Daddy Come Back

Fathers are an endangered species. If you are a father who does not see his children on a regular basis for whatever reason, look to the National Parents Organization. (Formerly Fathers and Families.)https://www.nationalparentsorganization.org/

Or read Alec Baldwin's book on Parental Alienation Syndrome, A Promise to Ourselves: A Journey Through Fatherhood and Divorce
 http://www.amazon.com/Promise-Ourselves-Journey-Through-Fatherhood/dp/0312363362

Here's a song I recently wrote for all fathers who are committed to being there for their children against impossible odds. (This is the theme song to my solo play Prodigal Dad, Part Three in The Mormon Boy Trilogy.)

"Daddy Come Back"
Words and music by Steven Fales
(c) 2013 by Steven Fales

Mamma said daddy was bad.
Mamma said daddy was wrong.
Mamma said daddy left us
And that was just the end of the song.
If mamma was always right
How could I ever doubt?
But there's a voice inside me
That won't stop crying out:

Daddy come back
Into my life
Daddy I'm here
And I don't want to fight.
You are the dad I always had
And I always knew that you
Weren't half that bad.
I always knew you'd pull through
And that you're sorry, too.
You are my daddy
And I choose you.

Prodigal kids are all in the news,
Single mommies and housewives, too.
But I know it's not all that it seems to be
Churches and courtrooms don't always see
That I need you as much as you need me
You are my daddy--please choose me.

Do you remember when I was three?
I have a picture of you playin' with me.
There were all those times when you came to school.
You reached out a lot even when mamma was cool.
Well, I've grown up now, dad,
And I'm no one's fool.
I'm standing here--we're off scot free.
You are my daddy--come to me!

Daddy come back
Into my life
Daddy I'm here
And I don't want to fight.
You are the dad I always had
And I always knew that you
Weren't half that bad.
I always knew you'd pull through
And that you're sorry, too.
You are my daddy
And I choose you.

I have a kid. He looks just like you.
I'm sure if you met him you'd be a big fan, too.
I can imagine now how you loved me so.
Life ain't easy so I, I want you to know . . .
I forgive you dad. Because I love you . . .

God and Time
Have a way.
If you don't believe me
Then how can I say--

I'm comin' back
Into their life.
I'm standin' here and
I'm done with the strife.
I am the dad they always had.
And I now I see that we
Aren't half that bad.
I always knew we'd pull through
I am your daddy--and my heart's true.
Just a bruise or two.
But we're good as new.
I'm never leavin' you!

AIDS at 32: For Whom the Bell Tolls (32 Notables Share Their Stories)

AIDS at 32: For Whom the Bell Tolls (32 Notables Share Their Stories)

Here's a recent article I'm honored to be a part of. From Judith Light to Lady Bunny to Greg Louganis we are 32 "notables" chosen by my friend Kergan Edwards-Stout for his article marking the anniversary of AIDS at 32. I have so much more to share on this topic. This theme is covered in "Prodigal Dad", Part Three in The Mormon Boy Trilogy.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kergan-edwardsstout/aids-at-32-for-whom-the-bell-tolls-32-notables-share-their-stories_b_3363578.html#slide=2514761

Steven Fales

I never wanted to become positive and tried to avoid it. My father-in-law died of AIDS in 1984. I had a sister-in-law who was positive and who has since died. But a crystal meth binge got me one night. Thank goodness the meds today make it possible to one day see my grandchildren and to be undetectable for the right guy. We're learning

My Liberace/My Menorah

Let me tell you about my personal "Behind the Candelabra." I grew up a faithful Mormon in Las Vegas. When my parents got divorced the shame made me act out--as Liberace. I found these photos of me impersonating the Legend and I had to chuckle. A picture is worth a thousand words, especially when taken in a Mormon meeting house--or ward house. Oh the memories of seminary, volley ball, and all these Las Vegas Mormon. We are a different breed of Mormon for sure.

Here's an excerpt from my book about the experience.

"And for anyone who's still not convinced [I'm gay], I'm famous for the Liberace impersonation I did at a church talent show when I was seventeen. I came out from the wings holding a candelabra, wearing my high school madrigal prince charming costume (I designed it myself, sewed on all the pearls by hand). I had on tights and my mom's full-length chinchilla [actually it was her silver fox]. I played 'Rustles of Spring' [and Claire de Lune!], then swapped "funeral potato" recipes with the Relief Society sisters on the front row. 'Not too much sour cream, Sister Edwards!"

