Possessed

Yesterday I went to The Ringwald, a theater in Ferndale. That also gave me a chance to visit the book exchange at Affirmations LGBT Center, where I returned a couple books, donated several more, and took three to read. Ferndale is a pleasant town to walk around except yesterday was quite cold (very much a concern for those who still don’t have power from last Wednesday’s wind storm).

At The Ringwald I saw the play Hand to God. Margery recently lost her husband and is leading a puppet class for teens at the church. Her son Jason is in the class and is becoming quite good at operating his puppet, named Tyrone. Tyrone seems to be defying Jason, taking on a life of his own. And Tyrone isn’t a pleasant person. Is Tyrone a part of Jason’s way of working through grief and negotiating his way into manhood? Or is Tyrone demonically possessed? The latter seems quite possible.

Joshua Daniel Palmer is the young actor playing Jason/Tyrone. Palmer speaks the lines of both characters and does not attempt to be a ventriloquist, though he does change his voice. He is also quite good at manipulating the arms of the puppet to gesture the same way a person would. He did an excellent job. Rounding out the characters are Timothy and Jessica, two other teens in the class, and Pastor Greg, who is puzzled why Margery doesn’t jump into his bed.

The show plays at The Ringwald through Monday. Yes, another time when I’m seeing a show in its last weekend.