By Bryan Stubbles
God Help Us! at the Alban Arts Center in St. Albans, West Virginia provides timely laughs, literally! The play is penned by Samuel Warren Joseph and Phil Proctor, directed by Mitch Levine, and produced by Liza Asner.
Full disclosure: I won’t disclose my political leanings here since the entire play is political.
Randi (Marlette Carter) and Lawrence (Adam Bryan) are a former couple who find themselves on opposite sides of the political maelstrom infecting America. Both work as talking heads for their respective audiences. (Lawrence just made an appearance on Rachel Maddow’s show and Randi is a Fox News regular). God (Ed Asner) summons them both to answer to Him for America’s political stupidity.
What follows is basically a rehash of progressive and conservative talking points and a lot about whether one loves or hates Trump (or should).
A play like this can become trite or preachy very, very fast. The play sounded out various topics as God forces these two to defend their positions on topics as diverse as education, economics, gun control, abortion, and social justice.
Don’t get the wrong idea. Much like a sitcom, the script keeps the zingers coming and never lets up. If one were to time it, it’d probably be one zinger every 5.03 seconds. Nothing is safe and included everything from Shakespeare references to The Mueller Report. What’s God’s favorite movie? Up of course! These jokes include some hilarious off-color ones I sadly can’t repeat in this review and a slew of others. God prefers redheads (you can learn so much at the theatre). This is a very entertaining play. It has a happy ending and of course the message is that we, as fellow Americans, should at least listen to one another and get along. The play does contain serious moments such as when Lawrence and Randi share a personal experience with abortion.
One interesting thing is how current/fresh the script feels. It references political events from just a couple
weeks ago. Very impressive.
Of course the main draw here is legendary actor Ed Asner, probably best known from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Lou Grant and as the grandfather in Up. Of course, he is every bit believable as God. This is a touring production where Mr. Asner teams up with local actors and a local theatre to put on the show.
Carter impresses with her portrayal of a Fox News talking head, even getting their poise down pat. God forces her character to switch viewpoints toward the end and she does a wonderfully comedic job as a Trump supporter possessed by the spirit of a Bernie Sanders supporter.
Bryan brings an interesting declamatory style to his portrayal of Lawrence, a former Bernie Sanders staffer and Rachel Maddow regular. Kelly D. Thistlethwaite Strom and Norman F. Clerc do well as annoying angels who show up whenever they feel like it.
Levine does a superb job directing and designing the production. Great timing and good work blending the touring star with the local talent. Sheri Lacy handles the lights extremely well, especially with the lightning and the red/blue scheme used so often. Emily Wolfe effectively ran sound (lots of thunder). Vada Scarbro serves as the capable set dresser.
For our Utah readers: I was able to meet Mr. Asner after the show and like a good Utahn told him about the “Up House” in Herriman and showed him a picture of it. His response: “What an honor.”
The show isn’t entirely family-friendly. There’s some sexual humor and a wee bit of profanity. Probably equivalent to PG-13. However, God Help Us! is a breath of extremely funny fresh air that serves to ease the already slightly hysterical political climate. It was a blast!
AntiMatter Entertainment presents God Help Us! by Samuel Warren Joseph and Phil Proctor.
Alban Arts Center, 65 Olde Main Plaza, St. Albans, WV 25177
May 17-18, 29-30, 2019 7:30 PM, Fri-Sat.
Tickets: $25-30
Contact: 304-721-8896, albanarts@gmail.com
Alban Arts Center Facebook Page
Ed Asner Facebook Page
Sounds fabulous! Can’t wait to see it.