Protesters greet patrons at opening of ‘Act of God’ at Sheldon Vexler Theater

About three dozen protesters gathere just outside the Barshop Jewish Community Center Thursday night to protest the production of 'An Act of God.' About three dozen protesters gathere just outside the Barshop Jewish Community Center Thursday night to protest the production of 'An Act of God.' Photo: Deborah Martin /San Antonio Express-News Photo: Deborah Martin /San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 39 Caption Close Protesters greet patrons at opening of ‘Act of God’ at Sheldon Vexler Theater 1 / 39 Back to Gallery

About three-dozen people with the Catholic group America Needs Fatima gathered just outside the Barshop Jewish Community Center on Thursday night to protest the production of “An Act of God.”

The protesters stood at the corner of Wurzbach Parkway and NW Military Highway prayed, played bagpipes and carried signs reading “Jesus is being blasphemed in this theater” and “Blasphemy is a sin.”

“Act of God,” which is being staged by the Sheldon Vexler Theatre inside the Jewish Community Center, is an irreverent piece in which God offers an update to the Ten Commandments.

Cesar Franco, a representative of the group, said that they were there to offer reparations to God for the play’s blasphemy.

“We’re here to apologize to God publicly,” said Franco, who said though he has not seen the play, he had read portions of the script and had found it offensive.

The group also protested the San Pedro Playhouse (now known as The Playhouse San Antonio) staging of “Corpus Christi” a few years ago. That play depicts Jesus and his apostles as gay men.

The group is devoted to fighting blasphemy in America, Franco said.

Written by former “Daily Show” scribe David Javerbaum, the one-act opened on Broadway in 2015 with “The Big Bang Theory” star Jim Parsons as God. Since then, it has been staged across the country, and a production is in the works in Mexico City.

Most productions have been free of controversy, though a staging by the Pittsburgh Public Theater in June drew protesters who prayed and carried a banner reading “Blasphemy is not culture.”

That was an anomaly, Javerbaum said in a recent interview with the Express-News.

“It has drawn almost no protests,” he said. “I expected and was hoping for them.”

Ken Frazier, who runs the Sheldon Vexler Theatre, said in an interview prior to opening night that he knew his decision to stage the play would raise some eyebrows, so he reviewed it with his staff as well as Saul Levenshus, the president and CEO of the Jewish Community Center.

“He asked me, ‘Is this play smacking religion?’ And my answer was no,” Frazier said.

Franco was not certain if the group would protest other performances of “An Act of God.”

Actors in the show were not available for comment. But after the play, the show’s stage manager Melissa Cunningham said she had overheard a patron say the play was the best example of free speech she had ever seen.

Frazier agreed with the sentiment. “It gives affirmation to what this country is about,” he said.

dlmartin@express-news.net