Wabash Theater Closes Season with Hand to God

The Wabash Theater Department caps a year of mainstage comedies when the five-time Tony-nominated play Hand to God opens Wednesday for a four-night run in Ball Theater. Curtain is at 8 p.m., and free tickets can be reserved through the Box Office.

Hand of God is an irreverent, raunchy comedy that was nominated for a Tony Award for Best New Play in 2015 after an extensive off-Broadway run. Written by playwright Robert Askins, the play tells the story of a quiet, awkward teenager, Jason, who, after his father dies, struggles with all the difficulties of adolescence: the cruelty of bullies, the discovery of love, the shifting relationships with parents, and the inevitable questioning of what it all means.

Quoting writer John Patrick Shanley, Hand to God director Jim Cherry says, “Theater is the safe place to do unsafe things,” adding, “This play is utterly outrageous and over-the-top, even gleeful in its willingness to break taboos. It’s a lot like South Park in that way. But at the same time, it deals with sensitive issues and gets at some interesting ideas.”

Jason attends church in Cypress, Texas, where his mom, Margery, leads a Christian Puppet Ministry that attempts to instill Biblical values in its teenage participants – nothing close to the actual desires felt by most young people. Things go dark – very dark – when Jason’s puppet, Tyrone, takes on a life (and foul mouth) of its own, which quickly rocks Jason’s faith, family and the quiet, small town in which they live.

“Jason is this super sweet adolescent who, when his father dies, is on the cusp of everything that happens when you become an adult,” Cherry says. “He becomes devoted to this puppet, who becomes a kind of outlet for all of the anger he feels toward everyone. What we see in this play is how trauma and grief can make you do things you otherwise wouldn’t do.”

Wabash theater veteran Drew Johannes plays Jason, and his left arm plays Tyrone, his puppet alter ego. The role requires Johannes to perform dialogue with his puppet in both gut-wrenching and hilarious scenes. “Drew has made big leaps as an actor in every show he’s done at Wabash, and he is really firing on all cylinders in this role,” Cherry says. “He’s become a deft puppeteer in like one month.”

In writing about the Off-Broadway play for Variety, Marilyn Stasio said the playwright’s “most impressive talent is his ability to make us laugh while juggling those big themes that make life so terrifying: death, depression, alcoholism, sexual guilt, emotional repression, religious hypocrisy, and the eternal battle between your good puppet and your bad puppet.”

Brea Carlson makes her return to the Wabash stage as Jason’s mom, Margery, who creates the puppet ministry as a way to deal with her grief. Now living in Lafayette, Carlson is juggling a heavy work schedule with rehearsal, yet Cherry says, “She is outstanding; I’ve never seen her any better,” in a terrifically challenging role.

German language intern Sascha Sackniess plays the church pastor, Greg, who has (creepy) eyes for Margery. Drew Delor, a second-semester senior, makes his Wabash Theater debut as Timmy, a slacker bully with problems of his own. Betsy Swift rounds out the small cast as Jessica, an artsy girl stuck in a small town who has an appreciation for Balinese shadow puppetry, and quite possibly Jason.

The puppets are, of course, designed by Andrea Bear, which Cherry describes as, “Unreal, next-level, truly amazing puppets.”

Sophomore Jacob Sitzman and freshman Gus Sanchez are the stage managers, while junior K’Tren Wilson designed and built the costumes.

Adam Whittredge designed the set, which is principally staged in a classic church basement Sunday school room. Todd Handlogten and a cast of Wabash students built the set. Michael Abbott is the sound designer and Bai Rosa is the lighting designer.

Cherry emphasizes that this play is “theater for grown-ups.”

“I don’t know which I want to do more: Sing Hallelujah—or wash [Tyrone’s] dirty little mouth out with soap,” wrote Jeremy Gerard in Deadline.

Hand to God is not intended for children and contains graphic content and mature themes. Viewer discretion is advised.