Lookingglass Theatre Company presents ACT(S) OF GOD Review

After God has attended a family dinner—being not quite whom any of the characters expected—Father (Rom Barkhordar) falls asleep in his arm chair. Around him tensions rise –as everyone else starts to question their beliefs based on how the dinner unfolded. As the stakes increase, a fight ensues, with the siblings taking each other to the ground repeatedly. Mother even has to get involved,trying to force a separation between her children. (Fight Choreographer: Matt Hawkins). All the while, Father is sleeping in the chair, completely oblivious to that which is going on around him. By the time Father slowly wakes up in utter confusion about that which just occurred, the audience is in stitches.

Lookingglass Theatre presents World Premiere of Act(s) of God

Written by Lookingglass Ensemble Member Kareem Bandealy, Act(s) of God begins much like any family drama: Mother (Shannon Cochran) and Father (Rom Barkhordar) are preparing for their adult kids to return home. Middle (Anthony Irons) is bringing his fiancé (Emjoy Gavino) home for the first time, and the parents just want the family to make a nice impression. However, when Mother finds a mysterious envelope with an unexpected message in that day’s mail, all starts to change. Suddenly we know that God is coming to dinner the next night, and it is up to Father, Eldest (Kristina Valada-Viars), Youngest, (Walter Briggs), Middle, and Fiancée to make it a night of which Mother can be proud, or as she begs so passionately: “Do not embarrass me in front of God.”

Full of Dark Humor

In this writer’s view, Bandealy strikes a strong balance between humor and dramatic tension, allowing us to ease into the more serious content in the play. Interrogations about belief systems rise to the surface, and Bandealy approaches these topics with obvious care as he unpacks Eldest’s atheism, Middle’s strong beliefs, and Youngest’s new curiosities. This is a dark comedy, and in the end we vicariously feel just how small the living room is that this family must try to re-fit into.

The play becomes increasingly abstract as the story goes on, eventually making its way to a heightened form of storytelling that breaks down the fourth wall. In this writer’s view, the musical numbers from Co-Composers Bandealy, Sound/Composition Designer Rick Sims, Amanda Dehnert, and Konstantin Jacé are an important part of the storytelling.

Thought-provoking yet hilarious, Act(s) of God is an event that will stick with you as you exit the theater and well beyond. Bandealy asks questions that are frightening, but important to consider as we move forward in this world. This writer has certainly not stopped thinking about the play since.