Entertainment

There but for the grace of God (or not) go we

As the bittersweet new Broadway play “Grace” shows, religion, real estate and love have one thing in common: They require a degree of hopeful, maybe even blind, trust.

Steve — Paul Rudd, in a welcome break from his doofy screen persona — certainly has that in spades as he enters an exciting point in his life. He’s happily married to a fellow evangelical Christian, and they’ve just uprooted themselves from Minnesota to Florida so he can make true his dream of gospel-themed hotels.

The concept is hospitality that answers the question “Where would Jesus stay?” thanks to basic amenities like “high-speed Internet. Videoconferencing. Promise Keepers strength training.”

Steve is so focused on his hotels that he neglects his wife, Sara (Kate Arrington, very compelling in a tricky, unshowy role), and she finds conversation and comfort with their reclusive neighbor, Sam (Michael Shannon).

Through Craig Wright’s 100-minute play, they all confront challenges to their core beliefs.

Steve begins as a caricature of a proselytizing Christian, dismissing all contradictions. He first faces off with his condo’s exterminator, Karl (the crusty Ed Asner), who, as a German refugee, knows a thing or two about suffering, and doesn’t believe any God would allow it.

Steve’s next challenge is Sam, who’s not only a former NASA scientist, but has faced a terrible loss: He was hideously disfigured after a car crash that killed his fiancée. Somehow, Shannon projects charisma even with half his face under a plastic mask, like a Saran-wrapped piece of meat.

But Steve doesn’t budge.

“I’m not a knower,” he says, waiting for a check from his mysterious Swiss financial backer. “I’m a believer. And that’s what real estate is all about. It’s about faith. It’s about the substance of things not seen.”

Cue knowing laugh from the audience, aware of Steve’s naiveté and the crash we know is coming: The play starts with him pulling out a gun, then proceeds as a big flashback.

But “Grace” veers off in interesting directions by moving all the characters — not just Steve — outside of their comfort zone. Granted, Wright and director Dexter Bullard overreach at times. Not only does the show proceed in flashback, but both apartments share the set — the characters are in the same space without being in the same room — which is more confusing than anything else. And keep an eye on the overhead fan, which changes speed and direction at key moments.

But those are only embellishments. Ultimately “Grace” turns out to have a simple, affecting point: It’s about the stories we tell ourselves to make it through life.