So is God more like a Jewish mother or an abusive husband?
Both comparisons are thrown around like zingers in Mosaic Theater Company’s Oh, God. In Anat Gov’s comedy, God (Mitchell Hébert) isn’t a distant figurehead, though. He’s come down to Earth in order to get a quick-fix psychology session with Ella (Kimberly Schraf), an almost inhumanly patient childhood behavioral expert with an autistic son (Sean McCoy).
Why does someone omnipotent and omniscient need a shrink? He’s through with humanity and its never-ending series of disappointments (once again — looks like we’re back in Ark territory), and wants to die…and take the rest of the world along with him.
[adsanity_rotating align=”aligncenter” time=”10″ group_id=”1455″ /]
Why God has specifically chosen Ella isn’t made totally clear throughout Oh, God. But in her, he’s found an able sparring opponent instantly ready to diagnose him … almost a little too ready. Ella, a nonbeliever, never exactly quakes in fear when faced with her unique, theoretically intimidating situation, and adjusts almost eerily quickly to the presence of the creator of the universe in her living room, and the unusual professional task she faces.
That mild stretch of credulity is kind of a pattern for Oh, God. The work can sometimes feel more like an extended premise than a play, and Ella always has an immediate quip at the ready, when she isn’t instantly diagnosing the higher-up in her living room, which set designer Jonathan Dahm Robertsn has decked out with intriguing photos and paintings, and hanging plants everywhere.
But at a brisk 90 minutes, Oh, God moves along easily. It’s interesting to hear Gov pull from stories familiar to multiple religious traditions (Cain and Abel, the hardships of Job) and tie them into Ella’s cutting analysis of God. And Hébert makes for a particularly entertaining and intriguing divinity — he’s vain, quick-tempered, charming when he wants to be, and has a dangerous undercurrent of volatility.
Oh, God comes to a resolution that’s a little too neat, but undeniably touching, with an impressive staging trick leading to a tender moment between Ella and her son. The divine being may steal the stage for much of Oh, God, but it’s his creations that give the play its truest spark of humanity.
——————————-
Oh, God by Anat Gov. Directed by Michael Bloom. Set design by Jonathan Dahm Robertson. Lighting Design by Brittany Shemuga. Costume Design by Kelsey Hunt. Sound Design by Roc Lee. With Mitchell Hébert, Kimberly Schraf, and Sean McCoy. Reviewed by Missy Frederick.
You must be logged in to post a comment.