REVIEW: The Book of Liz

by Wendell Brock, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Sister Elizabeth Donderstock has pretty much had it with her conservative Christian community, the Squeamish. (Think “Amish.”) She’s sweated herself skinny making the group’s signature source of income —- cheese balls —- and when the swishy, upstart Brother Brightbee begins to encroach on her territory, she decides to run away.
Wouldn’t you know the first person she encounters is a woman in a Mr. Peanut costume, who soon enlists Liz to work in a Pilgrim-themed restaurant that’s run by a bunch of recovering alcoholics. Alas, the 12-steppers are so cliquish that they won’t even let Poor Liz keep her transportation in an employee parking spot. (She drives a llama.)
Oh, goody.
“The Book of Liz” —- by the brother-sister team of David and Amy Sedaris —- has arrived in Atlanta, courtesy of Peter Hardy’s Essential Theatre Festival.
Director Lee Nowell’s cast is game to wallow in the tasteless fun and chew on a script that riffs on religious hypocrisy and the empowerment kick while sending up vintage Hollywood potboilers and American classics from “The Scarlet Letter” to “The Crucible.”
This means stock characters like town snoop Sister Butterworth (Dede Bloodworth), slimy interloper Brother Brightbee (Topher Payne) and the humble, put-upon Liz (Rachel Craw), who must go on a journey of initiation before discovering there’s no place like home.
That Payne invests Brightbee with a touch of Charles Busch’s Angela Arden says a good deal about this show’s camp factor. Payne, who has a wry and distinctive monotone, has certainly made himself over since he appeared as a drag queen in “Wizzer Pizzer.”
...In “Liz,” Essential Theatre picked a turkey —- in a good way. Stuffed with cheese and sleaze and covered with nuts, the show is a sinful treat for Sedaris fans and their brethren. Praise the Lord and pass the Williamsburgers.