Genre: One-person show
Conceived by: Steven Fales
Directed by: Jack Hofsiss
Performed by: Steven Fales
Running time: One hour, 40 minutes
Web site: mormonboy.com

While it's a familiar story—young man raised in a religious household can't accept that he's gay, and when he does, turns to hedonism in the Big Apple—it's unexpectedly heartbreaking to hear it from a Mormon. Financed by the church, Steven Fales searched for a cure to his gayness through prayer, a hypnotist who blamed his sexual orientation on masturbation, and a Catholic telephone therapist who claimed it was his mother's fault. Fales gave up an acting career in New York for the lesser temptations of Salt Lake City, married a Mormon woman (whose mother had famously brought her gay husband home to die of AIDS), and had two children. And until the church excommunicated him, he always thought that he was the one with the problem. Director Jack Hofsiss, a Tony winner for the original Elephant Man, keeps the production lively with disco lights and touching recordings of Fales singing spirituals as a child. But it would be just as riveting with Fales alone, delivering his tale with humor, and most importantly, empathy, something he never received from the church he still loves.—Jada Yuan

• Where: The Plaza Cafe at Pace University
• When: Fri, Aug 13 at 8:15 p.m.; Sun, Aug 15 at 3:30 p.m.; Wed, Aug 18 ar 10:15 p.m.; Thu, Aug 19 at 4 p.m.; Sat, Aug 21 at 3:15 p.m.; Fri, Aug 27 at 5:15 p.m.; Sun, Aug 29 at noon.