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THE CREATIVE LIFE by Julia Cameron, Excerpt Two
By Steven Fales | August 23, 2010
At nine fifteen, the line for admission to the nine forty-five show was already formed. Mary, the hostess, sweet-talks the crowd into compliance. We are here to see my friend Steven’s one-man show, Mormon American Princess. The crowd is varied, as much heterosexual as not, from twenties to sixties, some dapper, some not.
Steven Fales put himself on the map with Confessions of a Mormon Boy, his first one-man show, directed by the legend Jack Hofsiss. In that show, Steven threaded a tale from Mormon boyhood to youthful marriage to various therapies intended to cure him of homosexual urges. The therapies failed. Steven was irretrievably gay. He was excommunicated by the church, then launched into a self-destructive spiral of drink, drugs, and sex. Desperate, he turned to writing. The writing led him back to sanity. Resored to his dignity, he offered his show as a cautionary tale. The new show, Mormon American Princess, is a coming-out story. Good humor replaces pathos.
At nine forty-five, the crowd is still filing in. I am here with Emma; my daughter, Domenica; and her boyfriend. We are given a booth, elevated at center stage. We order round one of our obligatory two rounds of drinks. I sip at an orange juice on the rocks. At nine fifty-five, a hush falls over the room. “There he is,” someone breathes. All eyes are riveted on Steven, clad in blue jeans, cowboy boots, and a leather shirt. He looks like the Westerner that he is. For his opening number he does some musical gender-bending. He belts and then croons his way through “Son of a Preacher Man.” Steven has an incandescent sexuality that floods the stage. When he talks about sexual desire, the audience can feel it. Oddly, Steven’s sexual charisma throws a monkey wrench into his show. The show tilts to accommodate the audience’s lust.
Midway through his act, Steven performs another gender-bender. He sings, “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” Mary Magdalene’s show-stopper from Jesus Christ Superstar. The song reflects a promiscuous past–Steven’s as well as Magdalene’s. Part confessional, part sheer entertainment, the evening is uneven but engrossing. What clearly emerges is a sense of his impressive talent. Next time out, he would benefit from a director’s hand.
His audience responds with bursts of applause, and at show’s end a sustained round of enthusiasm. Steven is pleased by the show’s reception. The evening was his debut back in New York, and it made him feel there was a place for him and his work.
“Thanks for coming out,” Steven stops by to tell our table.
“Thank you,” we respond.
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