{{short description|American Play}} {{for|the film adaptation of the play|Is God Is (film){{!}}''Is God Is'' (film)}} {{Infobox play |name=Is God Is |image= |alt= |caption= |writer=[[Aleshea Harris]] |chorus= |characters= |mute= |setting= |premiere={{Start date|2018|02|06}} |place=[[Soho Repertory Theatre]] |orig_lang=English |series= |subject= |genre=[[Drama]], [[Tragedy]] |web=}} '''''Is God Is''''' is an American play by [[Aleshea Harris]]. In 2018 a production directed by Taibi Magar opened [[Off-Broadway]] at [[Soho Rep]] and ran from February 6 to March 11.<ref>{{cite web|author=BWW News Desk|title=Soho Rep. Announces Complete Casting And Creative Team For Aleshea Harris's IS GOD IS|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Soho-Rep-Announces-Complete-Casting-And-Creative-Team-For-Aleshea-Harriss-IS-GOD-IS-20180118|publisher=}}</ref> The play looks at deviant morality, familial dysfunction, being a black girl/woman, and [[patricide]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Sukop|first=Sylvia|date=20 June 2016|title="Responding to a world which no longer makes sense": An interview with playwright Aleshea Harris|website=[[HuffPost]] |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/sylvia-sukop/responding-to-a-world-whi_b_10433032.html|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Soho Rep Will Return to Its Longtime Theater With Two New Plays| work=The New York Times | date=31 July 2017 |url=https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/07/31/theater/soho-rep-to-return-to-longtime-theater-with-two-new-plays.html?referer=https://www.google.com/|publisher= | last1=Chow | first1=Andrew R. }}</ref>

A [[Is God Is (film)|film adaptation of the play]], written and directed by Harris for distribution by [[Orion Pictures]], began filming in 2024, and was released on May 15, 2026.<ref>{{cite web |last1=D'Alessandro |first1=Anthony |last2=Grobar |first2=Matt |date=30 October 2024 |title=Kara Young, Mallori Johnson, Sterling K. Brown, Vivica A. Fox & Janelle Monáe Team With Aleshea Harris For Amazon MGM Orion's 'Is God Is' – The Dish |url=https://deadline.com/2024/10/janelle-monae-sterling-k-brown-is-god-is-movie-1236162707/ |access-date=31 October 2024 |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=McClintock |first=Pamela |date=2025-08-09 |title=Orion's 'Is God Is' Lands High-Profile Summer 2026 Release in Theaters (Exclusive) |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/is-god-is-lands-summer-2026-box-office-1236340709/ |access-date=2025-08-09 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2026/05/11982123/is-god-is-movie-review-kara-young-mallori-johnson-interview</ref>

== Plot == Twenty-one-year-old African-American twin sisters Racine and Anaia were burned and scarred as babies. Racine has burn scars on her arms, back, and neck, and Anaia has scars on her arms, face, and neck. After receiving a letter in their apartment in [[Northeastern United States|Northeast]], they journey to the [[Southern United States|Dirty South]] to the deathbed of their mother, who is known as "SHE" or "God" and has scars all over her body. SHE informs them that their father, referred to as “Man”, set the fire that burned the three of them. SHE instructs the sisters to go west to [[San Fernando Valley|The Valley]] to find and kill him for revenge. The sisters travel to The Valley to face Man and his new family.

== Reception == ''Is God Is'' received 3 [[Obie Award]]s: Playwriting for Aleshea Harris, Directing for Taibi Magar, and Performance for [[Alfie Fuller]] as Anaia and Dame-Jasmine Hughes as Racine.<ref>{{cite web|title=Describe the Night, Will Swenson, Dominique Morisseau, More Win 2018 Obie Awards|url=http://www.playbill.com/article/describe-the-night-will-swenson-dominique-morisseau-more-win-2018-obie-awards|website=Playbill}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title="Mary Jane" and "Is God Is" Achieve a Glorious Trifecta at the 63rd Obie Awards|url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2018/05/21/mary-jane-and-is-god-is-achieve-a-glorious-trifecta-at-the-63rd-obie-awards/|website=Village Voice|date=22 May 2018|access-date=1 February 2021|archive-date=13 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220813185132/https://www.villagevoice.com/2018/05/21/mary-jane-and-is-god-is-achieve-a-glorious-trifecta-at-the-63rd-obie-awards/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The play won the American Playwriting Foundation's Relentless Award in 2016. The award, issued to playwrights annually to honor [[Philip Seymour Hoffman]], honored the play, noting its depiction of a revenge story that draws from "the ancient, the modern, the tragic, the [[Spaghetti Western]], [[hip-hop]] and [[Afropunk]]". The cash prize of $45,000 is the largest cash prize in American theatre given, and about 2,000 un-produced plays were submitted.<ref name="calarts_2016-11-23">{{cite web|title=Playwright Aleshea Harris Wins Relentless Award|date=23 November 2016 |url=http://blog.calarts.edu/2016/11/23/playwright-aleshea-harris-wins-relentless-award/|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=American Award, Prestige Abroad for Aleshea Harris - Creative Pinellas|url=http://creativepinellas.org/performing-arts/american-award-prestige-abroad-for-aleshea-harris/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125074505/http://creativepinellas.org/performing-arts/american-award-prestige-abroad-for-aleshea-harris/|archive-date=2018-01-25|access-date=2018-01-24|website=creativepinellas.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Coakley|first=Jacob|date=24 October 2016|title=Aleshea Harris Wins 2016 Relentless Award - Stage Directions|url=http://stage-directions.com/theatre-buzz/8932-aleshea-harris-wins-2016-relentless-award.html|publisher=|access-date=1 February 2021|archive-date=8 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181008061249/http://stage-directions.com/theatre-buzz/8932-aleshea-harris-wins-2016-relentless-award.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The award gave Harris the opportunity to have stage readings in regional theaters across the country and abroad.

== References == {{Reflist}} <references responsive="1"></references>

[[Category:2018 plays]] [[Category:American plays adapted into films]] [[Category:Fiction about burn survivors]] [[Category:Obie Award–winning plays]] [[Category:Off-Broadway plays]] [[Category:Revenge plays]] [[Category:Works about twin sisters]]