Facing East
Homosexuality and religion have always gone hand in hand as...well, oil and water. It seems every major religion has an opinion as to whether it is an acceptable thing or not (in most cases it is decidedly not) and everyone involved has something passionate to say about that subject.
For Carol Lynn Pearson, her play, Facing East is a personal one and it aims to indict the Mormon Church on their stand on homosexuality while at the same time, open up discussion in general about a more universal issue of parent and child communication or lack thereof.
The title of the play refers to the act of being buried facing east so that on Resurrection Day, the dead may rise and be ready to enter in God’s Kingdom.
For Ruth (Terry Davis) and Alex (Christian Lebano) McCormick, both devout Mormons, this offers little consolation as they stand at the grave of their excommunicated homosexual son, Andrew.
Unable to come to terms with Church and its stand on homosexuality, it appears, he died of a self-inflicted gunshot.
Now, as the funeral service has just ended, Alex feels that it was all a lie and proceeds to give his own funeral service-an honest one-one that acknowledges the fact that his son was gay. Ruth protests, but as he begins, the real drama begins.
For the grieving couple, there are more questions than answers. When their son’s lover, Marcus (Daniel Kash), suddenly makes an appearance, the three are faced with their own religious conflicting views.
For all the effort Pearson has put into this play to bring awareness about the "challenging intersections of faith, family, diversity and love," the play never seems to go beyond contrived points of views as each character gets a turn on the soapbox.
Ruth, more than the other two, sticks stoically to her deep religious Mormon beliefs, while Alex, on his way up the corporate religious ladder tries hard to consolidate both views. Marcus, on the other hand, sheds humanity on Andrew.
Though effective in telling this story, Pearson opts for lyricism and lofty speeches when such a subject requires a more realistic approach.
That’s not to say there aren’t moments that ring true, because there are. Overall, the play is effective in presenting contrasting point of views and when they do, the play comes to life.
Davis and Lebano are excellent as the grieving couple-always walking a fine line between religious duty and parental unconditional love. Kash, however, is perhaps the only one that can truly cut through the politics and render Andrew as a three dimensional person.
Director Shashin Desai manages to keep the three actors moving without staying stagnant in a striking set of muted grays and splashes of color by Stephen Gifford.
Facing East is playing through July 5 at International City Theatre in Long Beach, 300 East Ocean Blvd.
For tickets, please call (562) 436-4610 or visit www.InternationalCityTheatre.org
