Jim Parsons plays God in David Javerbaum's holy Broadway comedy -- first look

God is coming to Broadway, whether you like it or not—and chances may favor the former, considering that the deity is being inhabited by the star of one of TV’s most popular sitcoms.

Jim Parsons dons the white robe and ostensible sandals of God—or some version of God—as interpreted by David Javerbaum, a former The Daily Show scribe/producer and the playwright of the forthcoming Broadway play An Act of God. Under the direction of two-time Tony winner Joe Mantello, the pious comedy opens May 28 at Studio 54—yes, Sally Bowles and history’s most famous celebrity will inhabit the same dressing room.

Javerbaum is the first to admit that the religious act is all in good fun, despite his measured success channeling the fictional, digital-savvy immortal. In 2010, the 13-time Emmy winner created the popular Twitter account @TheTweetofGod in conjunction with the book he was writing at the time, The Last Testament: A Memoir by God. By the time the book debuted in 2011 (to positive reviews, no less; EW called it “the ultimate telleth-all”), the account had developed a strong following. “People seemed to like the premise of me tweeting as God and doing it unapologetically in the voice of a character that I felt was an approximation of what I felt the Old Testament God would sound like if He was tweeting,” explains Javerbaum.

From there, several well-known theatre industry vets approached Javerbaum (who made his Broadway debut writing music and lyrics for 2008’s short-lived Cry-Baby) about the possibility of adapting his character into a show. Jeffrey Finn came on board as producer, and at the same time, Parsons and The Normal Heart director Mantello were apparently searching for another project to work on together.

“Joe is the most respected director on Broadway, in my opinion, and Jim is so inherently funny, we had no concerns about the comic chops,” says Javerbaum. “And he’s also so inherently likable. I compare him to Colbert. Once you have somebody that innately likeable, the character can be as absolutely boorish and impossible as you want. The fact that people of this caliber were interested in this project was already tremendous validation for me.”

Parsons appearing as God’s holy human vessel is a gag in and of itself in the show—God is reportedly a fan of The Big Bang Theory and, “after all, God created Jim Parsons, too.” The show itself is neither the Twitter nor the book; instead, Javerbaum tasked himself with writing something new, theatrical, and entirely stage-appropriate. The result is a miraculously funny trip through God’s contemporary woes, replete with Bible-worthy stage effects, an acerbically witty God as master of ceremonies, and an organized narrative that elevates the evening beyond being just “a one-God show with two angels.”

But even with a star and structure accessible to the masses, the show is still a religious satire—Blasphemy, they’ll cry!—and it’s bound to face some brand of backlash from certain audience members (and others who will form an opinion on the button-pushing content without ever intending to step foot in the theater).

If anything, Javerbaum’s tenure spoofing bipartisan news on The Daily Show should have prepared him for naysayers who don’t like what he—or “God”—has to say about sensitive issues (like abortion and gay marriage, covered extensively) in the disarmingly honest 90-minute show.

“As a satirist, you’re looking for a target that is ripe and is pompous and is hypocritical and is disappointing to humanity, and he’s number one,” Javerbaum jokes. “To read the Old Testament and treat it like it really happened and explain it is an inherently funny thing because it’s such an absurd premise…We’ll see what happens. I’m aware of the possibility that [backlash] might happen, and if it did, that might bring with it certain plusses as well as minuses.”

It is a post-Book of Mormon world, though, and audiences deserve more credit than they might be given. When An Act of God debuts this May, post-Tony eligibility, the comedy might fit right in with the season’s other irreverent productions—particularly, the dark puppet show Hand to God (no relation), which also takes a jab at faith. Bolder than the competition is the very idea that Javerbaum, Parsons, and Mantello’s untested yet guiltily giggly comedy act is taking a chance on Broadway sight unseen.

“It is bold to take it to Broadway right away, but it’s what God wanted,” says Javerbaum. “I suggested to God we go La Jolla.”

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