‘AN ACT OF GOD’: Sean Hayes. Photo: Jim Cox

AN ACT OF GOD
Written by David Javerbaum
Directed by Joe Mantello
Through September 4, 2016
Booth Theatre
222 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200), www.AnActOfGod.com

By Scott Harrah

God returns to Broadway in this hit show from last summer, appearing in the 21^st century to give us His new version of the Ten Commandments. He’s not in the form of a burning bush, but this time around he’s in the body of Emmy Award winner Sean Hayes, with mostly heavenly results.

Mr. Hayes, Jack McFarland of “Will and Grace” fame, reprises the role originated by “Big Bang Theory” star Jim Parsons in 2015. Mr. Hayes, who played God earlier this year in the Los Angeles and San Francisco productions, brings his Almighty touch to New York. Anyone who saw Mr. Parsons do the role will immediately make comparisons about Mr. Hayes’ portrayal. While Mr. Parsons’ God was more droll, ingenious and deadpan, Mr. Hayes gives a fresh, snarky take on the Supreme Being. Sean Hayes as God is more sarcastic, delivers the dialogue with more of an edge and, well, does at times seem like Jack McFarland as our Heavenly Father, but that’s not a problem at all if one is a “Will and Grace” fan.

Naturally, the script has been updated slightly for 2016. There are now jokes about Hamilton and Donald Trump (no need to spoil anything with punch lines, but there are enough new tweaks to make the show worth a second look, even if you caught it last year with Jim Parsons).

We know that God is omnipotent and omnificent created the world in six days and can be merciful. We know He can be full of wrath, vengeful, jealous, unjust and downright cantankerous. We now know that on good days He also has a sense of humor.

Besides Mr. Hayes, the other true star is the clever script by David Javerbaum (13-time Emmy Award-winning former head writer and executive producer of “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart), all based “on the memoir of God.”

Whether you’ve seen Sean Hayes as Jack in “Will and Grace” or caught his Broadway debut back in 2011 opposite Kristin Chenoweth in Promises, Promises, you’ve never seen him quite like this.  Now, in this 90 minute monologue, he shows us God’s duality, the good side of Him and the one who is skeptical of mankind’s daily troubles. He is vain and does not concern Himself in sports, so we should stop praying to Him for our favorite team, Mr. Hayes shows us God in all of his moods. While Mr. Hayes primarily plays things for laughs (and gets them), he can be poignant in the right places, such as when he announces the 8^th commandment, “To Honor Thy Children.” Suddenly, this smart-mouthed God shows he has a compassionate side, too.

God has two engaging assistants: The questioning angel Michael (David Josefsberg) and the servicing angel Gabriel (James Gleason). The set by Scott Pask and lighting by Hugh Vanstone is sparse but effective. As he once did for Bette Midler in I’ll Eat You Last (which played the Booth back in 2013), Joe Mantello has a fine gift for extracting the best from his actors who engage in monologues.

Now here’s a commandment: Thou must now get to the Booth Theatre and see Sean Hayes as God.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published June 6, 2016
Reviewed at press performance on June 4, 2016

‘AN ACT OF GOD’: James Gleason, Sean Hayes & David Josefsberg. Photo: Jim Cox

‘AN ACT OF GOD’: Sean Hayes. Photo: Jim Cox

‘AN ACT OF GOD’: James Gleason, Sean Hayes & David Josefsberg. Photo: Jim Cox

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HUNKA HUNKS OF BURNING LOVE: David Josefsberg (center) & a chorus of Elvis impersonators in ‘Honeymoon in Vegas.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

HONEYMOON IN VEGAS
Book by Andrew Bergman
Music & lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Directed by Gary Griffin
Nederlander Theatre, 208 West 41st Street
(877-250-2929), www.honeymoonbroadway.com

By Scott Harrah

Old-school Las Vegas is always portrayed with shameless romanticism. Although the glittering city of slot machines, showgirls and mobsters in the 1960s has been mined in countless movies and books, it has never been depicted quite like anything in this entertaining musical stage adaptation of the 1992 Nicholas Cage/Sarah Jessica Parker movie Honeymoon in Vegas, now on Broadway after a successful stint at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey. As a musical, the show works, with plot-propelling songs and the razzle-dazzle production numbers and glittery costumes one would expect from a story set in Vegas.

Rob McClure (best known to Broadway audiences for his role in the tepid, ill-fated Chaplin back in 2012) is merely serviceable as Jack Singer, the proverbial putz who has been dating sexy Betsy (the beautiful and winsome Brynn O’Malley) for five years. As a leading man, Mr. McClure has all the appeal of a stale old piece of toast.

Jack is haunted by the deathbed declaration of his late mother, Bea (Nancy Opel), a cartoonish, nagging Jewish mama. She tells him he must show he only loves her in the song “Never Get Married.” However, Jack defies his dead mama’s wishes and takes Betsy to Las Vegas and plans to marry her.

Honeymoon in Vegas is mired in stereotypes, of course, but what story about Vegas isn’t? Tony Danza’s Tommy Korman, the aging “boss” of the Strip, is still mourning the loss of his beloved wife, a big-haired bimbo whose penchant for reading trashy Sidney Sheldon novels while lying in the sun slathered in coconut oil resulted in an early death from skin cancer. Betsy just happens to be a dead ringer for Tommy’s late wife, so one can guess what eventually happens when he meets her.

Danza’s Tommy is the villain here—Jack faces a tough choice after losing Betsy in a poker game to the guy—but we root for him far more than Jack. With his heavy New York accent and debonair gangster stage presence, Tommy is equal parts Tony Banta from his iconic role on “Taxi,” with many shades of Sinatra. Mr. Danza is total smarmy charm throughout the show, from a winning tap-dance number to such cheesy solo ballads as “Come to An Agreement.”

The story travels from Vegas to Hawaii as Jack tries to win back Betsy and the narrative becomes even more preposterous. Is it a problem when one finds the antagonist in a musical more fascinating than the hero? Does it matter? After all, this a show based on a film perhaps most famous for a scene showing a group of Elvis impersonators skydiving out of a plane. That scene is reproduced with hilarious results here, complete with the number “Airport Song,” and lyrics about how every plane that isn’t nonstop always has to connect through Atlanta.

Don’t come to Honeymoon in Vegas expecting high art or great choreography (the dance moves by Denis Jones are energetic but pedestrian). However, there is a lot to love if you’re a fan of the movie. Even if you’re not, it is rare to find a show like this, with a full orchestra, a gorgeous overture (complete with musicians jamming onstage), a catchy score and glitzy costumes. The musical is colorful and high-spirited enough to lift almost anyone out of the midwinter doldrums.

VEGAS-BOUND: Rob McClure (left) & ensemble in ‘Honeymoon in Vegas.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

HIGH ROLLERS: Tony Danza (seated, far left) & Rob McClure in ‘Honeymoon in Vegas.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

JOHNNY SANDWICH & TOMMY: Matthew Saldivar & Tony Danza in ‘Honeymoon in Vegas.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

A GENTLEMAN’S AGREEMENT: Tony Danza & RobMcClure discuss how to pay a gambling bet in ‘Honeymoon in Vegas.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

MAMA’S DEATHBED WISH: Rob McClure & Nancy Opel in ‘Honeymoon in Vegas.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

FIGHTING OFF AMOROUS ADVANCES IN HAWAII: Rob McClure & Catherine Ricafort. Photo: Joan Marcus

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published January 21, 2015
Reviewed at press performance on January 20, 2015

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