Tommy Kuchulis, as Jason, rehearses a scene from the comedy "Hand to God" last week at 2nd Street Theater in Bend. (Joe Kline/Bulletin photo)

The platitude “The devil made me do it” takes on a sinister — and hilarious — new meaning in the sardonic new play “Hand to God,” a dark comedy in which hand puppets, piety and demonic possession collide for a fiendishly fun time.

Written by Robert Askins, “Hand to God” premiered off-Broadway in 2011, and on Broadway in 2015. In Bend, it’s being presented as a joint production by Lonely Fish — you may recall its production of the comedy “Five Lesbians Eating a Quiche” last January — and Stage Right Productions, the nonprofit that runs 2nd Street Theater, where “Hand to God” opens Friday.

In the prologue, a puppet offers a short, rueful soliloquy on the advent of communities, which he explains brought us in from the wild but also brought about the ideas of right and wrong. Peace around the campfire? Good, he says. Doing just about anything you as an individual could want — such as defecating in the middle of the camp? That would be bad.

But these communal humans discovered an out, he says. “When I had acted badly, in order that I might stay in front of the campfire, all I had to say is, ‘The devil made me do it.’”

In Act 1, Scene 1, the lights come up on a group of teens and a mom gathered in a church basement for Christian Puppet Ministry, a program led by Margery (played by Melinda Jahn), a widow of six months. There’s her son, the introverted Jason (Tommy Kuchulis), who’s quite attached to his puppet, Tyrone, and the no-nonsense Jessica (Natalie Kniola).

In comes the ornery Timothy (Matthew Vigil), one troubled son-of-a-drunk, who doesn’t seem to have ever met a thought he wouldn’t willingly utter aloud. As observant as he is confrontational, the randy young man notes the shapeliness of Jessica’s puppet, Jolene, and soon outs Jason as having a visible crush, after a fashion, on Jessica. We soon learn the randy young man has the hots for his much older teacher.

Unfortunately for Margery, but a boost to the plot, is the fact that Pastor Greg (Chris Gallagher) is a desperately lonesome soul who, as fate and the script would have it, has also taken a shine to Margery, never mind that the recent widow says she’s not in the market yet. Pastor Greg is antsy for the young puppeteers to get out of the basement and onto the pulpit, and insists the group put on a puppet show at the weekend service.

When Jason and Jessica have a moment alone together, though, Tyrone suddenly seems to take on a life of his own, spilling to Jessica the beans about Jason’s crush on her, and much more. Timothy’s filter may be broken, but Tyrone has no filter whatsoever. It becomes clear that most everyone here is flawed, maybe even varying degrees of bad, except Jessica. She is of stronger moral fiber, but then we know less about her than we do of the other characters. In her grief, the more complicated Margery is vulnerable to advances — unfortunately, Timothy’s inappropriate advances more so than the pastor’s. Margery and son Jason are coping with things the best they can — and to an extent that means “not very well” — but at least they have the puppetry thing.

However, upset by Tyrone’s behavior, Jason decides he wants nothing to do with puppets anymore. He loses his mind for a moment, and in the process Tyrone loses his head. When we meet the malevolent sock puppet again, he’s sporting a new set of sharp-looking teeth, and the fun is really just getting started.

To say much more would spoil the fun, but it must be said that all the actors throw themselves into their respective roles with something like religious fervor. As Timmy, Vigil makes a solid bully, switching gears easily into wanton lust whenever he has some alone time with Margery. While it wouldn’t excuse her actions in a court of law, in the setting of a play, Margery is clearly suffering in the wake of her husband’s deadly heart attack, and Juhn’s skillful acting makes it easy to sympathize with her plight.

Kuchulis and Kniola in particular will wow you with their puppet skills. In one climactic scene, their characters hold a normal conversation while their respective puppets are, ahem, sharing a moment of intimacy. It’s hysterical, and if you like irreverent humor in which nothing is sacred, this show’s for you.

What: “Hand to God”

When: Opens 7:30 p.m. Friday; in performance 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday, till Jan. 28

Where: 2nd Street Theater, 220 NE Lafayette Ave., Bend

Cost: $19, $16 students and seniors (this show is not recommended for kids)

Contact: 2ndstreettheater.com or 541-312-9626