Both of these productions are filled with music, dialogue and dancing; and both carry important messages to those who would hear. Kinky Boots tells the stories of 2 young men who do not fit into the molds that their families expect of them. One man was groomed to take over the family shoe business but his heart was not in it. The other young man was trained as a lightweight boxer but the world of his heart was far from boxing. The story opens up the world of individuals who are "transgendered". The agonizing struggle between the body's outward genetic marks and the inward genetic psyche of another gender is profound. How can a young man trained by his father to be a boxer desire instead dresses, makeup, dancing and singing? It takes courage for both of these young men to overcome the values placed on them by family and society so that they can find their way and their work. The message of this story is meant to challenge our notions of "normal". It cuts into our desire to punish and push away that which we may not understand.. What will it mean to a world filled with hate and pain if we begin to accept and love, without judgment, each person as they are? Better yet, what will it mean for our heart?
The Book of Mormon is a complex story. It's content is about the Mormon Church but it is really a story about all Churches, faiths and sects who insert ourselves into other cultures seeking to convert. The play conveys its message in lively music, flashy dancing and colorful scenes. It swells with uproarious laughter and then takes us on a dive into humanity's "need to succeed" at any cost. Insisting that other cultures appropriate our religious language and practices while ignoring their own rich cultural heritage fosters the picture of white arrogance that is so prevalent in the world today. The play is not for the faint hearted. There is irreverence which shocks, and there are the shocking and real situations which people are living with every day in their lives: AIDS, poverty, hunger, and the mutilation of female genitalia in young women (often called female circumcision).
All through this play I thought about a priest I did some short term mission work with on the Navajo Reservation. He was British and had worked with indigenous people in Australia and Canada before coming to Bluff, Utah to work with the Navajo. He did not come in and take away the language and myths of the Navajo, he took their language and history and incorporated it into the Christian story, blending the two in a way that gave integrity to both. His "call" to work among the Navajo was not a matter of how many he could convert to "proper Anglican worship" and belief, but how he work alongside of them, learning from them and helping them in their struggles. His presentation of the "good news" of God's love was as multifaceted as a diamond.
It is amazing what we can learn about ourselves even as we experience the joy of entertainment!
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