(Above: Connor French, left, plays the angst-ridden teenager Jason, and Tom Wilson is pastor in OCT’s production of Robert Askins’ Hand to God)
By Randi Bjornstad
The plot at first sounds innocuous, but wait.
In Hand to God, now onstage at the Oregon Contemporary Theatre in its last show of the 2017-18 season, a Texas teenager named Jason is beset with usual teenage angst, which he decides to confront by getting involved in a program called the Christian Puppet Ministry.
He joins the church youth group, using a puppet he calls Tyrone, and as they say, all hell breaks loose as Tyrone begins to “possess” Jason’s arm, letting loose a torrent of blasphemy and scandalous insinuations that reveal the deepest, darkest secrets held by people in the congregation.
Ben Lawrence, as the town bully, is just one person attacked by the evil puppet, Tyrone, in Robert Askins’ “Hand to God”
Obviously, being controlled by this diabolical puppet — or is Tyrone really the puppet master — doesn’t do any good for Jason’s already fraught relationships with his mother, the pastor of the church, the school bully, the girl he has a crush on, or anyone else in the small town of Cypress.
Written by Robert Askins, Hand to God was nominated for five Tony awards, including Best New Play, when it hit Broadway in 2015, after several off-Broadway appearances.
In introducing the play, OCT artistic director Craig Willis described it as “smart and slightly blasphemous comedy.”
“Askins does a great job of making us laugh out loud—while also feeling a little guilt,” Willis said. “Then you realize everyone around you is laughing just as hard. It’s a fun night of theater that ends our season with a little bit of naughty laughter.”
Brian Haimbach directs the show, which features Kari Welch and Tom Wilson, both familiar to OCT playgoers, along with three actors — Connor French, Ben Lawrence and Meg Schenk — making their OCT stage debuts.
The technical crew includes scenic design by Craig Willis; sound by Gabe Carlin; Gareth Warr on properties; costume design by Heather Kidd; Michael Peterson on lights; fight direction by William Hulings; Rachel Carnes as puppet coach; and Jennifer Sandgathe as production stage manager.
Although Hand to God is billed as comedy, it’s a very dark one, raising plenty of issues such as whether the devil really exists or is simply a deep-seated part of human nature, and how human beings can or should come together to create truthful lives and relationships without deeply hidden agendas or barely subdued, if at all, violent tendencies.
Hand to God
When: Continuing through June 9 with performances at 7:30 p.m. on May 31 and June 1-2 and 7-9, and at 2 p.m. on June 3
Where: 194 W. Broadway in downtown Eugene
Tickets: $20-39; $15 for students with valid student ID, available through the OCT box office, 541-465-1506, or online at octheatre.org
