Off Broadway sensation CONFESSIONS OF A MORMON BOY for South African tour.
Following a hit international tour, Steven Fales’ off-Broadway sensation CONFESSIONS OF A MORMON BOY comes to the National Arts Festival followed by a run at Alexander Bar in Cape Town.
Presented by NF2 Productions, the show will be performed on the Main Programme at the National Arts Festival from 2 to 4 July and at Alexander Bar from 10 to 20 July.
Told with humour, song and unflinching honesty, CONFESSIONS OF A MORMON BOY is the inspiring true story of storyteller Steven Fales’ journey from being a devoted, sixth-generation Mormon and father of two to coming out as gay and being excommunicated from his church. Riding an emotional roller coaster of extremes – from perfect Mormon boy in Utah to perfect rent boy in Manhattan – Fales discovers what it means to finally come home, if only in your heart.
Written and performed by Steven Fales, CONFESSIONS OF A MORMON BOY is directed by Jack Hofsiss. Press acclaim has included comments such as ‘Compelling confessional theatre’ (New York Times), ‘As moving as it is funny’ (New York Daily News), ‘A triumph’ (Newsday), ‘Epic’ (Washington Post), ‘Fierce’ (Boston Globe) and ‘Hilarious’ (Chicago Sun-Times).
The production, which was first performed in 2001, has since been seen across the USA, Australia, Scandinavia, Europe and now South Africa. Steven Fales was nominated for the Overall Excellence Award for Solo Show at the New York International Fringe Festival and the Oscar Wilde Award for Outstanding New Writing for the Theatre at the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival.
“I am thrilled to be visiting South Africa for the first time and performing this story of hope and acceptance, told with heart, song and humour,” says Fales. ‘It’s an inspiring look at how one troubled young dad first learned to wake up and grow up—and then kept learning.’
CONFESSIONS OF A MORMON BOY is just one of many solo plays and books that make up actor, writer and producer Fales’ ‘Mormon Boy Experience.’
International press comments for CONFESSIONS OF A MORMON BOY include:
FIVE STARS – Gay Times Magazine (UK)
‘The best of the solo genre’ – LA Times, Critics’ Choice
FOUR STARS – Whatsonstage (London)
‘An uncommonly powerful, gripping, and very moving piece of theatre. Staying away would be a mistake’ – Chicago Tribune
‘an astonishing generosity of spirit, fierce comedy, and sharp intelligence’ – Boston Globe
‘hits us between the eyes like a shot with a two-by-four’ – Chicago Sun-Times
‘Breathtaking’ – SD Union Tribune
‘Fascinating’ – Village Voice
Age Advisory: 12 years (Adult themes)
CONFESSIONS OF A MORMON BOY will be performed at Graeme College at the National Arts Festival, Makhanda on 2 July at 19h00, 3 July at 12h00 and 18h00 and on 4 July at 11h00. Tickets cost R80 with R75 concessions and can be booked at https://www.nationalartsfestival.co.za/
CONFESSIONS OF A MORMON BOY will be performed from 10 to 20 July at 8pm at Alexander Bar in Cape Town (no Sunday performance). Tickets cost R140 or R120 online. Bookings can be made at https://alexanderbar.co.za/show/Mormon_Boy
Steven Fales Biog:
From Los Angeles to London, Houston to Halifax, SoHo to Salt Lake, South Africa, and Sydney, actor/writer/producer Steven Fales has been performing his award-winning solo work for over a decade at venues ranging from church sanctuaries to comedy clubs; fringe festivals to old historic movie houses; coffee shops to cabaret rooms; gay resorts to regional theatres; concert halls to the Mitzi Newhouse Theatre at Lincoln Center. Whether doing standup at Caroline’s On Broadway, cabaret at Joe’s Pub, or solo plays at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, Charing Cross Theatre in the West End, an old Freemason Lodge at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, or Off-Broadway at the SoHo Playhouse, Steven has been honing his craft wherever he can—often receiving and being nominated for awards like the Overall Excellence Award for Solo Show at the New York International Fringe Festival or the Oscar Wilde Award for Outstanding New Writing for the Theatre at the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, and others.
Before specialising in solo performance, Steven worked extensively as an actor in classical plays and musicals in regional theatres including the Utah Shakespeare Festival, Pioneer Theatre Co., Stages St. Louis, Sundance Summer Theatre, Connecticut Repertory Theatre, among others, and in commercials, film, and television. His first union job (AEA) was playing Hap in Death of a Salesman at New Harmony Theatre with Gil Rodgers and Jacqueline Brooks. He worked closely with Broadway director/producer Louis Burke at the short-lived Stratford Shakespeare Festival Theatre (formerly the American Shakespeare Theatre) where he performed with Elaine Stritch, Len Cariou, Douglas Sills, and others.
His first book, Confessions of a Mormon Boy: Behind the Scenes of the Off Broadway Hit, was a Lambda Literary Award Finalist. He is currently expanding his Mormon Boy Trilogy into a book called Oxy-Mormon Memoirs. In addition to his solo work, he has several plays and musicals in various stages of development.