Buy the book on Amazon, Confessions of a Mormon Boy: Behind the Scenes of the Off-Broadway Hit (Lambda Literary Award Finalist): http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Mormon-Boy-Behind-off-Broadway/dp/B007MXO1H6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370915352&sr=8-1&keywords=Confessions+of+a+Mormon+Boy+Book

I must say that the candelabra was actually a menorah. My mom's side of the family went to Israel once a year like all good upper-middle class nouveau riche Mormons to loot the Holy Land of all its olive wood figurines and anything made of brass. [Mom's side of the family is now broke! Now just Mormon White Trash with Champagne Taste on a Beer Income.] I grew up in what could have been a Jewish book store on the Upper West Side. I am NOT kidding. It just goes to show that Mormons are wannabe Jews. And so I grabbed the closest "candelabra" I could find for my skit. I hope it's not offensive or disrespectul. I was totally oblivious to what was going on including the irony of playing Liberace.

Later I would live part of Liberace's ex-lover's experiences. Minus the plastic surgery, but enter recovery!

Keep playing the piano and singing no matter what culture you come from! And light a candle for all of us!

One Pride for All

So it's Gay Pride season and I've been thinking once again that there really should be just one day a year officially called "Gay Pride." This is blasphemy to some, but I have a lot of good reasons for this. I'll be writing an essay on it. We'll see what happens. The last Sunday is June is Gay Pride. Accept no substitutes. Too many Prides dilute the message. More to come.

My Mormon Boy Update Email Blast

Dear Friends,

Greetings from fabulous Utah! (Ahem.) There is so much happening! Thanks for letting me share these links to my work. I hope you’ll find them exciting, inspiring, and FUN!

NEW ALBUMS – LIVE FROM LONDON!

Confessions of a Mormon Boy (Live from London) is getting 5-star reviews! Now on iTunes and Amazon! BroadwayWorld.com 5-star review: http://offbroadway.broadwayworld.com/article/BWW-Review-Inspiring-CONFESSIONS-OF-A-MORMON-BOY-LIVE-FROM-LONDON-is-Moving-and-Provocative-20130314

Get the album for free when you contribute $10.00 to my Mormon Boy Trilogy IndieGoGo Campaign now thru June 15^th (link includes new “Mormon Boy Theme Song” Slide Show!) http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-mormon-boy-trilogy/x/3023743

Mormon American Princess Live album is currently being mixed and engineered. It’s touching and hilarious! Here’s a sneak peek at one number I wrote called (ahem) “Narcissus”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua-ZBRszFb4

“Broadway Mormon Medley”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq6lhulElJk

“Prodigal Dad Medley”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRWR2flfumA

UPCOMING SHOWS – THE MORMON BOY TRILOGY

After recent runs in Houston and Halifax, Confessions of a Mormon Boy at Buffalo United Artists on September 30th and at the University of Maine Oct. 17th! Here’s a sexy and harrowing scene from Confessions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy2v1aeTa-0

The Mormon Boy Trilogy will open off Broadway after an out-of-town tryout at Richmond Triangle Players in Virginia Jan/Feb 2014. See Confessions of a Mormon Boy, Missionary Position, and Prodigal Dad in repertory!  Another international tour is in the works.

NEW CABARETS – MORMON AMERICAN COWBOY

Mormon American Cowboy on Oct 25 and A Mormon Boy Christmas on Dec 23 at the Metropolitan Room in New York. Here’s a new song from the show! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esOcbyYlqxI

My new stand up show in development is called When All Else Fales! Moving beyond Mormon!

NEW BOOKS – LATTER GAY SAINTS

Latter Gay Saints, a new anthology I’m honored to be part of comes out July 15^th. It features excerpts from my new show Missionary Position and it’s getting incredible press already! See this Huffington Post Article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/24/gay-mormon-characters-in-the-arts-step-out-of-the-shadows_n_3323515.html

My new book Mormon Boy: A Memoir of Royalty and White Trash in America is currently being shopped by my agent in New York. I’ve been working on it for years! Fingers crossed.

My first Lambda Literary Finalist Book Confessions of a Mormon Boy: Behind the Scenes of the Off-Broadway Hit is still available on Amazon! High school students are winning state drama awards with these monologues all over the country! Check out this student  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evz7IhJAoN4

WORKSHOPS

“The Extraordinary Artist.” This one-day workshop will inspire anyone to produce what they create.  June 22^nd in Salt Lake City! “Steven has a gift for igniting the creativity of others.”—Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way. I’m featured in her new book The Creative Life: True Stories of Inspiration http://www.amazon.com/The-Creative-Life-Tales-Inspiration/dp/1585428248

FUTURE FILM & TV

The DVD of Confessions off Broadway is in the works. Excommunication scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwCXiL61fCI

Mormon Boy is an epic documentary film about a storyteller compelled to keep sharing his stories all over the world.  You should see the footage we shot in Edinburgh and London!

