HEAVENLY FATHER: Jim Parsons in ‘An Act of God.’ Photo: Jeremy Daniel

AN ACT OF GOD
Written by David Javerbaum
Directed by Joe Mantello
Through August 2, 2015
Studio 54
254 West 54th Street
(212-239-6200), www.AnActOfGod.com

By David NouNou

What a divine inspiration for God to make an appearance in the 21st century and give us His new version of the Ten Commandments, not in the form of a burning bush, bleeding statue, or some religious relic, but to use the body of Jim Parsons and, of all places, the Sodom and Gomorrah of the 1970s and 1980s, Studio 54. Simply heavenly.

We know that God is omnipotent, omniscient, created the world in six days and can be merciful. We have an inkling that 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.

Humor is the joy that David Javerbaum (head writer and executive producer of “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart”) has mined in An Act of God, based on the memoir of God. However, the proverbial cup that runneth over is God choosing Jim Parsons to represent Him in the flesh. We all know Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper, the Ph.D., theoretical physicist from TV’s “The Big Bang Theory,” but who knew he may actually be God who wears a flowing white robe, jeans and red sneakers?

If you had the good fortune to see Mr. Parsons in the astounding 2011 revival of The Normal Heart and the 2012 revival of Harvey, you know what a proficient actor he can be on stage. Now in what is an essentially 90-minute monologue, he shows us God’s duality, the good side of Him and the one who is weary of the day-to-day problems of mankind. He is vain and does not concern Himself in sports, so we should stop praying to Him for our favorite team to win or help us with the Tony ballot come this Sunday. Mr. Parsons has been blessed with the power to show us God in all of his moods. To show you what a superb actor Mr. Parsons is, and this is not a spoiler alert, just wait till the 8th Commandment, “To Honor Thy Children” and watch the compassion that runs throughout his whole being.

God also has two delightful assistants, the questioning angel Michael (Christopher Fitzgerald) and the servicing angel Gabriel (Tim Kazurinsky). The set by Scott Pask and lighting by Hugh Vanstone are other worldly and I mean that in the good sense. Just like he did for Bette Midler in I’ll Eat You Last, director Joe Mantello knows how to extract the best from his actors who engage in monologues.

The only thing missing in An Act Of God is the 11th Commandment; “Thou Must Go to Studio 54 and see Jim Parsons.”

SELFIE TIME IN THE AFTERLIFE: (left to right) Tim Kazurinsky, Jim Parsons & Christopher Fitzgerald. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

OH, GOD: Jim Parsons. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

REIGNING SUPREME: Jim Parsons in ‘An Act of God.’ Photo: Jeremy Daniel

GOD ALMIGHTY: Jim Parsons in ‘An Act of God.’

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published June 4, 2015
Reviewed at press performance on June 3, 2015

The post Jim Parsons is Simply Heavenly in ‘An Act of God’ appeared first on StageZine.

‘THE SPOILS’: Jesse Eisenberg & Kunal Nayyar. Photo: Monique Carboni

THE SPOILS
Written by Jesse Eisenberg
Directed by Scott Elliott
Through June 28, 2015
The New Group
The Pershing Square Signature Center
480 West 42nd Street
(212-279-4200), http://www.TheNewGroup.org

By David NouNou

To what ends would one go through to annihilate the ones closest to them? How low would privileged, shiftless millennials sink to, in order to douse the happiness of those hard workers, contributors to society, and people who are just happy to be themselves? How disliked and repellant do you have to be in order to get some recognition from those closest to you? These are just some of the demons that playwright Jesse Eisenberg tries to exorcise here, and he deals with them in a Machiavellian way, with hysterical humor and of course the drama at the core.

Ben (Jesse Eisenberg) is over privileged, living in a fantastic high-rise apartment that his father bought him, and was kicked out of NYU graduate film school. Ben’s never done a day’s work in his life. He’s a pot-smoking, aimless guy who berates everyone close to him. In addition, he’s a bigot, and can’t stand anyone’s happiness, ethics or ambitions. On good days, Ben is sarcastic and spews venom. Ben has a Nepalese roommate, Kalyan (Kunal Nayyar), a hard worker and a finance major. Kalyan loves being in America, and genuinely cares for and likes Ben. He feels obligated to him because Ben lets him live there for free.

Kalyan has a girlfriend, Reshma (Annapurna Sriram), who is medical student on clinical rotations and is very fond of Kalyan, admires his ambitions but has her misgivings about him. She feels free to come and go in Ben’s apartment, and she has contempt for Ben.

On this auspicious day, Ben runs into a former grade-school acquaintance, Ted (Michael Zegen), a likeable Wall Street douche. Ted is marrying Sarah (Erin Darke), a former grade school crush of Ben’s who is now a public school teacher. Now the circle of characters is complete and Eisenberg’s Machiavellian mind shifts the action into high gear. How does a self-hating, childish bully vanquish anyone who is happy, to some degree self-absorbed, has a modicum of success and looks forward to a brighter future?

The ensemble of five is terrific. Eisenberg, the actor, an Oscar nominee and best known for The Social Network, plays the self-destructive Ben to perfection; as both playwright and actor he plays him sincerely and asks for no pity. Like everyone else in life, Ben has to find his own way through his maze.

Kunal Nayyar, best known as TV’s Raj Koothrappalli in the TV series “The Big Bang Theory,” has left such an indelible mark as Raj, that it is almost impossible to separate him from his TV character. Let’s say that Kalyan is the New York cousin of Raj: an optimistic, serious, hard-working immigrant who longs for a better life and Mr. Nayyar delivers splendidly.

Erin Darke, Annapurna Sriram, and Michael Zegen complete the cast and each one stands out well as their character. Scott Elliott, Artistic Director of The New Group and director of The Spoils, should have given Mr. Eisenberg, the playwright, a bit more focus, especially in Act II, because Mr. Eisenberg is proving himself not only as a successful young actor but is distinguishing himself as a new voice and an interesting, up-and-coming playwright.

Jesse Eisenberg & Kunal Nayyar. Photo: Monique Carboni

Jesse Eisenberg & Kunal Nayyar. Photo: Monique Carboni

Annapurna Sriram & Jesse Eisenberg. Photo: Monique Carboni

(Left to right) Michael Zegen, Jesse Eisenberg & Erin Darke. Photo: Monique Carboni

Jesse Eisenberg & Erin Darke. Photo: Monique Carboni

The cast of ‘The Spoils.’ Photo: Monique Carboni

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published June 2, 2015
Reviewed at press performance on May 31, 2015

The post ‘The Spoils’: Millennials Behaving Badly appeared first on StageZine.