IF YOU GO ‘An Act of God’ plays through Sept. 4 at the Booth Theatre | 222 W. 45th St. | anactofgod.com
Dear God, was it really necessary to bring the well-intended but underwhelming comedic monologue “An Act of God” back to Broadway after its debut last summer, with Sean Hayes now standing in for Jim Parsons as God Almighty?
David Javerbaum, who won 11 Emmy Awards for “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” is also the creator of the now-defunct Twitter handle @TheTweetofGod, in which he supposedly transcribed God’s random, daily observations. The tweets led to Javerbaum’s book “The Last Testament: A Memoir by God,” which serves as the basis for the one-man show.
Well, to be fair, “An Act of God” is technically a three-man show. God is accompanied by two assistants/angels — Michael (David Josefsberg) and Gabriel (James Gleason) — one of whom seeks answers from God on why bad things happen to good people.
After some introductory remarks, God, in a white robe and full of bravado, reveals that he has written a revised, more open-minded Ten Commandments, and he proceeds to go through them. All the while, he ventures into science, politics, pop culture and biblical tales and even takes a few questions from the audience.
The show has been updated to include a few new zingers. For instance, God announces that he knows full well that the crowd is only there because they couldn’t get tickets to “Hamilton.” In fact, God can’t snag a ticket, either.
Even at just 90 minutes, “An Act of God” (directed by the prolific Joe Mantello) is long-winded and full of unoriginal jabs at easy targets, but it is cute and occasionally witty.
Hayes, who appeared on Broadway six years ago in the musical “Promises, Promises” and is best remembered as the flamboyant Jack on “Will and Grace,” has terrific stage presence and makes for a giddy, loosened-up and irreverent host.
“An Act of God” may be slight, but it more than suits Hayes’ abilities as a stand-up comic.
