As Mother, Shannon Cochran’s character informs us early on that she believes God is a woman. How can she not be? If a man really were the divine deity, “he would’ve taken an eternity to create a blade of grass then boast about it for twice as long.” A promising start of whimsical hilarity kicks off Act(s) of God by Lookingglass ensemble member Kareem Bandealy. Unfortunately for this ambitious play, the momentum fizzles out over the course of its three acts.
The family at the center of this story lives near the desert. They are simply labeled as Mother, Father, Eldest and Youngest. Middle brings Fiancée to meet them. A magical envelope has arrived in the mail. No one can seem to open it. Quickly they learn that this envelope affects the house’s power supply. Eventually opened, there’s an unclear message so it appears that we are headed to a spiritual farce. Then the family dysfunction explodes.
Eldest is an atheist and a lesbian. Middle is a nerd trying to please. Youngest is the jock. Mother bemoans that Father “robbed me of my youth with his sperm.” We hear lines such as “you are a wilting, whiny, sniveling tragedy.” Also, “mothering is 90% smothering and 10% guilt trips.” God stuff comes in and out of this story. Who knew he farted so much? The quote: “why am I second to the divine gas bag?”
This already overcooked melodrama heavily laced with farce then goes far off the rails. The siblings fight, indiscretions happen and Father sleeps through the second act before this play launches into absurdist territory. After a very long mind-numbing monologue, the third act crawls to a big yet unsatsifying finale. The glacially devolving storyline and lack of focus distanced me completely from caring about these characters or their predicaments. An abundance of ideas cannot make up for murky playwriting.
Ms. Cochran as the ferociously tough, feminist mom and Kristina Valada-Viars as the eldest daughter achieve the most fully realized personas. They are both strong women in perhaps the best written roles. While the whole cast works hard to sell this material, the mood swings and plot turns are too frequent. Mother warns “don’t embarrass me in front of God.” I didn’t see any embarrassment in Mr. Bandealy’s wide-ranging writing. He certainly can craft sharp one liners. Often, however, I found myself confused and bored despite the occasional bright sunbeams from heaven. There is just not enough sizzle to recommend (or endure) three Act(s) of God.