Confessions of a Mormon Boy: Behind the Scenes of the off-Broadway Hit [Paperback]

Steven Fales (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2006

2007 Lambda Literary Award Finalist

"The Mormon Augustin Burroughs." --Boston Globe

"What a rare and skillful thing is Confessions of a Mormon Boy, Steven Fales' engrossing, funny and often quite harrowing tale. A fine writer and actor."--Chicago Sun-Times

A hit at New York's Fringe Festival, Steven Fales' true-life story has become a smash across the country. Now playing off-Broadway, it continues to dazzle audiences with its honesty and wit as the author recounts his story of being excommunicated from the Mormon church for being gay, leaving his wife and children, and his subsequent descent into the dangers of sex and drugs.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Steven Fales is a sixth-generation Mormon from Provo, UT. He trained on scholarship at the Boston Conservatory before serving a two-year mission to Portugal for Latter-Day Saints Church. He then transferred to Brigham Young University where he completed h

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Alyson Books (November 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555839789
• ISBN-13: 978-1555839789
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,350,788 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

"A masterful story-teller and one hell of a writer!"
--San Francisco Examiner

"A fine writer and actor."
--Chicago Sun-Times

"An artist whose work displays great moral courage and daring."
--Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way

Steven Fales is an award-winning actor/writer/producer who first came to national attention with his critically acclaimed one-man play Confessions of a Mormon Boy. Having rubbed shoulders with professionals and protestors, prophets and prostitutes, the multi-talented Fales is a self-described "Oxy-Mormon" who shares his humorous, compassionate, and clear-eyed perspective of the world through his writing and performing.

A classically trained actor, Steven began writing when his perfect Mormon world fell apart . A sixth-generation Mormon, he trained at the Boston Conservatory before serving as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Portugal. He then transferred to Brigham Young University finishing his BFA in musical theater. He holds an MFA in acting from the University of Connecticut. He has studied at the American Comedy Institute in New York and with renowned master acting teacher Larry Moss.

Fales calls his work transformational theatre: true stories honestly told by the person who lived them woven throughout with elements of recovery. In addition to acting in plays, musicals, television and film, Steven specializes in creating his own solo work: one-person plays, cabarets, and stand-up.

Splitting his time between New York City and Salt Lake City , Fales takes an active role in raising his two children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nonjudgemental, witty account of a gay Mormon's path to self-acceptance, November 12, 2006

By 

Bob Lind "camelwest" (Phoenix, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Confessions of a Mormon Boy: Behind the Scenes of the off-Broadway Hit (Paperback)

Steven Fales created quite a stir with his one-man stage show, "Confessions of a Mormon Boy", which debuted originally in Salt Lake City, not far from the headquarters of the LDS Church, which had excommunicated him just over a year earlier for his homosexuality. In a refreshingly nonjudgemental way, his show relates episodes in his life that led up to that day, which also resulted in leaving his wife and two children behind, as well as his subsequent life as a wannabe actor in New York City, who resorted to becoming a popular male escort to survive financially and drugs to deaden his depression over the direction his life had taken.

The stage show has evolved over the years, and this book includes the "script" for the most current, off-Broadway version, as well as the original (more Mormon-oriented) version he performed in Utah. There are also photos, copies of the communication from the LDS church that excommunicated him, and various personal observations on how doing "Mormon Boy" has been therapeutic for him.

Prior to reading this, my sole impression of how the LDS church dealt with gays was based on having seen the film "Latter Days", which the author here is quick to point out was not accurate. While the Mormon church is still bigoted against homosexuals, the author still found empathy and support among its members and some of its leaders, who were also among the financial backers for his show. He also mentions Affirmation, the support group for gay Mormons, and other similar groups are listed in a directory in the book.

An interesting, witty and heartfelt look at a world few of us know, from a talented writer who benefited the most from this work.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Heart-felt Story of a Gay Man Born into a Mormon Family, April 28, 2007

By 

Oliver (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Confessions of a Mormon Boy: Behind the Scenes of the off-Broadway Hit (Paperback)

Steven Fales was born into a typical mormon family in Utah, but realized at a young age that he is gay. The Mormon church (the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints) teaches that homosexuality is a disease, and Fales at first bought into that nonsense without question. He tried the Church's "reorientation" therapies, got married at a young age and quickly fathered two children.

Of course, everyone suffered as a result. The marriage ended in divorce, and Fales was excommunicated. Fales' life went into a tailspin, but he managed to pull himself out and come to grips with the circumstances of his life. That's the story in a nutshell, a rather remarkable one at that.

Fales' one-man play tells his life story (so far, he is still a relatively young man)in an honest and direct manner. He does not "trash" the Mormon Church. Quite to the contrary, he goes out of his way to mention the good qualities of the Mormon culture -- hard work, charity, treating others well (as far as their religion will allow).

This book consists mostly of the script of the play. While the script is, of course, written for a performance, it is quite readable as a book. It is also quite short.

If you do not know much about the Mormons, Confessions will give you a small and incomplete introduction. Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith provides another very worthwhile but equally incomplete look at Mormons, focusing on some the nuttiest of the lot. For a far more complete look at the Church of Later Day Saints, read Mormon America: The Power and the Promise.

5.0 out of 5 stars An incredibly valuable story., July 25, 2010

By 

Karl - See all my reviews

This review is from: Confessions of a Mormon Boy: Behind the Scenes of the off-Broadway Hit (Paperback)

Steven is amazingly honest in sharing his life with us as readers and ultimately showing us, that no matter what happens in life, if we can personally take responsibility for our life and choices, we can quit being a victim and start turning our lives around. We have so many possibilities if we can get out of the victim mentality.