Director José Carrasquillo’s generally sleek production underscores the thematic compression with Tony Cisek’s stark set: black surfaces that are sometimes etched with frames of light and sometimes reminiscent of the void mentioned early in the Book of Genesis. Daniel (played by Michael J. Mainwaring) and Christian (Josh Adams) recite those Bible verses at the start of the show, in a taste of the lyrical and stylized sequences that alternate with more naturalistic scenes.
Chris (the name he prefers) and Daniel are both familiar with Genesis and the rest of the Bible. Though he’s an office manager at a Seattle tech start-up, Daniel hopes to become a Lutheran pastor, believing that his gay identity presents no obstacle in his progressive branch of Christianity. Daniel’s reconciliation of faith and sexuality astounds Chris, an engineer at the start-up who was raised Baptist and survived conversion therapy. When Daniel and Chris become intimate, they can’t escape the minefield that is their divergent experience of religion.
As the play chronicles a flirtation around the office candy bowl deepening into a relationship, Adams is pitch-perfect as Chris, whose understated bro tones and measured physicality suggest stoicism tamping down pain. Mainwaring ably displays Daniel’s vulnerability and exuberance, while Sasha Olinick brings the right ambivalence to the role of the Father and Joe Mallon channels the Therapist.
Homing in assiduously on sexuality and faith as consonant or conflicting forces, the play can be heartbreaking, as when exploring Chris’s trauma. It’s brainy, too, with dialogue that touches on such topics as the nature of eternity (Chris imagines infinite nested snow globes) and predestination.
Still, the focus can feel too unvaried. The Mario Kart scene notwithstanding, one sometimes longs for a brief change of subject or pace to throw the tale’s central motifs into even greater relief. On a production level, the occasional dollops of dance-like movement don’t help, registering as arty, and one recurrent major sound cue is too much of a musical scare-quote.
But with vivid characterizations, poetry and smarts, “In His Hands” testifies to the talent of up-and-coming playwright Benne. In one of the script’s clever touches, Daniel and Chris recurrently recite inventories: Of logical fallacies. Of candy brands. From this play’s powerful moments could be made a goodly list.
In His Hands, by Benjamin Benne. Directed by José Carrasquillo; lighting design, William D’Eugenio; costumes, Moyenda Kulemeka; sound, Sarah O’Halloran; fight & intimacy director, Jonathan Ezra Rubin; assistant director, Erika Scott. About 95 minutes. $20-$68 (in person); $40 (streaming, July 6-17). Through July 17 at Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. 202-399-6764. mosaictheater.org.
