Sean (“Will & Grace”) Hayes plays a campy, wise-cracking ruler of the universe in An Act of God, now drawing laughs after a successful run on Broadway (with Jim Parsons in the lead role). Written by David Javerbaum, head writer for “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” the solo comes off as a stand-up routine with a few show-biz accessories: two aide-de-camp angels sprouting ostrich-feather wings (David Josefsberg and James Gleason), plus a glitzy, stairway-to-heaven set by Scott Pask. The 90-minute show, which calls to mind Mel Brooks’s 2000-Year-Old Man, derives much of its humor from the irreverent musings of an ancient deity (with boyish looks) who has returned to earth to give its inhabitants a piece of his mind. Fed up with the way his laws have been misinterpreted and misused, he has decided to carve out a new Ten Commandments for everyone to follow. He also riffs on various other biblical subjects, beginning with his first creations, Adam and Steve, and going on to Abraham, a son whose bizarre behavior cried out for psychiatric help. Hayes as God also wonders why mankind believes in him so dogmatically and unquestioningly. “Why do you ask me to solve all your problems, cure the ill, prevent things like the Holocaust from happening? Don’t you know that I’m an asshole?” With its additional jibes at modern-day politics (especially Donald Trump and Ted Cruz), showbiz and sports, An Act of God manages to poke fun at just about everything that’s happening today (in the USA, anyway). Topical satire like that, whether gay-oriented or not, is always welcome, especially in these parlous times. Deftly directed by Joe Mantello, aided by slick special effects and circus-like music and lighting, An Act of God is a crowd-pleasing, prime example of big-time commercial theater.
