Hand to God Previews — Page 3

No, the comedy is more Book of Mormon/Avenue Q. It's def. a nice, fresh script. But I agree that the dramatic elements fall flat. If they could just clean up those moments, or add some jokes in there, it would really help.

The last like 20mins felt kind of weird to me, and I echo the sentiments about the ending. I'm offended someone said I didn't get it when the playwright EXPLICITLY tells us at the end. Ha.

Really can't stress this enough: everyone drop everything you're doing and get yourself a ticket to "Hand to God"; I've never experienced such a mix of riotous laughter, lucid thought, and genuine terror in a theatre before. The ending alone makes this one of the most important works on the main stem today. See it, if only to have your own opinion on it. Trust me: It's not to be missed.

Is it kind of interesting though the scale of the show? I mean what was the top ticket at EST? Like maybe 50? Then at MCC it was probably in the 80s? Now it's a 120 ticket? It's def. a tough sell, especially for the middle-age/older crowd. There was a couple in front of me, maybe in their late 20s/early 30s. Wall street types. They were taking pictures with their playbills, etc, but then during the show not one peep. And they were kind of solemn walking out. Which is surprising. I mean, I thought the show was pretty damn funny when it was funny, if that makes sense. I'd be hard pressed to believe someone didn't laugh at anything. I mean, the Mother is KILLING it. She cracks my shiz. When she tries not to curse in the first scene, i was dying.

Wow. I went in very excited by the buzz from this show's previous runs, but the appeal of this show was lost on me. Yes the opening and ending monologues attempt to add some meaning to the script, but there's not much there in the story in between. And what everyone around me seemed to find so funny was more how "shocking" everything was...the foul language, sex, etc. No, I'm not opposed to these things in the theater, but it all didn't amount to anything for me. The writing all seemed extremely amateur.
Obviously I'm in the minority on this as the crowd around me roared with laughter and leapt to their feet.
Yes, Boyer was extremely talented and there were some clever physical bits with the puppet, but it all just fell flat for me.

I saw the show last night. I got the special $30 tickets, and got the very last aisle seat in the Mezz. I could've gotten much much closer, but I'm an aisle person. I gotta say, even in the last row, I had a superb view and felt really in the show throughout. I'm curious if I missed many 'subtleties,' but if I did, it definitely went unnoticed and unharmed.

Now... I got my ticket because I'd heard the name, but I really wanted to go in not knowing a single thing about what I was getting into. With that said, the first few scenes, once I understood where the play was going and what this was about, were hard to swallow. Then I kind of let myself just get taken away by the play, and surely enough, with Boyer flawlessly playing Jason & Tyrone, this was not difficult.

I loved the arch of the mother, but I felt like by act 2 she was screaming every.single.word. I understand she 'losses it', but I just think the screaming was overdone.

I was also shocked, as someone else has mentioned, at how 'offended' people had gotten about some scenes in Honeymoon in Vegas, so I really am curious to see how much people get offended by this show.

Definitely the best acting performance I've seen. I laughed a lot, but I also felt uncomfortable during some lines. But overall, I left with a great impression of the show, and I'd recommend it to a lot of people. Not everyone. But a lot of open-minded dark-comedy-loving people.

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"Isn't a big deal of the offense in Vegas because the show plays at it as being "ok"? From what I've heard, in Hand to God, they KNOW it's offensive...that's the point. "

Mmmm I see, that's a good point. Yeah I went into Hand To God not knowing anything about the show so I guess that's why it was more shocking for me.

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I saw this last night and I am positive, though a bit more reserved.

Someone near me declared at intermission that it was the "Rebirth of American Theater" which made me laugh. I think that is a bit too far. It is a bold and daring play that takes risks that mostly pay off.

However, I wonder if the play would hold up as well without the main piece of glue that holds it all together, Steven Boyer. It is a tour de force, and he no doubt is a serious Tony contender.

I think for a lot of people, this play will be just too dark and yes, it can be offensive. It is also very, very funny. But there are moments that definitely drag that I wish that the pace had been picked up a bit. In fact I think I would have really loved this if it were 90 minutes. It doesn't really need the intermission, and I think would benefit from just going straight through.

I will say re. the supporting cast I LOVED Geneva Carr, and Sarah Stiles. Stiles does some brilliant work in Act 2, and Geneva really holds her own against Boyer.

Definitely great fun, and a very enthusiastic audience last night.

Saw this last night and overall, I was underwhelmed. I also found the whole play a little slight. The humor was a little too crude for my tastes, and I actually thought it needed another 20-30 minutes to flesh out a few things (especially Sarah Stiles' character). I do agree that the acting is very, very good, and Boyer is fantastic. He's worth the price of admission alone.

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Has there been any merchandise for sale?

I didn't look very closely but I was surprised at how much merch they already had on Wednesday night.

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Also, I wanted to throw in, with no ill towards Sharp (who is giving an incredibly wonderful and difficult performance), that Boyer should not be empty-handed this awards season. Maybe it's because I'm a comedy nerd, but what Boyer is insane even taking out the puppetry. He is a a gifted puppeteer, but his acting and comedy chops made me literally cry he was so good. I don't mean I cried at the more emotional bits, I actively wept during hysterical moments because Boyer's performance is so powerful and funny. I'm amazed he was able to convey one emotion with his voice while his face showed a completely different one. He is a revelation.

The boy in this play is in need of serious help. The play in this play is in need of serious help. By evening's end, the audience forced to sit through this stupid, juvenile, tedious drivel needs the most help of all. There's not even one paltry laugh in the whole asinine farrago. Imagine a puppet who spews dirty words, attacks his own puppeteer (and others) and has sex with another puppet! How witty! How inventive! How hilarious! Plenty of sewer language and violence, natch, but it isn't even adult enough to get offended about. It should just be shooed away and told to grow up soon.


When did the mindset of a puerile, smart-assed, foul-mouthed thirteen-year-old become the ideal to which our plays and musicals should aspire?