God

Series
In The Dark
Original Broadcast Date
1993-01
Cast
Grace Zabriskie, Ryan Cutrona, Harvey Perr, Helen Wilson, Joe Frank
Format
Absurd Monologue, Scripted Actors, 28 minutes
Preceded by:	Two Babes
Followed by:	Problems
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I was standing on Broadway, on the Upper West Side.

God is a program Joe Frank produced as part of the series In The Dark. It was originally broadcast in 1993.

Synopsis

[ Street noises ]

Joe's standing on Broadway on the upper west side on a summer evening, on the corner of 68th, wondering what to do. A middle-aged widow prostitute/typist approaches him, gives him her card, solicits his business. After sex Joe dictates a letter to his uncle Murray Horowitz, seriously ill in Miami.

7:20: Joe narrates Murray's funeral. The rabbi (Harvey Perr?) eulogizes him warmly. Joe finds the eulogy completely unlike the Murray he knew, recalls all his bad acts, even crimes; he checks the death notice to make sure he's at the right funeral.

11: A woman, Ellie (Grace Zabriskie?), reads a letter to aunt Clara as she types it; she sounds as though she's in the same predicament as the woman in the first segment - the same person?

12: Ellie tells of walking down the street, ducking into a mortuary to freshen her makeup, sees John Wyman, a high school classmate she hadn't seen in years, preparing a corpse. After applying makeup in the bathroom she goes upstairs to another room, which she realizes is the bishop's. A man in his underwear walks in; she ducks behind the altar. She overhears him talk to himself.

15:10: A fellow with a fake accent wonders what he's doing on Earth, why he talks to himself…

17:20: Joe wonders where God is: pencil sharpeners, hinges of dark glasses…

19: The rabbi eulogizes Murray more, how much he and his wife, Florence, loved each other. The wife objects strenuously, gets into an argument with the rabbi.

20:20: Joe speculates that a cancer tumor is God, also artery plaque, the bacteria that causes underarm odor, the common cold virus…

21:10: Another fellow with fake accent knocks on Joe's door, asks for a donation for his church, which Joe gives.

21:40: Joe says God is moved by a family crashing its boat, a motorcyclist who falls to his death, children who die in a bus crash, others dying gruesome deaths.

24:40: Joe takes a call from Rabbi Heller, who objects to being in the show.

25:20: Joe objects to people who say that life is meaningless.

26:20: A fellow (David Franks) tells about a spirit meeting in San Antonio; the spirit Clytemnestra, son of Aegislus's (sp?) daughter fights with them, attaches electrodes to their heads.

Legacy Synopsis

Monologue: Man hires a prostitute who takes dictation. Dictates a letter. Actors: Murray is praised at his funeral. The prostitute types a letter. Bishop talks to himself. Monologue: Where is God? What if God is a cancer...

Music

• "Lanzarote" - Brian Eno (from The Shutov Assembly, 1992) | YouTube [Intro]
• "Exquisite Corpse" - Shriekback (from Sacred City, 1992) | YouTube [9:39]

Additional credits

The original broadcast credits state: "[C]reated in collaboration with Arthur Miller and David Rapkin. Recorded and mixed by Theo Mondle. The performers were Joe Frank, Grace Zabriskie, Ryan Cutrona, Harvey Perr, Phil Proctor, and Douglas Johnson."

Miscellanea

joefrank.com lists the cast as: 'Grace Zabriskie, Ryan Cutrona, Harvey Perr, Phil Proctor, Douglas Johnson, and Joe Frank'

In 2009 it listed the cast as: 'Joe Frank, Grace Zabriskie, Harvey Perr, Ryan Cutrona and David Franks'

Note that the cast listed on this page is different: it has Helen Wilson, and not David Franks.

I'm pretty sure the fellow in the last segment is David Franks. There are 2 parts for women (not counting the person to whom David Franks 'preaches'.) Grace Zabriskie could have played both. I'm not certain of the other men's voices.

Prayer (Remix) is God followed by Prayer