http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/9767944.htm?1c
Posted on Mon, Sep. 27, 2004
BY KIM SURKAN
Special to the Pioneer Press
What if Jesus came back as a gay teen prostitute? This is the question posed by Norman Allen's script "In the Garden," the play chosen by Outward Spiral Theater's artistic director Jeffry Lusiak to close the company's 2004 season.
In this very unconventional exploration of religion, philosophy and sexuality, a young downwardly mobile student, Gabe (Ryan Lindberg), opts to leave college to live in a city park after sleeping with his professor.
Explaining that he is looking for a way to shut out the "noise" of the world, he discards his material possessions and retreats to a park bench with only a Bible in hand.
What ensues is a series of clandestine trysts between the boy and four adults. The show is well-cast, consisting of two swinging couples: philosophy professor John (Dale Pfeilsticker) and his wife, Muriel (Cynthia Uhrich), and their friends Lizzie (Shannon Jankowski) and Walter (Wade Vaughan), who are engaged to be married.
Gabe proves to be the forbidden fruit none can resist. He is soon sexually involved with everyone but Lizzie, who pursues a platonic relationship with him over sandwiches in the park. "How better to follow Christ's teachings than to prostitute oneself?" he asks.
However misguided this may sound, Gabe's way of life begins to have a profound effect on the other characters, who find their own careers and dreams have been compromised by materialism and hedonism.