If it weren’t for the impossibly outlandish antics and contorted facial expressions of Emily Scott as God Herself, Palo Alto Players’ take on “An Act of God,” livestreaming from the actors’ homes, would fall completely flat.
Playwright David Javerbaum’s 85-minute comedy is unequivocally not for kids (PAP’s website recommends no one younger than 16 watch) because the language that comes out of this Almighty’s mouth would make almost anyone blush. Sadly, a lot of these lines aren’t remotely funny, not even when uttered by a feminine God.
Make no mistake about it: Emily Scott is an exceptionally talented, versatile actor who would vastly improve any production. She does that here, too, because without her, this show would be nothing at all.
She gets some assistance from archangel Michael (an animated, bug-eyed Brandon Silberstein), but practically none from her other archangel Gabriel, a bored-looking, miscast Steve Schwartz, who noticeably read some of his lines rather than memorizing them.
Director Debi Durst does her best to keep things moving, although a glitch at the start of the opening night show required Scott to go offstage to correct her background screen.
The play has God working with Steve Jobs to create a new universe because She feels the old one is really screwed up. Deciding that there’s something seriously wrong with Herself, she calls on Jobs to help her create what she calls “UNIVERSE2.0…where ice cream will be a health food and there is no death.”
Once created, she beams, “That’s such an improvement, I got rid of my helpers.”
God tells a relatively amusing story about creating Adam, who She finds out is gay.
A better laugh comes when She quotes Her Fourth Commandment: “Thou shalt separate Me and State,” adding emphatically, “I’m not political.”
So, there are some clever moments. But even the constant-motion, pugnacious, cutie pie that is Scott has a difficult time keeping any momentum going with a script this limp to work with.
At least Silberstein’s Michael adds a spark to the scenes he’s in, especially the ones where he gleefully grabs a set of drumsticks and pounds out a drum roll. At one point Michael loses one of his wings, so he leaves for a while and returns with his wing all patched up with brown tape. He also cuts in whenever someone from the “audience” asks a question of God. These are welcome diversions.
It’s likely that the Players have found ways of eliminating the technical glitches by now. But Javerbaum’s script itself is the weakest link here.
“An Act of God” is being livestreamed through Sept. 20 at www.paplayers.org Tickets are $15-$40 at 650-329-0891.
