A Mormon’s Rite of Passage in a Mini-Run at Bay Street
A new version of “Confessions of a Mormon Boy,” which earned its writer-director Steven Fales an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for outstanding solo performance, will have five performances at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor from Tuesday through Sunday. The production is directed by Scott Schwartz, Bay Street’s artistic director, who will also direct when the play opens Off Broadway in the winter of 2019.
“Confessions” premiered in 2006 at SoHo Rep in New York City and has been performed since then at venues large and small throughout the world. “Steven and I have worked together on the play,” said Mr. Schwartz, “so it’s a new version. There will be a few projections, a few sound cues, but it’s really Steve up close, personal, and pretty raw. The show is funny, and it’s pretty graphic at points, so it’s definitely for adults.”
Born in Provo, Utah, Mr. Fales is a sixth-generation Mormon whose life ranged from missionary work in Portugal and marriage with two children to conversion therapy, excommunication from the church for homosexuality, and work in New York as a high-end male escort.
When it played at the Coast Playhouse in West Hollywood in 2007, David C. Nichols of The Los Angeles Times wrote, “Wrenchingly honest, hilariously jubilant and utterly clear-eyed, Steven Fales’s autobiographical testimony of his journey from devout Mormon to Manhattan escort is an exceptional achievement to rank beside the best of the solo genre.”
“Confessions” is the first play in “Mormon Boy: A Trilogy of Solo Plays.” “Mission Statement” focuses on his time as a missionary “in which he shows things about the rituals and the clothes of the Mormon church that aren’t really public,” according to Mr. Schwartz. “Prodigal Dad” focuses on the efforts of his wife to prevent him from ever seeing his children.
Performances of “Confessions of a Mormon Boy” will take place Tuesday at 7 p.m., next Thursday and July 21 at 5 p.m., Friday, July 20, at 8 p.m., and July 22 at 2 p.m. Tickets range from $40 to $135, $39.99 as an add-on to a 2018 Mainstage subscription.
The Old Whalers Church in Sag Harbor will host a reading of “Mission Statement” on July 22 at 7 p.m. and of “Prodigal Dad” on July 23 at 4 p.m. Tickets are $10, and seating is limited.
Lucie Arnaz in Concert
A few tickets remained as of press time for “Lucie Arnaz: Songs From My Musical Past,” which will be performed at Bay Street on Monday evening at 8 as part of its Music Mondays series.
In this new concert, the Emmy Award-winning Broadway star will perform iconic songs from some of Broadway’s greatest shows and share anecdotes and recollections about her co-stars, directors, and musical collaborators. Tickets are $59 to $89.