Minnesota’s Sally Wingert has played most of the roles she’s dreamed of in her storied 45-year stage career — 43 of those as an Actors’ Equity union-badged professional.
In addition to Lady Bracknell in “The Importance of Being Earnest” and Sir Toby in “Twelfth Night,” her most recent and memorable roles at the Guthrie Theater where she made her name, she’s acted in such films as “Untamed Heart” (as a tree buyer), “Fargo” (as the wife of an agitated customer) and a stoic payroll lady in “Factotum,” headlined by Matt Dillon.
She’s acted on Broadway and on London’s West End in “La Bete,” playing a character inspired by Molière’s mistress Madeleine Béjart. But there’s one part Wingert has never had a chance to inhabit until now: God.
The 67-year-old Duluth native has been tapped to play the Divine One in “An Act of God,” opening Saturday in St. Paul at Six Points Theater.
“It’s pithy, snarky and just a gas,” Wingert said.
She may be excited for the role, but she has one question for all the directors, casting directors, dramaturges and the like out there.
“Why has no one ever cast me as God before?” Wingert said. “My husband would say I’ve been trying to play God for decades, but I don’t think I’ve even been a voice of God or anything like that.”
It’s a fun exploration for her, especially because of how playwright David Javerbaum, a writer for “The Daily Show” who has won 13 Emmys, constructed the role.