by Topher Clark (bio)
Last night Xanadu, a show I directed, opened at the Hale Center Theatre in Orem. I'm not just pimping out my work here, since I know that many MMM readers live outside Utah County. (Wait, there's people living outside Provo? Say wha?) But if you come to the show I would be happy to say hello. If I'm there. I have a lot of TV to catch up on and I seriously need to get my car into Jiffy Lube before all hell breaks loose with my fluids.
Anyway, I have thought about this production a lot. I've put a lot of time into it. And while there's nothing particularly offensive about the play, it does contain the following:
1. Men and women in super short shorts
2. A girl who brags about not wearing a bra
3. A cyclops and a Medusa (Satanic?)
4. A line about "fleeting intercourse"
5. A lot of super fey finger snapping
6. Choreography (i.e. angry flea hops)
7. A lot of glitter being thrown
8. Ladies dancing in tight metallic pants
9. A flying Pegasus (Satanic?)
10. Actors who stick their butts out a lot
I'm very proud of the show, but I'm also a priesthood holder. What's more, I'm a counselor in a bishopric. I'm not ashamed, but should I be? Is it okay to be a faithful LDS man and still like mythological (Satanic?) creatures and hot pants? Will my ward members judge me? Will I care? Will this come up in any kind of recommend interview? I don't know. I'm split. Brother Jekyll in me thinks that this is all very irreverent, but Brother Hyde loves it.
Oh, I don't know. It's something all of us in the arts struggle with. We want to create, and we want to explore, and we want to entertain. But we also want to hold our heads high in Elders Quorum. I'm not sure I know what the resolution is yet. Luckily, I shouldn't have this problem on my next production, Hedwig and the Angry Itch.
