"Hand to God" is a play about a puppet gone bad. It's darkly funny — at times shocking. But it also takes a surprisingly fresh look at what might seem to be well-worn themes: the role of religion in society and our culture's tug-of-war over gender, particularly masculinity.
Jason (Steven Boyer) is a milquetoast high school student, afraid to draw boundaries with his newly-widowed mother (Geneva Carr), afraid to tell the cute, geeky girl in puppet rehearsal (Sarah Styles) that he likes her, afraid to tell bully Timothy (Michael Oberholtzer) off. Instead, he sits quietly in the basement of his Evangelical church, while he and the others prepare for a performance.
Well, mostly quietly.
Jason's alter ego is a gray sock puppet, Tyrone. And Tyrone has teeth — both the literal and metaphorical kinds. Tyrone is always on Jason's hand, and he tells (and does) things that Jason won't. We're never quite sure if Tyrone is just Jason's id, allowing him the freedom to express himself, or if he's an actual demon. What we do know, though, is that Boyer is a masterful puppeteer. Tyrone is a full character and when he and Jason have a conversation, it feels like a real dialogue, not a monologue.
Tyrone himself frames Robert Askins' play, explaining that before people lived together, they could follow all of their urges — but once they decided that communities were valuable, religion was developed to keep those urges in check. Tyrone thinks that is a bad thing. And for a while, he seems to have a point: all of the characters in "Hand to God" are keeping their real selves hidden so that their God-fearing society won't judge and condemn them.
Yet when Tyrone gets his way, everything is exposed. Jason's mom does something wildly inappropriate. Jason, in thrall to Tyrone, shreds his life. Askins makes a deep point here: Tyrone is violence, lust, rage — all aspects that some people consider to be manly. Jason is respectful, polite, kind to women; he's the kind of young man a woman wants to take home to Mama (or to church). Growing up, the play suggests, is partly about integrating those two parts of oneself. And it's not easy, especially in a church culture that insists you repress your urges while American culture encourages them.
It might be strange to call this foul-mouthed play thoughtful — and yet it is. Askins is clearly calling for moderation here, of all types. Tyrone might be a devil, but he's the kind that encourages us to follow our better angels.