Hand to God

"In a Broadway season dominated by the usual fodder — Mr. Askins’s black comedy about the divided human soul stands out as a misfit both merry and scary, and very welcome...You can enjoy “Hand to God” merely as a festival of filthy hilarity..but as I watched the play this year, for the third time, I found myself peering more closely into its psychological depths, and finding in it a weird mirror of our unsettling times. " Full Review

"Staged with unflagging energy by Moritz von Stuelpnagel...A scalpel-sharp show about the ways people cope with their troubles...it’s Boyer’s virtuosic performance that defines “Hand to God,” as he seamlessly toggles between Jason and [sock puppet] Tyrone — and if the actor doesn’t win a Tony for this, there’s no justice in the world. Just watch how the little fellow’s arms shake with rage when he reaches out to strangle someone — it’s simultaneously hilarious and scary, like the play itself." Full Review

"Robert Askins’ furiously funny comedy about adolescent rebellion against religious cant has made a smooth passage to Broadway. Moritz von Stuelpnagel hasn’t touched a hair on the head of his clever production and the original cast is still golden...Askins’ most impressive talent, though is his ability to make us laugh while juggling those big themes that make life so terrifying: death, depression, alcoholism, sexual guilt, emotional repression, religious hypocrisy and the eternal battle betw... Full Review

"Praise be to the angels behind it:" Hand to God " has made it to Broadway. Some have wondered whether Robert Askins’s outrageous dark comedy—about a sweet Christian teen, Jason and his demonic puppet, Tyrone—would work as well in a larger venue as in its two hit Off Broadway runs. The answer is a resounding, full-throated yes. The freshest and funniest Broadway comedy in years, "Hand to God" is to plays as "The Book of Mormon" is to musicals: a welcome breath of foul air." Full Review

"A savage, often hilarious, and profoundly irreligious satire...it’s not a lot more irreverent than "The Book of Mormon", but it is a lot dirtier and there are no dance numbers. Askin's script often betrays an adolescent desire to shock and scandalise...Some of the motivations are explained away tidily and a lot of the humour is puerile. But the puerile bits are particularly funny. Askins is smart and engaged enough that even the play’s most outrageous actions seem grounded in character." Full Review

"Broadway’s unlikeliest new must-see play. I say “unlikeliest” in part because it’s the kind of intelligent, blood-dark comedy — disturbing as often as it is funny, vile as often as it is violent, and, to my mind, better for both..."Hand to God" is successfully disguising its larger concerns under the cloak of dirty puppet talk. I found this aspect of the play a bit belabored...But as the dark comedy more nearly approaches its darkness, the tale becomes more emotionally legible, and at times ... Full Review

"Robert Askin’s funny, filthy, violent and sensitive play...This is not a play for children. But it is a show for adults, with hints of psychological insights beneath the hysterical exterior...The triumph of "Hand to God" on Broadway is also a victory for Off-Off Broadway, where the show began, and it retains a quirky, raw, uncompromising quality more characteristic of its origins than its destination." Full Review

"Nothing is more exciting than a new play that takes you by surprise, and Robert Askins’s “Hand to God,”, does so over and over again...Scratch the surface and you’ll find a dead-serious black comedy in which the disruptive power of lust is dramatized in a manner so outrageous as to recall the ruthlessly funny plays of Joe Orton...“Hand to God” isn’t perfect, but it’s staggeringly funny and promising without limit." Full Review

"Director von Stuelpnagel and his terrific cast tackle this darkly funny material with a shrewd balance of heightened reality, warped sitcom and underlying pathos, landing all the jokes while never denying the genuine sorrow and anger driving both Jason and Margery to such erratic behavior. That said, the play delivers a steady stream of laughs, and one truly uproarious sight gag full of details that keep on giving." Full Review

"Hand to God" - a dark, irreverent and smart comedy by the young, previously unknown playwright Robert Askins - is one hell of a great success story, having graduated step by step from off Off-Broadway to Off-Broadway to finally Broadway itself. This is the kind of raw and raunchy play you don't typically see on Broadway, but once there ends up making Broadway a more exciting place." Full Review

"Arguably the best play of the 2014-2015 Broadway season...Because Askins has written the figures so fully, they need to be played as fully. They absolutely are. Boyer's is the indisputably key performance, but the others, expertly directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel, whip up all sorts of subtle character mannerisms that add to the production's unerring perfection. "Hand to God"'s assault on religion as irrevocable healer both tickles the ribs and gives them a powerful punch." Full Review

"The new Broadway comedy “Hand to God” is so ridiculously raunchy, irreverent and funny it’s bound to leave you sore from laughing. Ah, hurts so good. Askins proves deft at writing dialogue that's hysterical and at serving up insights. He’s unapologetically profane — prompting a handful of walkouts at a recent performance. Their loss...It’s not typical Broadway fare, but all involved deserve a big hand." Full Review

