What has being good ever gotten me?
By Eric George Tauber
SAN DIEGO — My first forays into theatre were through puppetry. Equipped with crocheted animal puppets, poster board, colored pencils and a record player, I put on shows for my indulgent family. So I was stoked to see Hand to God play at the Rep.
Some churches and synagogues include “puppet ministries” in which teachers use puppets to teach Bible stories to young children. According to the “10 Commandments of Puppetry” by Terry Price, scripts must be both “Bible based” and “family oriented.” So it’s best to skip over the seduction of Bathsheba, the rape of Tamar and … well, a lot.
And this brings us to Cypress Lutheran Church where Tyrone, a foul-mouthed sock puppet gives us a highly irreverent history lesson. Life was better when we simply did as we pleased and had no sense of good and evil. But once we did, we invented the devil to blame our own failings on.
The battle between the Yetzer HaTov and the Yetzer HaRa (the inclinations towards good and wickedness) rages in all of us. We all like to think of ourselves as basically good people. But what happens if we try too hard? Behind every held tongue are stinging truths we’re dying to say. Inside every goody two-shoes are some bad moves aching to bust out.
Caleb Foote plays Jason, a young man who is very attached to his hand puppet, Tyrone, hardly ever taking him off. They’ve worked out a great “Who’s on first?” But Tyrone has a habit of saying more than he should.
Jason Heil as Pastor Greg knows how to play the part of a sanctified shepherd. His tongue is ridiculously free of salt, but under the collar, he’s still just a man with a man’s needs. He offers his arms of warmth to the lonely, widowed Margery, Jason’s mom; but it takes some real heat to light her fire.
Garrett Marshall plays Timothy, is a “difficult” youth who embraces his rebellious bad-boy persona. Having some serious mother issues, he also comes on to Margery. And he’s just the key to unlock the wild woman inside of her. Deanna Driscoll has a real knack for playing overbearing mothers who are just a bit crazy.
Raise a glass to Caleb Foote! The interaction between Jason and Tyrone is brilliant. Much like Gollum and Smeagol in Lord of the Rings, Tyrone is the devil on his shoulder urging him to act on his impulses and take his due. Tyrone has such a mind of his own that he seems possessed. Only Jessica, the adorably nerdy Christina L Flynn, realizes that the way to reach Jason is through another puppet, Jolene. A woman of the world, Jolene shows Tyrone the ropes of love in a scene so graphically bawdy, you almost forget that they’re puppets.
Hand to God is not for the faint of heart. It’s irreverent and ribald and may leave you wondering what little demons lurk inside of you. But if you’re ready to face those inner demons with howls of laughter, then get to the Rep. Hand to God plays through November 12, 2017 on the Lyceum Stage.
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Tauber is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. He may be contacted via eric.tauber@sdjewishworld.com