Editing God's Favorite

{{short description|Play by Neil Simon}}
{{italic title}}
{{about|the Neil Simon play|the 2002 N.O.R.E. album|God's Favorite (album)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
'''''God's Favorite''''' is a play by [[Neil Simon]], loosely based on the [[Bible|Biblical]] [[Book of Job]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Neil Simon: A Casebook|first= Gary|last= Konas|year=1997|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=0-8153-2132-5}}</ref> It was produced on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in 1974.

==Production==
Produced by [[Emanuel Azenberg]], the play opened on Broadway at the [[Eugene O'Neill Theatre]] on December 11, 1974<ref name=barnes/> and closed on March 23, 1975, after 119 performances and seven previews.<ref name=broadway>[http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=3503 "'God's Favorite" Listing"] Internet Broadway Database listing, accessed April 9, 2012</ref> Directed by [[Michael Bennett (theater)|Michael Bennett]] with Assistant Director [[Bob Avian]], the cast featured [[Vincent Gardenia]] (Joe Benjamin), [[Maria Karnilova]] (Rose Benjamin), and [[Charles Nelson Reilly]] (Sidney Lipton). Scenic design was by William Ritman, costumes were by [[Joseph G. Aulisi]] and lighting was by [[Tharon Musser]].<ref name=barnes/><ref name=broadway/>

==Plot overview==
The setting of the play is a [[Long Island]] 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<ref name=barnes/>) 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 ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote: 
<blockquote>...&nbsp;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.<ref name=barnes>{{cite news |author=Barnes, Clive |title=''God's Favorite'' is Simon's ''Job'' on L.I. |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 12, 1974 |page=59 |df=dmy-all}}</ref></blockquote>

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".<ref>{{cite book |author=Hischak, Thomas S. |year=2001 |chapter=1969–1975 |title=American Theatre: A chronicle of comedy and drama, 1969–2000 |page=81 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1aSM__nVScAC&q=%22Neil+Simon%22+%22God%27s+Favorite%22&pg=PA81 |via=books.google.com |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-512347-6}}</ref>

The pre-production of ''God's Favorite'' was chronicled on a January 1975 edition of the CBS News program ''[[60 Minutes]]''.<ref>{{Citation|last=Obsolete Video|title=KABC-7 KNXT-2 1973-4 60 Minutes|date=2019-05-26|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H59QX_3mWeo |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/H59QX_3mWeo |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|access-date=2019-05-26}}{{cbignore}} (via [[YouTube]]; segment begins at 2:42)</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|God's Favorite}}
*[https://www.concordtheatricals.com/s/2808/gods-favorite ''God's Favorite'' (Neil Simon)] Samuel French
{{Book of Job}}
{{Neil simon}}

[[Category:Plays by Neil Simon]]
[[Category:Comedy plays]]
[[Category:1974 plays]]
[[Category:Broadway plays]]
[[Category:Book of Job]]
[[Category:Plays based on the Old Testament]]