City Theatre has a hit with this
wild comedy, so much so that it's extended the show's run by nearly a week, through Sat., Oct. 22.
click to enlarge Photo courtesy of Justin Merriman
Maggie Carr and Nick LaMedica (with Tyrone) in "Hand to God"
City's staging is one of the first regional-theater production of playwright Robert Askins' Broadway smash about a suburban Texas Christian kid whose hand becomes possessed by a demonic puppet named Tyrone.
I saw the show this past Friday, and it's indeed very funny, yet with a surprisingly potent subtext about grief. Oh, and also with some epic puppet sex.
In other words, it's not for kids, with more f-bombs than I've heard at City Theatre maybe ever. (Also, perhaps City's shallowest stage ever: The scenery representing the walls of church basement is at most 10 feet from the lip of the stage, giving the whole thing, appropriately, the feel of a life-sized puppet show.)
Nick LaMedica excels as both troubled teenage puppeteer Jason and the deliciously wicked Tyrone. And the whole evening is a lightning-fast 90 minutes, including intermission.
Here's Ted Hoover's
review for
CP.
Bonus: Though
Hand to God dates from 2011, it includes coincidental echoes of the current presidential campaign, including a "Miss Piggy" reference. However — and this is very important — all the puppet sex is consensual.
Hand To God has four more performances, starting with tomorrow night’s.
Regularly priced tickets start at $37.50, with special $15 tickets for patrons under age 30. Tickets are available
here.
City Theatre is located at 1300 Bingham St., on the South Side.