Confessions of a Mormon Boy [2007-05-16]
I almost didn't go see this since I have so much else going on, but back when I first mentioned it, paper_crystals said she had heard good things about it and I said I was fairly definitely going to go see it, so I felt bad about copping out. So I went. And I'm very glad I did.
The first third or so (I wasn't checking my watch) I was definitely drawn along with the story, but part of me was aware that it wasn't anything particularly new or profound -- and was okay with that. But it kept going, and getting more interesting, and it kept going beyond where I would expect it to, and by the end I was crying.
And after the applause he told us that his father had come to the opening night performance in New York -- and led the standing ovation after it was over. At that point I was quietly sobbing.
Afterward I went to the ladies' room 'cause the Back Bay Station one is kinda grody. There was a merchandise table and out of curiosity I checked it out. In the play he talks about Carol Lynn Pearson and her book Goodbye, I Love You which I was of course then curious to read, and on the table I saw a follow-up book from her, No More Goodbyes: Circling the Wagons Around Our Gay Loved Ones, which I now also want to read. I realized that the playwright/star (it's his own story, which he wrote and which he performs as a one-man show) was standing in front of it and people were talking to him. The guy in front of me didn't seem to have realized the extent to which it is Steven's own true story. After he left, I told Steven it was a very well-done show and I was so glad I had come and I was impressed by his bravery in sharing all that. Whereas I had been fine since I'd gone to the bathroom I was now crying again so I said, "I'm still sobbing from the fact that your father came to your show," and he said something about how it's amazing the kind of change that can happen with people (only I feel like he used a word like "reconciliation") and I thanked him again and he thanked me for coming and said how great the audience was (which he had said after the applause as well -- that the Boston audiences have so much heart, and are also smart) and thanked me for sharing that with him and we hugged (which we know is win as far as I'm concerned) and I was still crying a few blocks later as I walked back to the station. I'm honestly not sure quite what about it hit me so much.
I know one thing was that near the end of the show he talks about integrity, which is so huge for me even as I continue to fail to live up to that.
I also liked the recurrent theme of being more than what you have done. Choice lines include "I'm a noun" and the voice he hears say "Steven: I know who you are, and I am so much bigger than this church." (Sorry, those lines are more powerful in context.)
Edit: Oh, I forgot to mention: Audience members kept coming in after the show had started (I assume he had talked to the ushers beforehand and told them this was okay) and he would very smoothly welcome them in and point out that there were some seats available in the section closest to the entrance. At one point this happened fairly far in to the show and he said, "This is just like church; I love it." ♥
***
It runs through this Saturday -- and will be at P-town June 20-July 1. [website]
The first third or so (I wasn't checking my watch) I was definitely drawn along with the story, but part of me was aware that it wasn't anything particularly new or profound -- and was okay with that. But it kept going, and getting more interesting, and it kept going beyond where I would expect it to, and by the end I was crying.
And after the applause he told us that his father had come to the opening night performance in New York -- and led the standing ovation after it was over. At that point I was quietly sobbing.
Afterward I went to the ladies' room 'cause the Back Bay Station one is kinda grody. There was a merchandise table and out of curiosity I checked it out. In the play he talks about Carol Lynn Pearson and her book Goodbye, I Love You which I was of course then curious to read, and on the table I saw a follow-up book from her, No More Goodbyes: Circling the Wagons Around Our Gay Loved Ones, which I now also want to read. I realized that the playwright/star (it's his own story, which he wrote and which he performs as a one-man show) was standing in front of it and people were talking to him. The guy in front of me didn't seem to have realized the extent to which it is Steven's own true story. After he left, I told Steven it was a very well-done show and I was so glad I had come and I was impressed by his bravery in sharing all that. Whereas I had been fine since I'd gone to the bathroom I was now crying again so I said, "I'm still sobbing from the fact that your father came to your show," and he said something about how it's amazing the kind of change that can happen with people (only I feel like he used a word like "reconciliation") and I thanked him again and he thanked me for coming and said how great the audience was (which he had said after the applause as well -- that the Boston audiences have so much heart, and are also smart) and thanked me for sharing that with him and we hugged (which we know is win as far as I'm concerned) and I was still crying a few blocks later as I walked back to the station. I'm honestly not sure quite what about it hit me so much.
I know one thing was that near the end of the show he talks about integrity, which is so huge for me even as I continue to fail to live up to that.
I also liked the recurrent theme of being more than what you have done. Choice lines include "I'm a noun" and the voice he hears say "Steven: I know who you are, and I am so much bigger than this church." (Sorry, those lines are more powerful in context.)
Edit: Oh, I forgot to mention: Audience members kept coming in after the show had started (I assume he had talked to the ushers beforehand and told them this was okay) and he would very smoothly welcome them in and point out that there were some seats available in the section closest to the entrance. At one point this happened fairly far in to the show and he said, "This is just like church; I love it." ♥
***
It runs through this Saturday -- and will be at P-town June 20-July 1. [website]