Hand to God written by Robert Askins, was presented by Generation Productions at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and was an unexpected, hilarious, and irreverent production. In a church Sunday school class, students are using puppets in a morality play. Timothy, a shy boy, played by Jerry J. Jobe had a puppet with plans of his own. The puppet calls out Timmy’s attraction to Jessica (Devan Seaman) in rather lascivious ways. Jason, (Andrew Romano) skulked with crossed arms and was anxious to cause trouble. The Sunday school puppetry teacher was Margery (Rebecca Fisher) and she was also Timmy’s mom.
The play’s title is a bit misleading. From the moment the foul-mouthed puppet on Timmy’s hand spoke for himself the laughs just kept on coming. This is no quiet morality play. The underlying unspoken heartfelt drama came from the loss of Timmy’s dad. The brunt of the action was aimed at resolving the fractured relationship between Timmy and his mom. The stakes got higher when Pastor Greg (Jason Blackwater) insists that Margery present a play at the next service. Timmy, knowing he has no control over what the puppet might say, has to let his mother down.
Both Jason and Pastor Greg made advances on Margery. She was left devastated after her husband’s death and crashed against the rocks. The classroom became a devil’s den complete with a satanic star and a teddy bear, pubic hair included, with an arrow through it, when Timmy and his puppet take over.
One of the funnier moments came when Jessica decides to speak to Timmy’s puppet through her own puppet. The result is a hilarious 5 minute sex scene with the two puppets as she is able to confide in Timmy, all as the distracted puppets bumped together. The production was a blast being a cross between Little Shop of Horrors and the Exorcist. Rebecca Fisher as Margery was fantastic. This was an amazing role for her. Jeremy J. Jobe also did an amazing job as he tried to remove the satanic puppet from his life.
The play was produced by Aaron Safer, and featured direction by Kenny Howard. The set design was by Bonnie Sprung, with costumes by Kyla Swanberg, and lighting design by Amy Hadley.