Michael Butler's Blog

THE GOD OF HELL

Tonight I was fortunate enough to be a guest of the Geffen Theatre in Westwood, CA to their opening of THE GOD OF HELL. Written by Sam Shepard and directed by Jason Alexander. It was very well acted by Sarah Knowlton, Bill Fagerbakke, Bryan Cranston and Curtis Armstring. With Shepard’s exciting writing and Alexander’s tight direction it was quite an evening.

For me, not being a critic, it is difficult to expound on the more erudite examination of the play from that point of view. I can simply state how the piece affected me. I must confess to predjudice when it comes to Sam Shepard. Just after producing HAIR my first choice was to produce his Operation Sidewinder. It came to naught, can’t recall why, probably as life became so crazy with additional productions. I have seen many of his works since then in NYC, Chicago and LA.
The greatest accolade I can give is to say I saw something that made me think. To be indirectly challenged by positions which are subtle and leading enough to create thought and examination is where drama does its greatest work. This evening I was so moved.

Each of us will have our own response to such stimuli. For me tonight was a demonstration of state control that led me to think for all of us: Freedom.