PhotosBlood, Salad and Sleeping Tyrones! Spend a Mischievous Two-Show Day at Hand to God With Sarah StilesHand to God, starring Steven Boyer in his acclaimed performance as a boy and his foul-mouthed hand puppet, continues to delight (and maybe shock) audiences at the Booth Theatre. Sarah Stiles, whose performance in the comedy earned her a 2015 Tony Award nomination, shares a recent two-show day with the people and puppets who inhabit her world.
By
Matthew Blank
August 27, 2015
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Blood, Salad and Sleeping Tyrones! Spend a Mischievous Two-Show Day at Hand to God With Sarah Stiles
Producer Kevin McCollum's three years of development on this play include its previous acclaimed productions at the Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST) in 2011 and its more recent Off-Broadway debut at MCC Theater in 2014.
The provocative play features the complete cast of the 2014 MCC Theater production. Boyer ("The Wolf of Wall Street," King Lear) stars as Jason/Tyrone with Geneva Carr (Broadway debut) as Margery, Tony Award nominee Marc Kudisch (9 to 5) as Pastor Greg, Sarah Stiles (Into the Woods, Avenue Q) as Jessica and Michael Oberholtzer (Broadway debut) as Timmy. Boyer received an Obie Award, the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Leading Actor in a Play, the Actors' Equity AssociationClarence Derwent Award for Most Promising Newcomer and a citation from the Drama League for Distinguished Performance, among other awards.
Hand to God, according to producer McCollum, "centers on shy, inquisitive student Jason, who finds an outlet for his burgeoning creativity at the Christian Puppet Ministry in the devoutly religious, relatively quiet small town of Cypress, Texas. Jason's complicated relationships with the town pastor, the school bully, the girl next door and — most especially — his mother are thrown into further upheaval when Jason’s hand puppet Tyrone — once soft-spoken — takes on a shocking and dangerously irreverent personality all its own. As Tyrone’s influence over Jason steadily grows, Hand to God explores the startlingly fragile nature of faith, morality, and the ties that bind us."
The design team for Hand to God includes scenic design by Beowulf Boritt, costumes by Sydney Maresca, lighting by Jason Lyons, sound by Jill BC Du Boff, puppet design by Marte Johanne Ekhougen and fight direction by Robert Westley. Casting is by Telsey + Company.