The hilarious and provocative Hand to God centers on shy, inquisitive student Jason, who finds an outlet for his burgeoning creativity at the Christian Puppet Ministry in the devoutly religious, relatively quiet small town of Cypress, Texas. Jason's complicated relationships with the town pastor, the school bully, the girl next door and-most especially-his mother are thrown into further upheaval when Jason's hand puppet Tyrone-once soft-spoken-takes on a shocking and dangerously irreverent personality all its own. As Tyrone's influence over Jason steadily grows, Hand to God explores the startlingly fragile nature of faith, morality, and the ties that bind us.
Hand to God will feature the complete cast of the hit 2014 MCC Theater production: Steven Boyer as Jason/Tyrone; Geneva Carr, in her Broadway debut, as Margery; Tony Award nominee Marc Kudisch as Pastor Greg; Sarah Stiles as Jessica; and Michael Oberholtzer, in his Broadway debut, as Timmy. Boyer reprises the role for which he has been honored with an Obie Award, the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Leading Actor in a Play, the Actors' Equity Association Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising Newcomer, and a citation from the Drama League for Distinguished Performance, among other awards.
Praise be to the angels behind it: Hand to God has made it to Broadway. No need for heavenly choir music, though, because the reception the play deserves is the one it gets nightly at the Booth: roars of gleeful laughter. Some have wondered whether Robert Askins's outrageous dark comedy-about a sweet Christian teen, Jason (Steven Boyer), and his demonic puppet, Tyrone-would work as well in a larger venue as in its two hit Off Broadway runs. The answer is a resounding, full-throated yes. The freshest and funniest Broadway comedy in years, Hand to God is to plays as The Book of Mormon is to musicals: a welcome breath of foul air.
...it's a rare and wonderful thing to see director Moritz von Stuelpnagel's aggressively punk production, which started at the 99-seat Ensemble Studio Theatre and was then plunked by MCC into Off-Broadway's Lortel, now gracing Shubert Alley...Before you know it, it turns out that Askins' drama, as well as Jason's puppet, has some powerful teeth. Though uproariously funny at times, the serious-minded production will have the more squeamish playgoers averting their eyes at the bloody and desperate climax...In order for Broadway to seriously claim itself to be the heart of American theatre, more plays like this need to be produced there regularly. Hollywood stars and pop music icons may bring in the crowds, but nothing beats good writing, adventurous ideas and major attitude.
2014 | Off-Broadway |
Original Off-Broadway Production Off-Broadway |
2015 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
2016 | West End |
Original West End Production West End |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play | Robert Askins |
2015 | Theatre World Awards | Theatre World Award | Geneva Carr |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Play | Moritz von Stuelpnagel |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play | Steven Boyer |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play | Sarah Stiles |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play | Geneva Carr |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Mariano V. Tolentino Jr. |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Play | MCC Theater |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Ensemble Studio Theatre |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Jam Theatricals |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Ayal Miodovnik |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Lily Fan |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Timothy Laczynski |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Jhett Tolentino |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Joan Raffe |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Play | DeSimone/Winkler |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Play | LAMS Productions |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Stephanie Kramer |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Morris Berchard |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Play | CMC |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Broadway Global Ventures |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Kevin McCollum |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Robert Askins |
Videos