{"id":4027,"date":"2016-02-11T21:48:11","date_gmt":"2016-02-11T21:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leicesterbaytheatricals.com\/?p=4027"},"modified":"2026-03-13T19:24:42","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T19:24:42","slug":"facing-east-the-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leicesterbaytheatricals.com\/?p=4027","title":{"rendered":"Facing East \u2022 The Play"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Carol Lynn Pearson<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

(for Professional, College\/University, and Community Theatre productions)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The story deals with a Mormon couple, Alex and Ruth, confronting the suicide of their gay son, Andrew. The problems inherent in dealing with this emotional and idealogical divide are universal to all humans, let alone any particular religious group.<\/p>\n

The three characters\u2014father, mother, and gay partner of Andrew, the deceased (Marcus) — meet for the first time at Andrew\u2019s grave following the funeral. The audience \u201cbecomes\u201d the congregation in a new funeral the father is giving for his son, this time a funeral that speaks the truth. There are \u201cmemory moments\u201d in which each parent relives important times in the past, during which the other parent speaks the son\u2019s lines from the darkness. The only time we \u201csee\u201d the deceased son is toward the end when his partner \u201cbecomes\u201d him in memory. These stylistic devices make us yearn to actually see and hear Andrew, but we cannot. Neither did most of us truly see or hear him when he was alive.<\/p>\n

Cover Image courtesy of Plan-B Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah<\/p>\n

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PLAY DETAILS:<\/strong><\/h2>\n