Once you get past the puppet sex — regular, oral and anal– playwright Robert Askins has a lot to say about faith, hope and charity in his hit Broadway play HAND TO GOD, now thru October 2 at the Unicorn Theatre, 3828 Main in midtown KC.
Not for the faint of heart or tender of ear, Cynthia Levin‘s fine production does Askins proud, which means you’re in for a helluva ride thanks to Tyrone, a puppet so demented he makes the South Park kids look like Kukla, Fran and Ollie.
We meet Tyrone in a church basement. It’s after school, and Margery (Heidi Vann) has recruited son Jason (Bob Linebarger) and several misfits to join her puppet ministry, spreading the Gospel Sesame Street-style. Jason’s dad just died, leaving him and his mother easy prey for the stoner kids in class. That is until the sock puppet he’s donned– yep, Tyrone— starts to kick some ass.
Ms. Vann is the heart of this piece and she does a great job. If you’ve seen some of her more avant-garde work at the Fishtank, it’s nice to find her in a more audience-tested piece, even one as twisted as HAND TO GOD. She really nails the emotional roller coaster that Margery clings to.
Mathew Lindblom and Mariem Diaz torment and soothe Jason, respectively, as his fellow puppet parishioners. Marc Libby’s Pastor Greg brings just the right amount of smarmy, know-it-all religiosity to the proceedings. Levin directs with a sure hand and technical credits are generally first rate (especially the Paul Mesner Puppets), though I thought Heidi’s shmatta looked particularly cheap– she’s a beautiful woman and the clothes (and those shoes) made her look like a bag lady.
But this is Jason/Tyrone’s show, and Bob Linebarger pulls off both parts impressively (and simultaneously). Cynthia was lucky to find this doughy-looking dude who turns razor sharp when inhabited by the demonic Tyrone. He brings just the right amount of empathy to a part that could have turned whiny.
The word is out on HAND TO GOD and tickets are selling fast (perhaps they’ll extend another week). Again, don’t confuse this, as the characters do, with after-school puppet practice. There’s nothing innocent or family-friendly about Tyrone. But, in between all the invective, that little puppet has a voice that often rings true.
I saw it in NY midway through its run with the original cast and walked out at intermission. I was certainly not offended by anything. I see a lot of very edgy stuff in NY. I was just bored. A Saturday matinee that was maybe half full after rave reviews by all the critics. I thought back then that the Unicorn would be a perfect choice for it to play in KC. I hope they do well.