Jose Solís takes a look at God Said This;
"I'm happy. My cancer bring everyone together," exclaims a joyful Masako (Ako) as she lays in her hospital bed surrounded by her husband James (Jay Patterson), and their daughters Sophie (Emma Kikue) and Hiro (Satomi Blair). The line elicits uproarious laughter from the audience injecting the setting with unexpected levity, but for the characters onstage it's a different story. They seem to not know what to do with themselves. James and Hiro, who have been estranged for over a decade, share a quick uncomfortable glance and then look away from each other, while the sweet-natured Sophie stares at her mom with equal measures sympathy and pain. The moment lasts less than a minute but perfectly encompasses the brilliance of Leah Nanako Winkler's God Said This a Primary Stages production, which opened January 29th at the Cherry Lane Theatre. With one line she captures decades worth of quiet suffering, unresolved family issues, and the pervading, almost perverse, nature of maintaining hope when the world is so keen on disillusioning us. . . . |
