Life is full of challenging decisions: first job, finding a new job, buying property, moving, marriage, children, medical issues. But I find it difficult to imagine a more challenging proposition than transitioning gender. This West Coast premiere of memoirist P. Carl’s journey to manhood is a thought-provoking, often profound, and deeply moving story that raises as many questions as it answers. How often we think of realizing ourselves to the fullest is put to the ultimate test when Polly (Shoana T. Hunt), a lesbian in a fourteen-year relationship with her wife Lynette (Laura Domingo) makes the bold choice to transition to a man.
Beautifully realized by director Lyam B. Gabel, Carl’s story honestly portrays the difficulties, both physical and mental, the transitioner faces. In a bravura performance by Petey Gibson as Carl (formerly Polly), he’s exultant over his two major changes- his fluffy new beard, and more importantly, the ability to swim freely in a new suit with the right body. Becoming a Man is not just a feel good, atta boy moment of self-actualization. We dive deep into Carl’s psychological traumas, be it his dysfunctional bio-family or the disastrous effects on his marriage.
In flashbacks we see Polly’s anguish as she struggles with her body dysmorphia. Her mother, a therapist herself, is of little assistance and the father is a misogynist. Carl struggles with appearances by Polly, who disapproves of his newfound ‘dudeness” and ‘mantalk.” Lynette with this new dynamic as well – as a lesbian she can’t see herself loving a man. They fight over minor issues like out-of-season asparagus, a metaphor for their widening separation gap. Becoming a Man doesn’t shy away from the dark side of the transition process. The biological imperative Carl feels, the life-or-death decision making, the loneliness of losing one’s past, all authentically realized in P. Carl’s script.
Laura Domingo and Petey Gibson shine as the seemingly doomed lovers. Can love survive with such a fundamental change in the dynamic? Is Carl the same lovable partner in his new body? What prices are paid for those who are compelled to transition? Becoming a Man is a roadmap for its target audience starved for accurate portrayals, but it’s a tender eye opener for the rest of us with no prior knowledge of this sensitive issue.
Becoming a Man continues through June 14th. Tickets available at http://www.zspace.org/becoming .
Photo Credit: Kayleigh McCollum
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