I've missed Jim Parsons in all his previous stints on Broadway, so I was pleased to be able to catch him this time.
I saw the show in previews, and walked out of the theater feeling confident that it would not get good reviews. Then this morning I went to the trusty http://www.didhelikeit.com/ and was shocked to see a thumbs up from the NY Times (along with other various news outlets). Isherwood LOVED this show.
Was it the funniest show I've ever seen? No. Was it the most creative/clever show I've ever seen? No. Does it rank in my top 10 shows I've seen? No. Was it an enjoyable afternoon on Broadway? Yes.
I had a good time. I wasn't blown away. The jokes made me laugh, and that's the point isn't it? Jim Parsons is endearing and adorable. His cute face could make any non-believer believe, if just for ninety minutes.
Onstage with Parsons was Christopher Fitzgerald (Michael) and Tim Kazurinsky (Gabriel). Fitzgerald walked around in the house with a microphone, feeding questions from the audience to God/Parsons. I'm assuming that nothing the three actors were saying or doing was improvisational. Everything felt very staged (it's theater, so that would make sense) and I couldn't help but feel that after a few weeks it would all feel a bit stale. You can't see this show more than once because once you've heard the jokes the first time, they're not funny anymore -- think end of Act 1 of "One Man, Two Guvnors" and how the first time you see the show you think it's a real audience member, but the second time you know the joke. But the cast of three certainly did their best to make, and Parsons' facial expressions made me feel at times that he really was getting a kick out of what he was saying. Probably not, but a girl can dream.
I don't think An Act of God made me think about theater differently, but it was certainly a creative way to discuss important topics. You're not going to see the world in a new light when you walk out of the theater, but you might say "Hey, that made me think about..."
All jokes and nonsense aside, Jim Parsons is a great stage actor and I hope to see him again.
Read Isherwood's review here. It's way more detailed than mine because he had more to say, but the last paragraph is really superb.
