“My mother is always scared that whenever I go somewhere that people are going to come after me,” out writer and performer R. Dale Smith said about his semi-autobiographical one-man show, “Jesus Phreak.”
In the show, Smith acts out a parable about a cynical church pianist who finds himself starting to believe in God even as the wider church excludes him for being a “mixer,” someone who wears clothes made of two different materials. (Apparently, this is a violation of Biblical law in the book of Leviticus. No more cotton-poly blends for us.)
The 39-year-old, who is well versed in religion, grew up in rural Virginia, where he played the piano at his small country church. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in English from James Madison University and a master’s in Biblical studies from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond. He is now an adjunct professor of religious studies at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.
Needless to say, Smith knows his Bible.
“The cloth verse I use for the show [Leviticus 19:19] is close to another verse [Leviticus 18:22] that is often used to argue against homosexuality in general, as well as against gay marriage and gay ordination,” Smith said.
His idea for the show was to explore gay issues through Biblical metaphors — and be able to speak to both gay and non-gay audiences.
“I think by having it in metaphor, when it comes up in the second act of the show, there’s 30 seconds where I can see confused looks on people’s faces,” Smith said. “But then a light goes off and they get it. Because I never say the word ‘gay,’ I think the more moderate to conservative people in the audience are able to ride along with it. They can remain engaged and the walls don’t go up. In addition to keeping more conservative audience members from shutting down, the metaphor raises the question of, if we, as a culture, are willing to dismiss some rules from the Bible, such as the rule against wearing two different kinds of cloth, why do we hold onto other rules, such as the ones supposedly against homosexuality?”
Still, Smith’s mother’s worries aren’t exactly unreasonable. But the performer said he’s been surprised at how open audiences, even in some of the more conservative areas of the country, have been to his show.
“When it was first being produced for a play festival, the director took me aside one day after rehearsal and said, ‘You may just want to prepare yourself for people walking out at some point during the show.’ Because midway through the show, the gay issue comes up. But that has never happened. I’ve always had an enthusiastic response from audiences, which has been great.
“Something that has surprised me is that shows in more conservative areas have drawn larger audiences on the whole than shows in more liberal areas. People in more liberal areas may hear about the show and go, ‘I’m OK with gay people in churches, so this show will have nothing new to say to me.’”
He added that any negative reactions to the show haven’t been face to face.
“I have gotten some bizarre e-mails from people that obviously haven’t seen the show but have stumbled upon the website,” he said. “They will send me these strange notes about how I’m going to hell and taking people with me, but the audience [members] themselves have been very open.”
Smith said that “Jesus Phreak” appeals to both gay and straight audiences regardless of their faith.
“Because the show is about more than being an outsider/being gay [and] because it is also about a bumpy/comic faith journey filled with many theological questions, I think even the most liberal and accepting people will find themselves engaged and challenged by it. It explores the question of what it means to be a person of faith, and the question of how one becomes a person of faith, just as much as it explores what it’s like to feel excluded by a faith tradition. And it does so throughout with humor.”
Smith performs “Jesus Phreak” at 7 p.m. June 27 at Trinity Memorial Church, 2200 Spruce St., followed by a discussion and wine and cheese reception. For more information or tickets, visit www.trinityphiladelphia.org.
Larry Nichols can be reached at [email protected].