GOD OF HELL, THE

by Shepard, Sam

An uproarious, brilliantly provocative farce that brings the gifts of the quintessentially American playwright to bear on the current American political situation. Frank and Emma are a quiet, respectable couple who raise cows on their Wisconsin farm. They are visited by Frank’s old friend Haynes, who is on the run from a secret government project involving plutonium, and they agree to shelter him for a short while. Soon they’re visited by Welsh, an unctuous government bureaucrat from hell. His agressive patriotism puts Frank, Emma and Haynes on the defensive, transforming a heartland American household into a scene of torture and promoting a radioactive brand of conformity with a dangerously low half-life.