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.
'Hand to God' -- a dark, irreverent and smart comedy by the young, previously unknown playwright Peter Askins -- is one hell of a great success story, having graduated step by step from off Off-Broadway to Off-Broadway to finally Broadway itself. This is the kind of raw and raunchy play you don't typically see on Broadway, but once there ends up making Broadway a more exciting place...Yet despite how silly it gets, 'Hand to God' is also a seriously disturbing portrait of an emotionally scarred mother and son who have spent so long suppressing their rage that it comes out in unpredictable and inappropriate ways.
Tyrone is a puppet with sharp teeth that lives at the end of the right arm belonging to timid Jason (Steven Boyer). The fabric creature struts his considerable stuff in Hand to God, Robert Askins's career-making play that has now and for all the best reasons been transferred from off-off-Broadway to off-Broadway to Broadway, at the Booth...Boyer -- who resembles Irving Penn's photographs of the young Truman Capote -- is giving a career-making performance every bit equal to Askins's work. He's utterly captivating, utterly heart-breaking in his transition from a shy boy with a puppeteering inclination to a terrified young man in possibly unbreakable thrall to a virtually autonomous bully who's not reluctant to declare himself the Devil...The truth is, that the Hand to God assault on religion as irrevocable healer both tickles the ribs and gives them a powerful punch.
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 |
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