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

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