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Shoot Me If I’m In This Theater, Mr. Boothe

January 16th, 2006 at 12:11 by MsUnderestimated

Okay, I thought I’d seen/heard it all. Today in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, in the “Arts & Books” section, they’re promoting a couple of plays that are “political button pushers.” After you read this article, I think you may come up with a different description of the play I’m most disturbed by: “Love, Jerry.”

In the AJC’s article entitled “You got tickets for WHAT?” the writer, Wendell Brock, tells about the pivotal points, questions and concerns about “Love, Jerry.”

“LOVE JERRY” (the Playwright)

Megan Gogerty. 31. Iowa-born, Los Angeles-based Gogerty studied playwriting at the University of Texas. Her 10-minute play “Rumple Schmumple” was produced in 2004 by Dad’s Garage.

THE IDEA

Gogerty was inspired by the true-life story of a 26-year-old Iowa man who accidentally showed tapes of himself molesting neighborhood children to his girlfriend. The guy pleaded for help but was arrested: “I hear this story, and I think this guy’s life is over.”

HOW IT EVOLVED

Gogerty interviewed sex-offender therapists and went to group sessions. She eventually created a character named Jerry, who was molested by his uncle and ends up abusing his own nephew. “Love Jerry” was a finalist in the Alliance Theatre’s 2005 Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Competition.

WHY A MUSICAL?

“Music has the ability to open hearts and minds in a way that spoken text can’t do,” Gogerty says. “Music can allow you to empathize with a character without condoning their behavior. It allows us to really see people as human beings.”

CONTROVERSIES IN THE MAKING?

Gogerty avoids introducing Jerry’s abused nephew as a character. But Jerry describes in graphic detail what he has done to the child. The play is sympathetic to Jerry and ambiguous about potential damage to the boy — a choice that could trouble many.

THE MATERIAL ISN’T AS DARK AS YOU MAY THINK …

“It’s not a preachy play. It’s not a movie-of-the-week play. … It’s a theater piece that is really looking at classic American themes of survival and forgiveness and redemption. … It’s OK to come to this play.”

… BUT THEN AGAIN

The world premiere has generated contentious dialogue on the Internet, Gogerty says. And she’s been compared to serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer and the Antichrist.

A PATH TO DIALOGUE

A cast discussion follows all performances.

SHOW INFORMATION

Sunday-Feb. 25. (Previews: 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday.) $10.75-$26.75. Actor’s Express, King Plow Arts Center, 887 W. Marietta St., Suite J-10, Atlanta. 404-607-7469; www.actorsexpress.com

~ahem~… People, are we surprised that our society is going to Hell in a handbasket? It’s things like this that tend to excuse and legitimize things like pedophilia; movies like “Brokeback Mountain,” which try to normalize homosexuality; and those fringe kooks on the left who try to make us believe the the U.S. Constitution grants a “right” to abortion. We can only hope and pray that these attemps at public-opinion persuasion fail.

God help us all if they win.

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