And would you watch a web series called The Mormon Boy Cooking Show? Fashion, fitness, faith, and FOOD! It’s something up my sleeve like Mormon Boy jeans? “When you wear Mormon boy, you’re wearing the truth!”

Just for fun, the national “Ski Utah” commercial some of you might have recently seen! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FESd7TuQcXQ

 

It’s been a very challenging few years post-Recession. I’m moving back to NYC in July after two wonderful (and humbling) years being available to my kids in Utah. They are now basically all grown up and daddy is returning to the Big Apple a lot more sober and a whole lot wiser.

The one thing that has remained constant has been creating new work—and there are a lot more projects ahead that I will share later. (I’ve already gilded the lily!) Thank you for all your support as together we take things to the next level!  I can’t do this alone. I’d love to hear from you!

Keep smiling!

Steven Fales

https://www.facebook.com/Fales.Steven

Twitter @mormonboy

http://www.stevenfales.blogspot.com

"Steven Fales is easily among the best, if not the best, solo performers in the business." --BroadwayWorld.com

"The Smile" on Andrew Sullivan's THE DISH

I want to archive my mini essay "The Smile". It was featured on a blog post by Andrew Sullivan. Check me out on The Dish as he dishes on Mitt Romney's laugh. http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2012/05/23/the-romney-laugh-ctd-2/

Note from the Playwright

“The Smile”

            The Mormon Smile is made by first thinking how deeply grateful and blessed you are to belong to “the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth.” As one of the chosen, this thought brings you incomparable glee that just can’t be contained. Your smile’s size is proportionate to just how many Mormon pioneer ancestors you had sweat and freeze across the Plains. If you are truly Mormon royalty, your smile will be enormous! Imagine your favorite hymn or Disney’s “It’s a Small World” playing over and over in your head as you compulsively smile your charming, wholesome, flashy, adorably irresistible perky Osmond smile.

            The smile comes through the eyes, not just the teeth—they twinkle and sparkle, eyebrows raised high. As you smile, your head is cocked a little to the right to show the world just how cute and sincere you are. There’s maybe a little shrug and a giggle of delight—perhaps an unconscious condescending wink. There’s a spring in your step. You want to have the best smile possible, so brush and floss your teeth after every meal. Teeth-whitening is rarely necessary because, as a good member of the Church, you don’t drink wine or coffee or use tobacco in the first place. The most precious and righteous Mormons do not need braces. Many find that their smiles help them read in the dark. They also find it hard to kiss, as puckering is difficult with overdeveloped smiling muscles.

            Your smile can be used for many things, but its official purpose is to attract others to the Church (and other multilevel marketing schemes—think Amway). You smile all the time because you never know how or when your smile might convert another to the source of true happiness—“mainstream” Mormonism. (Just one smile can metastasize the world!) If you’re ever caught not smiling, you will be held responsible for all the souls who would have been saved had you been smiling as you should have been. Some of your salvation may be deducted in the next life if you’re not careful. You must avoid this and any guilt with every fiber of your being. As it says in the bible, “Let your light so shine.” So smile brightly! Sing an hymn: “Scatter sunshine all along your way . . .” or “Jesus wants me for a sunbeam to shine for him each day . . .”

            Remember, in the end it’s all about who wins. . . er . . .can be the nicest. And nice winners smile. Even when crying, continue smiling at all times—even when you are alone. (Someone may be watching!) And if you ever feel like swearing, smile instead. (Kill ’em with kindness!)

            But don’t think because Mormons smile ad nauseum they don’t know what pain and suffering is. They do. It’s just that they have a hope and uncompromising optimism that comes from their faith—and their proud pioneer legacy. They can endure all things, including any tragedy, because one day they will live eternally with their “elect” loved ones again in paradise. They live into a glorious future (they believe that they will one-day become gods themselves) that transforms their present, making them extraordinary neighbors. (And they live an average of ten years longer than you will—having the last laugh. They will be re-writing herstory.) Their burdens are lighter than others because they alone lay claim to the gift of the Holy Ghost—sent to comfort them in their times of need. But only if they are worthy of such blessings. And, as luck would have it, they usually are. Well, most of them are--the straight ones.

5-Star London Album Review from www.Stagezine.com

It was quite a Memorial Day yesterday. One year since I broke up with someone I was hoping would be Mr. Right. It's been a year now and I'm willing and able to move on. When I love, I love powerfully--it takes time to heal.

The evening ended with a Google Alert. I received a five-star review for my album "Confessions of a Mormon Boy (Live from London)" from Scott Harrah of www.StageZine.com.

"This must-have recording is that rare soundtrack of a solo show that you will want to listen to over and over again. Anyone will find much to savor in this spoken-word gem!"

Here's the link that will take you to the full reviews and the links to the album on iTunes and Amazon! http://www.stagezine.com/mormonboysoundtrack.html