NewsAmerica's Scariest: Bob Saget to Join Cast of Broadway's Hand to GodBob Saget, longtime host of "America's Funniest Home Videos" and star of the TV series "Full House," will join the cast of Broadway's horror/comedy Hand to God for the final two months of its run.
By
Robert Viagas
October 06, 2015
Saget is scheduled to join the cast Nov. 3, replacing Marc Kudisch as the amorous Pastor Greg.
This will not be Saget's Broadway debut. He took over the lead role of Man in Chair for the last two months of the run of Drowsy Chaperone in 2007.
Hand to God, starring Steven Boyer in his acclaimed performance as a boy and his foul-mouthed hand puppet, will play its final performance on Broadway Jan. 3, 2016. The Tony-nominated show will have run nine months and 337 performances at the Booth Theatre.
The show opened April 7, 2015, at the Booth Theatre, marking the Broadway debuts of playwright Robert Askins and director Moritz von Stuelpnagel.
Upon closing, Hand to God will transfer to London’s West End, with performances beginning Feb. 5, 2016, at the Vaudeville Theatre. Von Stuelpnagel will recreate his Tony-nominated direction in London; complete casting will be announced at a later date.
“Having played an extraordinary 9-month run on Broadway, London is the natural next step for a new American play that is this exciting. We are thrilled that Hand to God will soon be experienced by audiences all over the world,” said producer Kevin McCollum in an earlier statement.
Producer McCollum's three years of development on this play included its previous acclaimed productions at the Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST) in 2011 and its Off-Broadway debut at MCC Theater in 2014. Previews began March 14.
The provocative play features the complete cast of the 2014 MCC Theater production. Boyer ("The Wolf of Wall Street," King Lear) stars as Jason/Tyrone with Geneva Carr (Broadway debut) as Margery, Tony Award nominee Kudisch (9 to 5) as Pastor Greg, Sarah Stiles (Into the Woods, Avenue Q) as Jessica and Michael Oberholtzer (Broadway debut) as Timmy.
Hand to God, according to producer McCollum, "centers on shy, inquisitive student Jason, who finds an outlet for his burgeoning creativity at the Christian Puppet Ministry in the devoutly religious, relatively quiet small town of Cypress, Texas. Jason's complicated relationships with the town pastor, the school bully, the girl next door and — most especially — his mother are thrown into further upheaval when Jason’s hand puppet Tyrone — once soft-spoken — takes on a shocking and dangerously irreverent personality all its own. As Tyrone’s influence over Jason steadily grows, Hand to God explores the startlingly fragile nature of faith, morality, and the ties that bind us."
The design team for Hand to God includes scenic design by Beowulf Boritt, costumes by Sydney Maresca, lighting by Jason Lyons, sound by Jill BC Du Boff, puppet design by Marte Johanne Ekhougen and fight direction by Robert Westley. Casting is by Telsey + Company.
Surrounded by period-accurate, 19th-century holiday decorations lit via candlelight, the 70-minute production is based on Dickens' own script of the classic.
The play comes on the heels of a broader cultural conversation about Dahl's work and the prejudice that was embedded in many of his most beloved stories.