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What would happen if an orthodox priest were tempted into the Hollywood fame
game? Isn't giving a sermon like having a one-man show every Sunday? All
God's Creatures tells the story through eight character monologues. One
through four explore the absurd truth in the Entertainment Industry's worst
cliches: a PMS-ing AD, a satanic agent, a femme-fetale manager and a
Tony-Robbins-meets-Friedrich-Nietzsche career seminar activist. The story
circles following the priest in the next four monologues: bouncer,
bartender, homeless man, real-estate broker. A soul-stirring ensemble cast
performs this sinfully comedic journey of one Good man's descent from Heaven
to Hollywood. No man's a Temptation Island unto himself. The frock stops
here.
This series of monologues written and directed by Alex Lyras, promises a clever test of
performance and reality. Lyras' direction is crisp and his dialogue often sparkles.
The story follows a priest's attempt to break into the entertainment industry through eight
character monologues. The first four pieces portray the absurd characters of the entertainment
industry's worst (and most delectable) cliches: an assistant director on the brink of breakdown,
an all-too charming super-agent, a frazzled manager who "doesn't have time to pissy-pat around
the wing-wang tree." and a Tony-Robbins-meets-Fredric-Nietzsche career seminar activist who
closes what would be the first act (though there isn't an intermission) with the comedic climax of the show,
In the second for monologues the story takes a dramatic bend as we follow the priest himself.
We eventually learn that four different actors are playing the same priest and though it is
not the first time the convention has been used, it is none the less confusing. The pontiff
goes from night-club bouncer, to Scientologically-influenced bartender, to proselytizing homeless
man, and finally an affected though redeemed real-estate broker. It is a philosophical journey,
and provokes thought. Some performers handle the word-heavy language better than others, but all do
well in not pushing the subtle links that connect the pieces into a play. Lyras has assembled a well
credentialed cast and part of the fun of this production is the excitement and alacrity with which
each actor tackles the role.
What makes All God's Creatures a worthy evening of theater is the writing. Lyras' range of
references and his ability to cull humor from the least likely places, made both old and young who
filled the theater, exhale an entire repertoire of laughter.
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