Can I get an amen?
With ‘Act of God,’ answer is yes, with a wink
There are many reasons it’s not a good idea to joke about God. You alienate the nonbelievers, offend the religious, and you’re not exactly delving into the freshest or sexiest comedic territory.
Television writer David Javerbaum started trying out his biblical humor on Twitter with the account @TheTweetofGod, tossing out one-liners such as, “It’s tough being a single Dad,” and, “I’m proud of you, humanity. I used to flood the earth. Now you do it on your own.”
Javerbaum’s humor toed the line between the respectable and the irreverent, prodding at politics, sexuality and celebrity without the mean-spiritedness of an insult comic. After the 2011 publication of his book, “The Last Testament: A Memoir by God,” came the 2015 Broadway play “An Act of God,” which starred Houston native Jim Parsons as the titular divine being. Having a younger gay white man embody God was a smart comedic move — instead of somber proclamations, God’s dialogue to humanity sounded catty and casual.
The Alley Theatre’s current production of “An Act of God” doesn’t stray far from this style. God is played by Todd Waite, who, as in his portrayal of David Sedaris in “The Santaland Diaries,” carries a one-act show with a light touch and a heavy dose of charisma.
You might say this is Waite-as-Sedaris Part Two, with the actor once again fluttering over delectably un-PC territory as a self-centered diva with a big personality. If you can handle a joke that makes light of the Holocaust, and an extended description of how Adam loved gay sex, then the rest of the show should feel like a fairly innocuous, if often biting, PG-13 affair.
The production is low-fi enough to feel like a stand-up comedy act, with the entertainment carried out not by plot but by the interplay of setup, punchline and laughter. God, worried that he’s a “onelist wonder,” has charged Waite with embodying his voice and personality to deliver a revamped version of the Ten Commandments. Meanwhile, God takes questions (not really) from the audience through the help of angels Michael (Emily Trask) and Gabriel ( John Feltch), while offering a humorous revisionist telling of biblical stories.
“An Act of God” is a light affair. It’s essentially a one-man show that serves to deliver some excellent biblical humor. I can see its humor being hit-or-miss depending on the audience’s relationship with the subject matter, or its lack of dramatic tension seen as trifling for fans of Arthur Miller’s morality tales or Robert Askins’ narratively superior “Hand to God.”
But underneath the play’s jokes about puppies on Noah’s Ark, God’s love of “Cabaret” and his annoyance with the phrase “God bless you” lies a deeper understanding of scripture’s relationship with everyday life.
Javerbaum doesn’t shy from asking hard questions of God. The play addresses God’s stance on homosexuality, abortion and Donald Trump. Trask and Feltch are the straight men to Waite’s arrogant flamboyance, and Trask, as the questioning Michael, asks God why suffering exists. How could he have allowed the suffering of the Jews? Why, she inquires, are you such a vindictive bully?
In that moment, Trask perhaps embodies people everywhere who have pondered the same theological issues, dissatisfied with such aphorisms as, “God works in mysterious ways.” The night of humor gets punctured, right in the belly, by the one idea that could undermine the whole enterprise — is there anything really that funny about coming face to face with our all-knowing, all-powerful creator?
Good thing Waite has an answer. Javerbaum has armed him with both honesty and witticism. When God’s fiery angel dares threaten the night’s entertainment factor, Waite crosses his legs, sighing as he leans back into his immaculate white couch. The couch could be his therapist’s.
Now God takes the role of a sinner in a confession booth, owning up to all the mayhem he’s caused. Man, after all, was created in his image, which means our tendency toward destruction has a particular divine origin. Waite throws his arms up. God has been hard on humanity, and we haven’t quite forgiven him for that flood yet, but at least tonight he’s earned our applause.