digging their way toward the play’s insights into power and rebellion, sanctity and sacrilege, and the unspoken tensions between mother and son.
Of course, Pacek has taken on a colossal task, which is to portray both a kindhearted teen and his Tyler Durdenesque “Fight Club” id as manifested through a hand puppet. To flip the switch from one mode to the next with lightning speed requires virtuosity that Pacek reached for but did not fully grasp.
Still, the actors relished their lines. They were a boisterous group. And the Alley has chosen a sparkling new work by an author with local roots who is very much in his moment. For a play that pits devil against pastor (Michael Brusasco is a terrific presence as Pastor Greg), there’s no preachiness, and that’s a relief.
The story bursts instead with complicated, needy people, who each deserve more than what they have and who earn our sympathy despite the mistakes they make.
If only the most outlandish character in “Hand to God,” the evilbut-cute puppet Tyrone, weaseled his way into the mess even more. His booming voice — nasal, uncivilized and lathered in sarcasm — would make the production ring true.