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Steven Fales to Debut MORMON BOY TRILOGY 1/16-2/9 in Richmond

By: Dec. 30, 2013
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Steven Fales - the author and star of the hit solo shows CONFESSIONS OF A MORMON BOY, MISSIONARY POSITION and PRODIGAL DAD - will perform all three plays in rep for the first time ever in a production titled MORMON BOY TRILOGY from January 16 to February 9 at the Richmond Triangle Players in Richmond, VA. Richmond Triangle Players is one of Virginia's premiere theatres now in its 21st year. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased on the RTP Web site at www.rtriangle.org.

Mr. Fales will perform the MORMON BOY TRILOGY - three inspiring, insightful and humorous plays - in Richmond prior to an anticipated run Off-Broadway in New York in fall 2014. According to Philip Crosby, Managing Director of RTP, it is believed that no solo performer has previously performed three solo plays in repertory - certainly not in a 3-week span.

The TRILOGY consists of three solo plays:

CONFESSIONS OF A MORMON BOY had an acclaimed run Off-Broadway in NY in 2006 (Outer Critics Circle Award nomination) directed by Tony winner Jack Hofsiss (THE ELEPHANT MAN), coached by Larry Moss, and was a breakout hit at the 2004 NY International Fringe Festival (Overall Excellence Award). The play is an examination of the Mormon culture and family life as told by Mr. Fales, a sixth-generation Mormon who wandered into a life of crystal meth in the sex industry, escorting in the penthouses of New York in order to survive, having been excommunicated from the Mormon church after 'reparative therapy' failed to work. Furthermore, the play depicts Fales' fight to remain in his two children's lives following his divorce from the daughter of Carol Lynn Pearson - the most celebrated author in Mormondom - whose memoir "Goodbye, I Love You" depicted her own experiences when she brought her Mormon ex-husband, afflicted with AIDS, home to die. CONFESSIONS OF A MORMON BOY has toured across the U.S. and overseas at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, at Charing Cross Theatre in London's West End and elsewhere and has been performed to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity, including a benefit at Lincoln Center for The Point Foundation. As well, CONFESSIONS won the "Overall Fringe Hit Award" at the Atlantic Fringe Festival in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and received an "Oscar Wilde Award Nomination" from the Dublin International Gay Theatre Festival.

MISSIONARY POSITION is described as a 'prequel' to MORMON BOY, depicting Mr. Fales' experiences as a Mormon missionary in Portugal and secret Mormon Temple rites. Fales performed MISSIONARY POSITION at the NYC Fringe 2010 and on national tour.

PRODIGAL DAD, a sequel to CONFESSIONS and the newest of the TRILOGY, relates Steven's discovery of his bipolar disorder, becoming HIV-positive, his custody battles in his home state of Utah, and reclaiming his Greek heritage.

Mormon Boy Trilogy has been work-shopped at Rising Action Theatre Ft. Lauderdale and The Hudson Theatre in Los Angeles. Each solo play is self-contained and one does not need to see all three to be understood. All three together, however, deliver an epic emotional punch.

Mr. Crosby says, "We are truly ecstatic to have Steven back. His Confessions of a Mormon Boy blew away our audiences with his honesty and talent last February for Richmond's Acts of Faith Festival. We had been waiting for years to get Steven here and he exceeded every expectation we had. When we heard he had a trilogy we said, 'Can we do it?' We are thrilled about the entire trilogy going to New York. The messages of the plays are so powerful and deserve to be widely seen. I can't speak more highly of Steven as an artist and as a person. He's the real deal. I like to think of the trilogy as being 'The Mormon Conquests'!"

Fales says, "I feel like I'm still on a mission and my life has been on hold until this trilogy is finished. Doing three shows in repertory is a daunting task, but I feel I've been training for this my whole life. For the first time I'll be adding projection to my storytelling. And I am so happy to work again at RTP. They really know how to treat their artists and I think they are the best theatre in the South-and one of the best in the country."

Steven Fales (actor/writer/producer) was born in Provo, Utah and raised in Las Vegas. He first came to national attention with the off-Broadway production of Confessions of a Mormon Boy at the SoHo Playhouse. The book of the play was a Lambda Literary Award Finalist. He is featured in The Creative Life by Julia Cameron (The Artist's Way) and the recent anthology Latter-Gay Saints. In addition to his other solo work, Fales has performed in Shakespeare, American Classics and musicals in regional theatres across the country from the Coconut Grove Playhouse to Utah Shakespeare Festival. He has acted in television, commercials, and industrials. He holds a BFA from the Boston Conservatory/Brigham Young University and MFA in acting from University of Connecticut. For more information about Fales including awards, credits, reviews, feature articles, video clips, photos, current projects and more go to www.mormonboylive.com, facebook.com/fales.steven, or Twitter @mormonboy.

RTP recently received 15 Richmond Theatre Critics Circle nominations for 2012-13 season productions, most notably for its productions of La Cage aux Folles and bare: a pop opera. The Acts of Faith Festival, the largest of its kind in the country, presents theatrical works that open up the discussion of faith and religion. Richmond Triangle Players has been a leading voice in the Festival, having also produced shows such as Next Fall, The Busy World is Hushed, Visiting Mr. Green, and Carol Lynn Pearson's Facing East. For the 2013-14 season, in addition to The Mormon Boy Trilogy, RTP will present Matthew Lombardo's High as a part of the Festival.

MORMON BOY TRILOGY playing schedule: CONFESSIONS OF A MORMON BOY every Thursday at 8 pm; Saturday at 1 pm and Sunday at 7:30 pm. MISSIONARY POSITION every Friday at 8 pm; Saturday at 5 pm and Sunday at 3 pm. PRODIGAL DAD every Saturday at 8 pm. See all three shows every Saturday, with a special "Marathon Discount". See all three shows for $20/per show. Visit www.rtriangle.org for pricing.

Mr. Fales will also perform his cabaret act MORMON AMERICAN PRINCESS (presented previously at Joe's Pub, Upright Cabaret in L.A.) for one-night only on January 28 at 7:30 pm at Richmond Triangle Players. Tickets are $20 (or free if patron buys one ticket to the entire TRILOGY). M.A.P. is described as a "one-man BOOK OF MORMON," that follows Fales' journey to become a Mormon American Cowboy. The evening features parodies and music - standards and original songs.



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