Playing God
by Matt Reiger
In the cosmic game room, lost souls challenge the creator himself in a board game to determine their fate. However, the almighty is in the midst of a mid-eternity crisis, struggling with the balance between fair play in competition and the desire to win. Featuring Checkers, Chess, Battleship, Operation, Clue, Yahtzee and more.
“Matt Rieger’s premise sets up a pretty straightforward template for some divine comedy: souls determine their fates in the afterlife by challenging God (Beau O’Reilly) to a board game of their choosing. Aiding the Big Man are a dotty secretary, a cowboy bouncer, a moody guitar player, and an angel-and-demon pair who listlessly ramble off factoids about Milton Bradley.”
“The best elements in the script and Stefan Brun’s staging come from the performances of Justin Botz and Julia Williams as all of God’s gaming opponents. The latter in particular resonates as a young kid who shows God that an anarchic approach to life — at least as embodied in “Candyland” — can sometimes be the way to go.”
