Hand to God
Mad Cow Theatre
By Robert Atkins
Directed by Tony Simotes
Starring Anthony Pyatt, Jr. and Ame Livingston
Nothing satisfies me more than a small-town Christian minister swearing on stage. In and in this small town, widowed Margery (Livingston) runs a Christian puppet group for kids in the local church. Widower Pastor Greg (Holland Hayes) sniffs around her skirts as her son Jason (Pyatt) becomes possess by his felt friend Tyrone. But she has a better prospect in underage redneck Timmy (Ryan J. Lynch); both of them are into rough sex to the point of knocking the sink off the wall in the bathroom. You go, girl! As Jason sinks deeper into whatever messed up scene Tyrone drags him into; he finds some salvation in cute Jessica and her very flexible hand puppet Jolene. Nothing makes sex more thrilling than the disapproval of the Almighty.
This is clearly not a show for you if you clutch your pearls over MTV and heavy metal rock bands. But if you seek biting satire and the pure joy of watching innocent icons used to further the devil’s work, be sure to drop by. Pyatt gives one off his best screwed up kid performances; and Ms. Livingston delivers the sexy, horny church lady we all hope to meet at communion and take home instead of joining the post-service coffee hour. Lynch’s bad boy offer a sweeter side, he claims to love Margery even if its only for the next hour or so. And Hayes as the lonely pastor feel sincere, even as he tries to pull rank by point out the bid old Jesus in his pockets. A large clam shell structure on stage moves us around this small town. This gives the stage hands cover to quietly demo the church basement while we are watching the action out on the mean streets of this small town. It’s rude, crude and funny, and you’ll never look at Avenue Q the same.
