Through Sun 10/7
Mike Polk, Jr. is God? Well, that’s his designation in the Beck Center’s irreverent incarnation. Directed by William Roudebush, this regional premiere features a script by David Javerbaum. The snarky, hip vibe featured in An Act of God may sound familiar to stand-up comedy fans and those who love The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. That’s no accident; Javerbaum writes for the show.
Polk is a natural with easy, authoritative delivery. Garbed in flowing white robes and striding around a tiered white-draped stage, he explained that he (“a minor regional celebrity”) had been taken over by “God” to lay out a new plan (and, as later transpired, new commandments).
Polk’s funny at times, especially when he’s injecting self-deprecating remarks. One is pleasantly reminded that he is truly a regional celebrity and really locally famous, especially for his comic routine with its wonderfully apt description of the Browns’ stadium as a “factory of sadness.” It’s a tough sell though, playing God, and the script (built in part from the playwright’s Twitter feed) doesn’t make it easy.
Two generally subservient angels allow for pleasant narrative interruptions (“God” does tend to pontificate after all), as they query Polk or ask for clarifications. There’s Gabriel (an attentive Brian Pedaci) and Michael (a bumbling, loveable Allan Byrne). Gabriel takes notes; Michael asks questions purportedly from the audience. They help Polk introduce a new set of Ten Commandments cleverly displayed on a board filling the space behind the raised platform. (Think Family Feud and you’ve got it.)
Speaking of the stage, the Mackey Theater served beautifully as the setting. A starry sky in the background provided an especially lovely approximation of space and infinity. Thanks, Aaron Benson (scenic designer), Benjamin Gantose (lighting designer), Carlton Guc (sound designer), and Inda Blatch-Geib (costume designer), for showing how simplicity can be beautiful.
But overall, the show seemed kinda mean-spirited with many cheap shots at mostly the Old Testament’s Genesis (such as: Adam and Steve were created instead of Adam and Eve, but they were having too much fun so Eve had to be brought in). The whole viewpoint is that of one whose religious education stopped after puberty set in; it’s based on a literal understanding informed by children’s story books with illustrated pictures. Although there were a few amusing moments (we are asked to consider how could all those animals fit on one ark?), the bulk of it seemed to be trying too hard to be funny and transgressive.
Need guidance? If there’s a scale with The Book of Mormon on one end and An Act of God on the other, the latter outdoes the former in terms of an undercurrent of unpleasant hostility toward religious belief and practice.
BOTTOM LINE: OK, overall, I didn’t like it; it smacked of school-kid humor and “aren’t we naughty?” Ninety minutes of that, even with a good cast and great set, is about sixty minutes too many. YMMV.
[Written by Laura Kennelly]
Lakewood, OH 44107