"There are many reasons to celebrate the arrival on Broadway of Robert Askins’ "Hand To God". It wraps its seriousness in a veneer of XXX-rated irreverence. I don’t know which I want to do more: Sing Hallelujah — or wash its dirty little mouth out with soap. It’s probably no one’s idea of a Broadway show...song-free and purposely looking as though it was produced on a Cookie Monster-sale budget, "Hand To God" is a Book Of Revelations about what should be possible on Broadway." Full Review

"Arresting, funny and thoroughly disconcerting...highly original and laudably fearless and politically incorrect...Askins sets his play, which is directed with real punch by Moritz von Stuelpnagel somewhere in Texas. Crucially, though, the script and the production show great compassion for this group of struggling, lower-middle-class characters...That compassion is what takes "Hand to God" beyond the usual condescension you find on Broadway toward Texans or people of faith in general." Full Review

"Off-Broadway, "Hand to God" was a wicked little church satire...Improbably pumped up for Broadway, the offbeat reverence shrinks in charm and impact. The gory yet sweet-natured spoof feels more like a drawn-out sketch, and the gleeful dirty-talk gets childish when hammered by good actors encouraged to shriek...Late in the short evening, there is that clench of impeccably portrayed puppet sex. If the rest of the night just feels like foreplay, however, that's not play enough for Broadway." Full Review

"In act two of this raunchy comedy, Askins and his able director Moritz von Stuelpnagel do introduce two hand puppets that very convincingly masturbate, perform oral sex on each other and then copulate in a series of strikingly human positions. While the story of “Hand to God” proceeds in a most linear fashion, the sex is novel, and the whole shebang ends in a maelstrom of self-inflicted violence that stops the laughter in your throat." Full Review

"Messed-up, angry, needy, dark and in desperate need of mental help...It's like nothing else on Broadway and a brave choice both to open here and to attend...Moritz von Stuelpnagel directs with a flair for allowing the play's little absurdities to reveal themselves naturally and a skill with onstage physicality...Askins at times seems to fumble for a deeper meaning about the individual getting lost in the collective, but while he comes close to profundity, it's really his cast that leaves an ... Full Review

"Robert Askins’ completely outrageous and outrageously funny new play 'Hand to God,' proves two things: that sock puppets can be downright demonic and Broadway is readier than ever to offend just about anyone…For all its copious, jaw-dropping laughs, Askins’ script, which has been handled expertly by director Moritz von Stuelpnagel, is also full of heart…New voices of such wit and wisdom are rare in the theater these days." Full Review

"Structurally, “Hand to God” never quite adds up to the sum of its brilliant parts. There are only so many ways we can be told that faith isn’t quite enough, and that we need to find specific ways of dealing with our problems. Much of the dialogue seems designed merely to shock, though it builds with such intensity you may be too busy rolling in the aisles to notice." Full Review

"One could choose to only concentrate on the show’s comedic elements (and it is nothing if not hilarious) but its beauty lies in the moments between puns and witty dialogues; it's in the pauses and moments of silence where we see the characters’ humanity shine through... For a play that appears to be so cynical on the surface, 'Hand to God,' actually makes us want to reach out to the person sitting next to us." Full Review

"A brainless barrage of trash, heresy, stupidity and nausea called "Hand to God" is the first time, in all my years on the aisle, that I have finally seen an entire stage filled with unmitigated crap. There is no plot, no narrative form, no theme...The hand puppet shrieks, screams, spits, vomits and fornicates profusely while the audience explodes with laughter so loud and raucous that it echoes from the Booth Theatre...With "Hand to God," the audience is a cause for serious concern." Full Review

"One of the funniest plays I’ve seen in years, and it reaches an unexpected depth that really impresses me...A series of wickedly funny and tragic events transpires. You’ll want to go along for the ride. " Full Review

"This is that rare show that changes and challenges the foundations of traditional theater… Equal parts dark comedy, absurdist drama and horror/gore show, 'Hand to God' is both funny and frightening...but playwright Robert Askins’ tale is highly original as well. At times scathingly hilarious but ultimately disturbing, this tragicomic masterpiece takes digs at everything from Christianity and teenage angst to taboo sex. It is unlike anything you’ve ever seen on the New York stage in years." Full Review

"Playwright Robert Askins has written a truly original play that at its core is an examination of a young man’s descent and, finally ascent, from a personal hell...Director Moritz von Stuelpnagel adroitly brings out the disquietude within the production. He creates a controlled mayhem and methodical rhythm to the play." Full Review

"The path to the Tony Award season took a curve last night as Richard Askins’ original play, “Hand to God,” was such a hit that it took everyone by surprise...totally original, funny and angry and sad, and sure to leave a mark not only this spring but for some time to come...it’s also a full play, with fully realized ideas about religion and mortality, Big Ideas and small ones. Director Moritz von Stuelpnagel's got this extraordinary ensemble on a tight leash and never lets up." Full Review