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Grant Richey plays a government official who stirs it up on a dairy farm, in Sam Shepard's new play "The God of Hell." (Photo by Tony Nelson, courtesy of Frank Theater)

The War in Iraq, the Patriot Act and other political strategies of the Bush administration have spurred an artistic backlash in theaters across the United States. A new play by Sam Shepard, "The God of Hell," looks at what could happen if those in power became a little too comfortable.

Minneapolis, Minn. — In the heartland of Wisconsin, Frank and Emma are running one of the last family owned dairy farms. They've become used to the rhythm of the work and the solitude, until one day an old friend of Frank's shows up in need of a place to stay. He's a friend Emma has never heard of before, and she wants to know why.

"He kinda disappeared for a while," says Frank. "I thought he was dead, actually."

Emma: "Dead?!"

Frank: "Yeah - or missing. Or tortured even."

Emma: "Tortured? My God! What kind of research is he involved in where he gets tortured?"

The couple's bucolic life milking cows begins to sour when a government agent named Welch shows up looking for Frank's friend. He questions Emma about why the flagpole in their front yard is empty. Emma doesn't seem to think it's a big deal, but Welch does.

"Well, Emma, this is Wisconsin, isn't it?" Welch says. "I'm not in Bulgaria or Turkistan or lost somewhere in the Balkans. I'm in Wisconsin -- taxidermy and cheese, part of the "U-S-of-A" -- you told me that yourself!"

Emma: "What are you driving at?"

Welch: "Well, you think there'd be a flag up there or something to that affect -- some sign, some indication of loyalty and pride."

Emma: "Loyalty? To Wisconsin?!"

This is Sam Shepard's play "The God of Hell." While it takes place in Midwestern farm country, the play is a farcical attack on the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war and homeland security.

In one scene, a character appears after having been tortured. His head is covered with a black hood and an electrical wire is stuck down his pants, echoing photographs of prisoner mistreatment from the Abu Graib prison in Iraq.

Director Wendy Knox says Shepard's play presents a stark message for a modern America.

"For so many years in America, it was really clear who the enemy was - the 'commies.' And since the (Berlin) Wall went down, it's not so clear," says Knox. "It's not one enemy, there's not one target. And I think that Shepard says that in not knowing who your enemy is, it could even be your own government."

"The God of Hell" gets its name from the god Pluto; plutonium plays a key role in the story's secret government project. Shepard alludes to Rocky Flats, Colorado, a plutonium storage facility that leaked contaminants through the air and in the water to surrounding communities.

For actress Virginia Burke, who plays Emma, "The God of Hell" underscores the vulnerability of Americans in their own country.

"I think that one of the things people may take away after having seen it is we sometimes blindly trust leaders and governments to look out for us, and do the best they can for us. But the government -- just because it's the government -- isn't necessarily going to do the right thing for everybody," says Burke. "The government is as good as the very best person we have there, and as terrifying as the worst person that's there."

Critics have complained Shepard predictably points a finger at what he sees as an overly confident Republican government. New York Times theater critic Ben Brantley calls the play "pretty standard agitprop."

But Brantley says Shepard turns an equally critical eye on himself, and complacent Americans. Actress Virginia Burke says Frank and Emma wind up suffering for their mindless acceptance of the status quo.

"They're out in the middle of the Midwest, they're in the middle of nowhere, going with the flow, and they feel safe," says Burke. "And they're not... they're not," as the government agent Welch points out to them in another scene.

"Don't act so surprised, Emma. What did you expect? You didn't think you were going to get a free ride on the back of democracy forever, now did you? Did you?!" says Welch. "What have you done to deserve such rampant freedom? Such total lack of responsibility? Just lolling about here in the Wisconsin wilderness with your useless lumberjack of a husband, scraping the cream off the countryside. Sooner or later the price has got to be paid, don't you think? Our day has come."

Sam Shepard wrote "The God of Hell" last year, in the lead-up to the presidential election. He doubted it would make any difference, and he was right.

Wendy Knox thinks "The God of Hell" is an absurdly and wickedly funny play. Despite that or because of that, she doesn't expect to see many Bush supporters in line when the play opens.

Frank Theater presents "The God of Hell" through Nov. 20 at the Loring Playhouse in Minneapolis.