‘God’s Favorite’ has wit

By STEPHANIE OTTEY

NILES — This weekend, Trumbull New Theatre put on its 299th fully staged production since the doors opened in 1948. Filling the slot is Neil Simon’s “God’s Favorite.” Directed by Terri Gilbert, “God’s Favorite” is one of Simon’s lesser-known plays, but it maintains a charm and wit to make it a crowd-pleaser.

The story begins at midnight in the Benjamin estate. The security alarm has been triggered by an intruder, and Joe Benjamin is roused from bed. The straight-laced, God-fearing man is followed by his children Sarah and Ben, who fear the worst but insist on helping to catch the criminal however they can.

After finding a pair of glasses and some footprints in the snow outside, the family determines that the thief (or rapist, according to the flirtatious Sarah) couldn’t be inside. They retire to bed once again.

Minutes later, their slumber is disturbed by the security alarm again as the older son, David, stumbles through the door in a drunken stupor. Disappointed, Joe Benjamin asks his son to talk for a bit.

They discuss David’s recent behavioral problems, and Joe reveals the secret to his financial success: his faith in God. David scoffs at his father’s unfaltering belief and retires for the evening, leaving Joe alone to pray for his son. Joe’s prayers are interrupted by a strange voice, and it is revealed that the intruder has been in the house all along.

The stranger introduces himself as Sidney Lipton, a messenger from God. Although it takes time to gain Joe’s trust, eventually Sidney convinces him that he indeed carries a message, or test, from God.

Sidney claims that God wants to test Joe’s faith and that he must either renounce God or suffer. The faithful Joe refuses to renounce God, and so, he begins to suffer.

As Act 2 begins, the house has been burned down, Joe is ill and battered, and his family is on the verge of leaving him forever. He has suffered every setback possible, but will he endure or renounce God?

Though the plot is clearly heavy with religious themes, it still carries the humor typical of Neil Simon’s writing. Lots of wit and physical humor combine to create dozens of laugh-out-loud moments. Many of these moments are created by the supporting cast.

Aaron Fall (Ben Benjamin) and Megan Browning (Sarah Benjamin) may not look identical, but they certainly share an identical energy on stage as they bring the twins to life. Their interaction on stage is genuine and lovable. Fall creates a young Ben that is the perfect combination of naive and obedient, while Browning creates a Sarah that is blossoming in the quirkiest of ways.

Anna Marshall keeps her performance delightfully simple as she fills the role of Rose, the zany mother who loves her jewels as much as she loves her children. She is matter-of-fact and delightfully clueless in her ideas about life and earns many laughs with her one-liners such as “Not the police! They steal more than the crooks do!”

Elizabeth Conrad and Joe Marshall are the smarmy maid Mady and butler Morris. They too, have an excellent rapport on stage and together create some fantastically funny moments.

Craig Conrad takes on trouble-maker David, the least likable character on stage. It’s clear that Conrad understands the humor in his character, but it seems forced and insincere at times. He appears to be less connected to certain scenes than the rest of the cast, but since his character is the black sheep of the family, this isn’t entirely inappropriate.

The bulk of the show rides on Tom Burd as Sidney Lipton and Jim Kilgore as Joe Benjamin.

Burd brings an over-the-top energy to the stage as he seems to embody the crazy spirit of Kramer, the angry energy of George Costanza and the speech patterns Jerry Seinfeld all at the same time. His sing-songy speech patterns are a fantastic contrast to the rest of the cast, and his flailing movements are a great representative of his character’s individuality.

Burd seems completely unearthly as the heavenly messenger and takes the role to a wonderfully eccentric place. He could give any contemporary physical comedian a run for his money.

Kilgore is Burd’s polar opposite: dull, subdued and rigid. This doesn’t mean that Joe Benjamin isn’t intended to be funny. There are many humorous lines written into Joe’s dialogue, but Kil- gore had a way of hesitating with the script that left many of his funnier moments lying flat.

His performance changed completely at the opening of Act 2, however, as he bumped around on stage as the battered and pain-ridden Joe. Kil- gore seemed more comfortable on stage by this point and handled the more dramatic second act very honestly. Kilgore completely redeemed his performance when he stood and shouted, “I am angry at you God! I am angry!” He clearly has more of a knack for drama than for comedy.

Gilbert clearly made some good choices in casting the show and enlisted some fantastic designers as well. Susan Clemente and Ed Ranttila designed the set and included some gag bookshelves that gave the audience a clever start in Act 2.

The set transformation from mansion to burned-down mansion was well thought out and cleverly executed. Diane Butler dressed the cast fantastically as the costume designer and earns points for dressing the twins in matching clothes at all times.

This team of actors, designers and crew members have come together to make the 299th show of the Trumbull New Theatre one worth seeing.

X “God’s Favorite” will be performed Friday and Saturday and Nov. 20, 21 and 22. For reservations or more information, call (330) 652-1103 between 7 and 9 p.m. Monday through Friday.