''God's Favorite'' is a play by Neil Simon, loosely based on the

Biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

Book of Job The Book of Job (; hbo, אִיּוֹב, ʾIyyōḇ), or simply Job, is a book found in the Ketuvim ("Writings") section of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), and is the first of the Poetic Books in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Scholars ar ...

. It was produced on Broadway in 1974.

Production

Produced by Emanuel Azenberg, the play opened on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on December 11, 1974 and closed on March 23, 1975, after 119 performances and seven previews."'God's Favorite" Listing"
Internet Broadway Database listing, accessed April 9, 2012 Directed by Michael Bennett with Assistant Director Bob Avian, the cast featured

Vincent Gardenia Vincent Gardenia (born Vincenzo Scognamiglio; January 7, 1920 – December 9, 1992) was an Italian-American stage, film, and television actor. He was nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, first for ''Bang the Drum Slow ...

(Joe Benjamin),

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(Rose Benjamin), and Charles Nelson Reilly (Sidney Lipton). Scenic design was by William Ritman, costumes were by Joseph G. Aulisi and lighting was by

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mansion. The household consists of a pious, God-fearing tycoon named Joe Benjamin and his family: a long-suffering wife, Rose, a prodigal son, David, a pair of unique and quirky twins, Ben and Sarah, and the maid and butler, Mady and Morris. One night a messenger from God, Sidney Lipton (with a big G on his sweatshirt) arrives, and, as in the biblical story, goes through all manner of temptations to get Joe Benjamin to renounce God. When he refuses, he is visited by all the afflictions imaginable. He stands firm and the messenger has to admit defeat.

Reception

Clive Barnes, in his review for ''

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'' wrote:

... this may be Mr. Simon's most imaginative play, it is not one of his better works. Not only is the opening slow, but also the ending is anticlimactic. If you have exploited tragedy for its humor, how do you get around a happy ending? ... More than any other Simon play, ''God's Favorite'' depends heavily on its staging and setting. Michael Bennett's direction lets all God break loose. ... William Ritman's collapsing mansion is some of the most fiendish theatrical real estate we have seen in years.

Thomas S. Hischak (Professor of Performing Arts, SUNY Cortland) wrote that Simon had been writing about "serious issues" in his last several plays, but "stumbled awkwardly" with ''God's Favorite''. Hischak described the play as a "modern version of the story of ''Job'' that moved into schtick the closer it edged to genuine grief". Hischak noted that Simon had said that the play was written "as a reaction to his wife's untimely death from cancer". The pre-production of ''God's Favorite'' was chronicled on a January 1975 edition of the CBS News program ''

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''. (via

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References

External links

''God's Favorite'' (Neil Simon)
Samuel French {{Neil simon Plays by Neil Simon Comedy plays 1974 plays Broadway plays Book of Job Plays based on the Old Testament