S BACK!
is part of his recovery, reclaiming spirit. “For me the things I’ve found in the Anglo-Catholic
tradition are simply symbolic of grace. It’s all about a story—a really good story. There are many affirming congregations that embrace us. One of the most political things I can do as a gay man today is to align with an affirming congregation and mean it even just a little—even if it is coffee hour. I love St. Bart’s in New York and I go to St. Mark’s in Salt Lake City. When I’m in Los Angeles, I attend M.C.C. L.A. I think what Rever- end Neil Thomas is doing there is just extraordinary. It’s also a relief to re-examine the teachings of Christ without all the filters of Joseph Smith. I have finally been about to let the Latter-day doctrine go so I can get on with my life. However, I may not be a Latter-day Saint anymore, but something about me will always be Mormon. It must be the smile, I think.” But according to Fales, Missionary Position was just
a gateway to get to the good stuff. Part III is called Prodigal Dad. The story definitely continues. “My ex-wife filed false allegations of child abuse
and tried to eliminate me from my kids’ lives in Utah. I moved back to Utah at the height of the recession to be part of my children’s lives and she didn’t want that. So I spent all of 2008 fighting for my rights as a dad in Utah. It took every dime I had. It almost destroyed me. But I fought and I prevailed. Prodigal Dad is a tribute to all fathers seeking to be part of their children’s lives. Dads are an endangered species gay or straight. Steven lives in Salt Lake City now, “writing plays and
raising kids. I live a few streets from my kids’ schools. Things are getting better, but it is still hard to get to be in their lives. They are busy teenagers and the poison they have heard about me for so long has certainly taken its toll. It’s not easy having a dad be a notorious gay celebrity in and out of recovery. But what they have been taught from their mother’s side is hard to overcome, I see the big picture, it will get better and the family therapy has helped, but time is what heals.” The irony is that Steven’s former wife is one of the
producers of the film 8: The Mormon Proposition. She has left the church and is violently vocal about her disdain for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her father was gay and her mother is one of the most celebrated Mormon writers of all time, Carol Lynn Pearson, who’s work to “circle the wagons” around gay members has been hailed far and wide. “They are very pro gay but they are not pro me—I
wrote my story because I was sure they wouldn’t tell my story if I didn’t. They have an empire built on the backs of gay Mormonism and they are a reality celebrity family. Let’s just say I understand why Levi would pose for Playgirl, he was afraid to be erased as a
man and a father by Sarah Palin. The worst thing you can do to a diva is to step on their brand. I’m very leery of the diva-addiction we have in the gay community. There comes a time when Lady Ga-Ga nor Lady Utah can do justice to our stories. We have to tell them ourselves.” That is exactly what Steven Fales has been doing.
Most recently he sold out in Houston where audi- ences flocked to hear his universal story. But the most dangerous thing Steven will be revealing is how he became HIV positive. “I was negative at the end of Confessions. I couldn’t leave the story at that when life took a new twist.” It’s been almost five years since his diagnosis in
August 2007. “I had a little relapse in Provincetown and that’s when the virus got me. It was devastating. The stigma. The shame. But I can truly say I’m on the other side now—it wasn’t easy—it destroyed my confidence in every way. I went through my entire custody battle keeping it to my self, not even my attorney’s knew. I knew if that came out, I would lose my kids entirely. In spite of it all I found an inner strength I didn’t know I had—it does get better—but sometimes it gets worse before it does.” “The Trilogy ends with a blessing. In a fantastical
series of events, I conjure or resurrect my former father-in-law to the stage. I never met him because he died of AIDS in 1984. But he is the only person on earth that can give me the father’s blessing I need and he does. It’s a beautiful moment in which the last generation we lost passes a baton to us. It is the ultimate redemptive gesture. Being part Greek and having studied the Greek dramas in graduate school, my pen couldn’t help but write something truly
to re-examine the “It’s also a relief
teachings of Christ without all the filters of Joseph Smith. I have finally been about to let the Latter-day doctrine go so I can get on with my life. However, I may not be a
Latter-day Saint anymore, but something about me will always be Mormon. It must be the smile, I think.”
Greco-Mormon. I hope that with the honesty I have written with will help break the family dysfunction so my kids won’t make some of the mistakes I have. Fales bases in the Rocky Mountains where he
continues to crank out new work and projects. He’s working on Mormon Boy the memoir, documentary film, and cooking show. He even has a new line of Mormon Boy jeans in development. There’s a new show called Conversations With Heavenly Mother: An Uncommon Diva, his album to his cabaret act called Mormon American Princess and a stand-up show, When All Else Fales. “One of the things that has helped keep me going
is writing and creating. It has seen me through my darkest moments. And I feel so blessed to be able to do what I love. I think the new American dream is to make money doing what you LOVE. “ The Mormon Boy Trilogy will play all three shows in
repertory at the Hudson Theatre beginning Sunday, April 22 thru Saturday, May 26 before moving to New York in the fall to coincide with the election. It seems uncanny that it coincides with Mitt Romney’s rise to fame and power. It is sure to be one of the most timely, intense solo performance events ever. No one has ever done three solo shows like this. What a marathon. We might call it “The Mormon Conquests.” It’s sure to set the bar for autobiographical solo confessionals for a long time to come. Mormons like it dangerous. They also like to win. And Steven Fales is the kind of winner that keeps us coming back for more and more-men.
For tickets and information call 323.856.4249 or go to
hudsontheatre.com
APRIL 2012 | RAGE monthly APRIL 2012 | RAGE monthly 19
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