AN ACT OF GOD: The Beginning and the End

An Act of God: Thou Shalt Laugh

A Theater Review by Julinda D. Lewis

Richmond Triangle Players

At: The Robert B Moss Theatre, 1300 Altamont Avenue, RVA 23230

Performances: February 27 – March 23, 2019. (Opening Night – March 1)

Ticket Prices: $10-35

Info: (804) 346-8113 or rtriangle.org

An Act of God is an irreverent comedy in which the One and Only God settles casually into a talk-show set to chat and rant about what’s wrong with the universe. The Richmond Triangle Players production marks the Richmond debut of David Javerbaum’s play, first produced in New York in 2015.

The all-female cast is headed up by Maggie Bavolack as God, supported by Kylie M.J. Clark as the Michael and Anne Michelle Forbes as Gabriel. Michael starts out helpfully fielding questions from the audience but becomes increasingly insolent, challenging God like a precocious child. This eventually brings on the wrath of God, causing Michael to lose a wing – which we later see bent and reattached with a generous application of duct tape. The more compliant and sweet-faced Gabriel is the keeper of the Guttenberg bible – which is housed in a guitar case – and dutifully reads verses as God updates The Ten Commandments. Both archangels are smartly dressed by Sheila Russ in white pant suits and glittery silver boots.

But this show mostly belongs to Bavolack who, despite a few opening night stumbles, smoothly navigated Javerbaum’s script, which started as a series of tweets and then became a book before manifesting as a play delivered in the form of a list. Director Jan Guarino must have given Bavolack free reign because her performance is an intriguing balance of warm and natural, sarcastic and funny, as she enumerates the new commandants. (A few old ones were kept because they were just that good.)

Bavolack wears a gold trimmed white caftan with fluffy white unicorn slippers – sort of the sartorial equivalent of the mullet (you know, business in the front, party in the back). Her hilarious delivery of the list is varied in style and tempo. God’s updates to The Ten Commandments range from the relatively mild (Thou shalt not tell me what to do) to the controversial (Thou shalt not tell others whom to fornicate). Some commands are delivered almost matter-of-factly while others require extensive anecdotes or take long detours.

Bavolack also interacts with the audience, calling out a pair of latecomers and directing other comments directly to those who occupied front row seats – make that the first two or three rows. Oh, and there is a runway that extends the stage into the aisle.

The script has adlibs built-in, allowing for a sprinkling of timely or local references. There’s a fleeting mention of our Commander in Chief and one particularly impressive local reference that Richmond has almost as many houses of worship as confederate monuments. (I wonder what an actor would insert here if performing in Brooklyn, or Philadelphia, or Miami…) There’s even a song at the end, “I Have Faith in You,” when quite suddenly things take a bit of a surprise turn, and the celestial trio takes pleasure in belting it out like rock stars.

Chris Raintree’s design, with its set of double steps (which did not succeed in suggesting a stairway to heaven, if that was the intention), a white sofa, a “poof” or ottoman, a coffee table, and a podium, looks like a celestial talk-show set. Bavolack’s eyes are projected onto the backdrop and emblazoned on the “merch” – a mug, tee-shirt, and magnet are among the show-themed items for sale at the bar. Michael Jarett’s lighting includes a few lightning strikes and there’s a bit of smoke as well.

I would not categorize An Act of God, which is, of course, a part of the Acts of Faith Theatre Festival, among my favorite scripts, but the performance delivered by Bavolack and company is a delightfully entertaining way to spend 75 minutes.

Julinda D. Lewis is a dancer, teacher, and writer who was born in Brooklyn, NY and now lives in Eastern Henrico County.

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Photo Credits: John MacLellan

Author: jdldances

Julinda D. Lewis is a dancer, teacher, and writer, born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and transplanted to Richmond, VA. A retiree from both the New York City and Richmond City Public School systems, she is currently an Adjunct Instructor for the Department of Dance and Choreography at Virginia Commonwealth University, and holds the degrees of BS and MA in Dance and Dance Education (New York University), MSEd in Early Childhood Education (Brooklyn College, CUNY), and EdD in Educational Leadership (Regent University). Julinda is the Richmond Site Leader for TEN/The Eagles Network and was formerly the East Region Coordinator for the International Dance Commission and has worked in dance ministry all over the US and abroad (Bahamas, Barbados, Haiti, Jamaica, Kenya, Puerto Rico). She is licensed in dance ministry by the Eagles International Training Institute (2012), and was ordained in dance ministry through Calvary Bible Institute and Seminary, Martinez, GA (2009). View all posts by jdldances