Hand to God Scribe Robert Askins Is Still a Bartender, Not a Fancy Broadway Playwright Yet

Robert Askins moved to New York City 10 years ago from suburban Texas with dreams of being a Broadway playwright. And guess what? Dreams come true! His dark comedy Hand to God starts previews on March 14 at the Booth Theatre, after a few off- and off-off-Broadway stagings.

“Our billboard just went up in Times Square,” Askins told Broadway.com. “So things just got really real. I think when the marquee goes up and we get into the theater, my head is gonna explode. I’ve been sending pictures to my family back in Texas and they’re freaking out.”

But life hasn’t completely changed yet. “I’m still going through my day to day,” he laughed. “I still bartend at a bar.”

So barkeep, care to slip Hand to God audience members a drink on the house with their ticket stub? “Yeah sure, if they want to go all the way out to Park Slope,” he said, before rethinking. “Oh wait, let me check with my manager first!”

Hand to God, which is directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel and stars Steven Boyer, Marc Kudisch, Geneva Carr, Sarah Stiles and Michael Oberholtzer, is scheduled to open on April 7.