God Said This
by Leah Nanako Winkler

Name: God Said This
Brand: Leah Nanako Winkler
SKU: 9780822239543
Rating: 4.17 (10 reviews)

Off-Broadway

God Said This Book Cover — God Said This Cover

Highlights

Female

Male

105 mins Present Day Role(s) for Asian Actor(s) Unit Set/Multiple Settings Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes

Synopsis

When Masako is diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of uterine cancer, her dispersed family is brought back to their Kentucky hometown to care for her.

Hiro, the older daughter and a New York City transplant, struggles to make peace with the demons she inherited; the younger daughter, Sophie, negotiates her faith in the face of her mother’s illness and her own broken dreams; their father, James, is a recovering alcoholic seeking forgiveness and redemption; and a friend, John, worries about the legacy he’ll be able to leave his only son.

Forced together in a time of need, five estranged people come face to face with their own mortality.

Press Reviews

"In a script written with wry, honest wit under extraordinary personal circumstances, Winkler’s voice grips and seduces.” – The Independent (CA)“Winkler has written rich characters with dialogue that has an unpretentious familiarity to it coupled with undercurrents of complex wrought emotion.” – WFPL Louisville Public Radio“[God Said This shows] Winkler’s talent for creating relatable characters and for writing scenes that give actors room to sink their teeth into a role…[its] message will make you want to go hug a loved one and to me that means it did its job."
— Lexington Herald-Leader (KY)

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
Masako 50s or 60s, his wife. Has cancer. A total optimist and a beam of light, though when sad, the tears often don’t stop. Masako’s resilience is her strength—even if it’s not so obvious at first. Japanese immigrant.	female	50s	50s or 60s, his wife. Has cancer. A total optimist and a beam of light, though when sad, the tears often don’t stop. Masako’s resilience is her strength—even if it’s not so obvious at first. Japanese immigrant.
Sophie 29, their youngest daughter. Kind, patient, but imperfect. Her biggest fears have come to life and she is on the verge of a breaking point. Kentuckian. A Born-Again Christian.	female	—	29, their youngest daughter. Kind, patient, but imperfect. Her biggest fears have come to life and she is on the verge of a breaking point. Kentuckian. A Born-Again Christian.
Hiro 36, their eldest daughter. New York transplant. Isn’t always aware of how she affects others but is making a huge effort to be there for her family. Can be cool and collected but epiphanies hit her all at once to the point of overwhelming emotion.	female	—	36, their eldest daughter. New York transplant. Isn’t always aware of how she affects others but is making a huge effort to be there for her family. Can be cool and collected but epiphanies hit her all at once to the point of overwhelming emotion.
John 37, Hiro’s acquaintance from high school. A funny, straight-forward, don’t-take-no-shit kind of person. Kind of a jerk actually. But a respectable one. Sometimes has a dark anger behind his eyes. Kentuckian. James, Masako, Hiro, and Sophie are a mixed-race family, please cast them accordingly. Give the AAPI performers the opportunity to play deeply flawed, complex people who are different from one another – who are not defined by their race.	male	—	37, Hiro’s acquaintance from high school. A funny, straight-forward, don’t-take-no-shit kind of person. Kind of a jerk actually. But a respectable one. Sometimes has a dark anger behind his eyes. Kentuckian. James, Masako, Hiro, and Sophie are a mixed-race family, please cast them accordingly. Give the AAPI performers the opportunity to play deeply flawed, complex people who are different from one another – who are not defined by their race.
James 50s or 60s. A recovering alcoholic. Inappropriate. Can be mean but can also be surprisingly sentimental. Seeking redemption but will never say he’s sorry. Funny at times but mostly when he doesn’t mean to be. Kentuckian.	—	50s	50s or 60s. A recovering alcoholic. Inappropriate. Can be mean but can also be surprisingly sentimental. Seeking redemption but will never say he’s sorry. Funny at times but mostly when he doesn’t mean to be. Kentuckian.