BWW Reviews: Lengthy CONFESSIONS OF A MORMON BOY from a Talented, Winning Performer
Confessions of a Mormon Boy/by Steven Fales/ originally directed by Jack Hofsiss/Zephyr Theatre/thru April 26, 2015
Steven Fales' memoirs Confessions of a Mormon Boy charmingly returns to the LA stage since originally produced in LA in 2007. Fales, a very engaging performer with sharp comic timing commands the Zephyr Theatre stage in his multi-character, 115-minute solo turn. Fales' obvious experience with theatre techniques comes into play obscuring from the civilian audiences the moments he's grasping for the next lines of his script. Quick on his witty ad libs, he has the audience eating out of his hands during opening night light cue mishaps.
Confessions of a Mormon Boy opens with the audio recording of a 5-year-old Fales. With realization that he just might be gay, Fales charges head-first into the Mormon elders' various de-gaying programs. Fales, finally acknowledging his sexuality, moves to New York to pursue his real calling - acting. But not before marrying Emily and having two kids. (Emily coincidentally happens to be the daughter of author Carol Lynn Pearson, who wrote "Good-Bye, I Love You," the true story of how Carol Lynn married, then divorced her gay husband, and then brought him home to Utah to care for him in his final stages dying of AIDS.)
Now in New York with only $60 in his pockets, Fales happens by circumstance into escorting. Fales gets quite graphic in his re-telling of his prostituting encounters (maybe too graphic for the non-Fifty Shades of Grey fans). As such, his performance fake climaxes many times before the actual one ends this theatrical piece. Although the program lists Jack Hofsiss as directing this production, other press materials read "Based on original direction by Hofsiss." A firmer, actual hands-on third-eye directing Confessions of a Mormon Boy might make for a stronger, more streamlined Confession without the many false endings. Fales' big reveal near the end stuns! You never see it coming. Good for You, Steven Fales!
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