“Southern Baptist Sissies” reviewed by Julia W. Rath

 Recommended *** “Southern Baptist Sissies” details the journeys of four boys/young men and how they have come to terms with their sexuality in relationship to their fundamentalist upbringing at the Calvary Baptist Church, in Dallas, Texas. Each man separately—and very differently—struggles with the words of their fire-and-brimstone preacher (David Leeper), who emphatically states that homosexuality is an abomination before God. The four wrestle with being true to their sexual feelings while remaining a part of their church. They try to come to terms with the Biblical message that “God is love” while knowing full well that their religious community cannot accept the sexual orientation that they were born with.

The story is told largely from the perspective of Mark (Pierce Livingston), one of the young men. He and Benny (Brooks Whitlock), TJ (Mike Bindeman), and Andrew (Carlo Zenner) are all friends from church. Three of their mothers, a/k/a Moms (Candace Decker), share somewhat similar experiences in dealing with their sons’ so-called “sissy” (i.e., gay/queer/non-gender-conforming) behavior. Barflies Peanut (Matt Shea) and Odette (Amy Farrington) provide color commentary of the club scene and some distraction from such a cerebral play.

Written by Del Shores about the 1970s and complete with language from that era, the script depicts ideological and cultural clashes that still exist fifty years later, as reflected by the current antipathy between conservative Christian Evangelicals and proponents of a more progressive political and cultural agenda. We in the audience are fascinated by how well the story holds up over time, which ranges the gamut from the preacher’s unshakable faith in his religious doctrine to Mark’s constant questioning of religion in the pursuit of truth. However, while the underlying material is great and the show is well-intentioned, the current production, directed by Joe Hudson, is much too ambitious and does not lend itself well to Zoom.

First of all, it was a losing battle to follow where a given character was supposed to be or what he supposed to be doing (e.g., congregating in a bar or visiting the church) when the actors remained stationary in their respective Zoom boxes—despite Sean Chandler’s magical voice guiding us with his off-camera stage directions. Second, the barflies’ conversations were often too lame and static. Perhaps this part of the show has not held up as nicely as the rest; but when we don’t see the characters enmeshed in the club scene on a live stage, it’s hard to imagine what some of the bar talk refers to. Third, having Decker play all three moms rolled into one was confusing. Perhaps the actress could have worn a different wig or scarf to differentiate among the mothers without losing the parallels between them. Finally, an online performance of two hours with no intermission is much too long to satisfy a remote audience. Some portions of the script could have easily been cut without sacrificing the meaning of the original. In fact, shortening and sharpening the dialogue would have only enhanced the power of the underlying message and improved the pacing throughout.

“Southern Baptist Sissies” makes manifest the social and psychological traumas that the various gay characters have undergone due to conflicts between religious ideology and authentic self-expression. It is by viewing the characters’ complex personalities in social context that reveals the various ways that each of them copes with reality as perceived and as lived. Today as a different generation seeks out its own truths, there is now more of a common history and a shared bond among those whose sexual and gender orientation may differ from the conventional. As Peanut says to Andrew towards the end of the show: “Don’t live your life in shame or hide your light under a bushel… Learn to love what you see.”

A project of PrideArts, in Chicago, the livestream of “Southern Baptist Sissies” played for one night, on May 4, 2021.

More information about this show can be found on their website, at https://pridearts.org/southern-baptist-sissies-may-3/.

For a list of future online LGBTQIA+ productions, please go to https://pridearts.org/.