Divine satire: Aurora’s Paramount Theatre revives saucy ‘An Act of God’
“An Act of God” — 3 stars
“An Act of God,” the saucy religious satire running at Aurora’s Copley Theatre, finds the Almighty in a chatty mood.
To a point.
Written by Emmy Award-winning writer/producer David Javerbaum (“The Daily Show With Jon Stewart”) and more secular than sacred, the 2015 play is based on Javerbaum’s book “The Last Testament: A Memoir by God,” which was inspired by his Twitter account, @TheTweetofGod.
Brisk, breezy and at times laugh-out-loud funny, Javerbaum’s three-hander is dominated by the deity who is manifesting as the disarming Alex Weisman (who, as God gleefully points out, is a two-time Jeff Award-winner and Broadway veteran).
Effusive and fresh-scrubbed, Weisman is positively cherubic and imminently likable as the titular character who visits earth for a confab with the faithful. His main purpose is to reveal revisions to his most famous decree: The Ten Commandments. He’s tweaked all of them except the first, the one that demands no other gods before him. That one stands.
Joining God for the revelation are his archangel wingmen Gabriel (Em Modaff) and Michael (Michael Turrentine), whose increasingly probing questions agitate the Almighty.
The action unfolds on a white set (Jeffrey D. Kmiec and Milo Bue share design credit) dominated by a circular, white settee and has a daytime talk-show vibe, with Michael roaming the audience and soliciting questions like the late Phil Donahue. To that end, director Keira Fromm’s entertaining revival is ideally suited to the intimate Copley stage, where Anthony Churchill’s projections and designer Brandon Wardell’s multihued, halo-inspired lighting make for a suitably celestial backdrop.
God begins by riffing on his greatest hits: Creating the earth, creating humankind to tend to it and creating the clergy to tend to humankind as a sort of buffer between the lord and his followers. (As it turns out, he doesn’t really desire a personal relationship with them).
Introducing his amended commandments, God clears up a couple of misconceptions. First, he does not hate members of the LGBTQ+ community. He did, in fact, create Adam and Steve first. But after eating the apple, “the knowledge that their lifestyle was sinful, shamed them,” so God transformed Steve to Eve and made them a suburban heterosexual couple with kids.
Acknowledging the impracticality of herding two of every species onto the ark, he admits the Bible is embellished and urges the audience to be more discerning.
“Belief and faith are no excuses for abandoning sound judgment,” he admonishes.
He reminisces about testing the devotion of his believers Old Testament-style (he recalls Job’s experience as especially hilarious) and condemning scientists who contradict creationism. Referencing his kids, Zach, Jesus and Kathy, he expresses concern over middle-child Jesus, who he fears is too sensitive.
Comparing himself to celebrities (his other chosen people) who are “adored, worshiped and tantrum-prone,” he admits to “wrath management issues.” But while his admissions suggest self-awareness, they do not amount to contrition.
In fact, God becomes prickly when angel Michael presses him about why he allows suffering, whether he answers prayers, and why bad things happen to good people. (To even out the good things that happen to bad people, of course.)
The heavy lifting in Javerbaum’s monologue-heavy play falls to Weisman, who seamlessly transitions from avuncular New Testament deity to the austere almighty of the Old Testament. His nicely limned performance makes for an auspicious Paramount debut. Here’s hoping for a return engagement.
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Location: Copley Theatre, 8 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora, (630) 896-6666, paramountaurora.com
Showtimes: 1:30 and 7 p.m. Wednesday; 7 p.m. Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 1 and 5:30 p.m. Sunday through Nov. 10
Running time: About 80 minutes, no intermission
Tickets: $40-$55
Parking: Limited street parking, paid lots nearby
Rating: For adults; mature subject matter and language