In a church basement, a group of teenagers gather to make puppets that will spread the Christian message — but one of the puppets turns out to be more demonic than divine.
The original Broadway comedy “Hand to God” by playwright Robert Askins will be performed on select nights from now until Feb. 5 at the Hippodrome State Theatre. The play tells the story of Tyrone, a satanic puppet who makes a small Texas town rethink their beliefs.
Tyrone talks about everything from love to faith, and he shows that both sinfulness and saintliness are what make us human.
“The show was laugh-out-loud funny, and our local talent is amazing,” said Renee Meyer, a Gainesville local who attended a viewing of the play.
Askins was a bartender in Brooklyn, New York, when his play first premiered on Broadway. He couldn’t afford to go see his own play, but nevertheless, he was ecstatic at the success. The show, which started on Broadway in 2015 and was nominated for five Tony awards that same year, is now being performed by theaters all across the country.
Growing up in rural Texas, Askins attended church with his grandmother frequently and described the patrons as “deeply conservative, old farm folks, stone-faced, pride and suffering, and the only time anybody ever really livened up was when the children’s choir would perform.”
This is how Askins became interested in the performing arts: the children’s choir. It wasn’t until high school that his interest in theater emerged, but he didn’t want to write anything that would bore him like church did.
“It’s kind of frustrating in life to be like, ‘I’m a playwright,’ and watch people’s face fall, because they associate plays with phenomenally dull, didactic, poetic grad-schoolery, where everything takes too long and tediously explores the beauty in ourselves,” he said. “It’s not church, even though it feels like church a lot when we go these days.”
“Hand to God,” although centered around a rural, religious Texas town, is anything but boring.
At one point, stuffed animals are mutilated in ways that resemble those of Catholic martyrs. The result is a dark comedy that is both hilarious and provocative. Since its inception in 2011, the play has tackled ideas behind our social structure.
“This is not academic, this is visceral, and that’s exciting,” Askins said. “It’s sacred.”
Tickets range from $10 for students on discount nights to $30 for regular seats, and can be purchased at the box office or at thehipp.org.
