The Spectrum, St. George, Utah

June 7, 2008

Heartbreaking drama of 'Facing East' brings tears

'Facing East' is possibly the most important play to ever come to St. George.

By BRIAN PASSEY

'Facing East' is possibly the most important play to ever come to St. George.

It's a story about grief. It's a story about God. But most of all, it's a story about love.

Unfortunately, some may see it simply as a story of sin.

The Space Between Theater production - which runs through June 23 at the St. George Opera House - tells the tale of a young man, Andrew, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who commits suicide. But the real story is about his parents, who try to come to terms with his death as they stand at his graveside following the funeral.

The clincher: Andrew was gay.

But before you write this play off as advocating the 'gay lifestyle' or being anti-Mormon consider the following: The playwright, Carol Lynn Pearson, is an active member of the LDS Church. Notables such as Sen. Orrin Hatch and the late President Gordon B. Hinckley have praised her past works that encouraged compassion and love rather than intolerance and hate.

And I write this review as an active and faithful Latter-day Saint who was moved to tears by the story, despite my attempts to remain 'professional' while reviewing the opening Thursday night.

I too have a dear friend - a returned missionary - who is gay. And I thank God that he did not take the road Andrew followed in 'Facing East.'

Although 'Facing East' is told from the perspective of an LDS family, its lessons are applicable to all religious people and to all families. As a prominent rabbi said on the cover of Pearson's last book: '. ...the task of any religion is to teach us whom we're required to love, not whom we're entitled to hate.'

'Facing East' reminds us of this. We weep with Andrew's parents, Alex and Ruth - deftly played by Garry Peter Morris and Andrea Davenport - as they seek to understand their son's tragic death by a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the foot of the LDS Church's Salt Lake City Temple.

In one of the play's most poignant moments, Alex asks Andrew's partner, Marcus, if Andrew's choice of location for his suicide was a statement about the church. Marcus, who admired Andrew's faith, tells them that Andrew said if he ever took his own life, he would do it outside the temple because 'kind angels' would be hovering about.

Andrew's parents react differently to Marcus, played by Derek Stratford. It is the first time either of them have met him. It's as if they tried to pretend Marcus didn't exist to make the reality of their homosexual son somewhat less real.

Ruth sees Marcus as an embodiment of her failure as a parent. She blames her son's homosexuality on herself at first, then her husband, then Marcus. She blames her son's death on his homosexuality, rather than on his own internal conflict between those feelings and his love for his parents and his faith.

Alex, however, shows a deep need to listen to Marcus. One of the most telling moments of the play is watching Morris' face - in character as Alex - as he comes to know his real son for the first time, as told by Marcus.

It's heartbreaking as Marcus tells Alex and Ruth how excited his own parents were to meet Andrew. Davenport's body language tells the story here as her character seems to close off to Marcus, realizing that - unlike his parents - the last thing she wanted to do was to meet her son's gay partner.

But of all the powerful scenes, it's the one that truly shows the power of God's love that stands out above the others. Marcus talks about the night Andrew was excommunicated from the LDS Church and how one of the local church leaders stopped by afterward to talk with the gay couple about remaining true to each other and to leave a blessing on their home.

There in the embodiment of a character we never even see in the play is the true example of Christ-like love - love without judgment. It's the love Andrew's own parents found themselves unable to show their son because they were too afraid of what people would think.

It's absolutely heart-rending as Alex breaks down next to his son's coffin, prominently featured at the center of the stage. When Morris sobs it's the sound of a father mourning for a lost son - a son who might still be alive if his parents had only understood him more.

Pearson's play, as seen through the eyes of director Eric Young, stops short of criticizing the LDS Church itself. It does, however, speak out to members of the church who spend too much time judging people for breaking one commandment - the law of chastity - while they ignore an even higher commandment to love.

'Facing East' did seem to start slowly as the actors fell into character, but once they were there it was gripping. There were moments where I found myself holding my breath, my soul pouring out to these grieving parents - and to Marcus, who also lost someone he loved.

Other local theaters may be showing larger, more elaborate productions of well-known and popular stories such as 'Les Miserables,' 'Othello' and even 'High School Musical.' Many of those will be spectacular shows. But there is no more important play to see this summer in Southern Utah than 'Facing East.'