Hand to God, the wickedly irreverent new comedy by Robert Askins, will likely not win the Tony Award for best play (though I do think it will be nominated). But if there were a category for best advertising campaign, it would win “hands” down.
You see, in most of the Playbills for other shows, Hand to God has an ad specifically commenting on that show. For instance, in the Something Rotten program, Hand to God’s ad proclaims that it is “Rottener.” And for Fun Home, it declares “My home is always fun, baby.” So the question was, as I headed to Hand to God on my final day in New York on Sunday, whether the show is as clever as its ads.
Indeed it is. Picture a more foul-mouthed Avenue Q with some of Book of Mormon’s religious snark. H2G concerns a guy named Jason who has a sock puppet called Tyrone on his hand. But Tyrone soon seems to be the one in charge, spewing out irreverent trash talk, leering at the female characters and eventually attacking Jason’s male nemesis. The inevitable conclusion is that Tyrone is Satan and he needs to be exorcised.
Also likely to receive a Tony nomination later today is Steven Boyer, who plays Jason and manipulates Tyrone with great skill. When Hand to God debuted off-Broadway last season, Boyer won an Obie and a Lucille Lortel Award. He has a very promising future ahead. (Note to future stage actors now in training: Take a course in puppetry.)