Pray the Gay Away® the musical
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Theater Arts Guild presents the world premiere of Pray the Gay Away®, a serious musical comedy. This highly anticipated and controversial live stage show packs plenty of blissful sacrilege and politically incorrect mischief into a reflection of U.S. culture that is humorous, beautiful, shocking, sweet, thought-provoking and incredibly heart-breaking.
Pray the Gay Away® takes place in 1980’s Minnetonka, Minnesota and shows the collision course of two boys being subjected to the controversial practice of gay conversion therapy, the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod that says “homosexual behavior is intrinsically sinful”, a Youth Pride LGBTQ support group fighting for human rights, and the local community caught in the middle.
For his fourth full-length musical, Conrad Askland, former music director of Cirque du Soleil and Rock of Ages, has trained his satirical missile system on the cultural, political and theological forces that surround the painful world of gay conversion therapy and the “pray away the gay” movement. This is a big, full-blooded musical with an irreverently comic heart that is also heart-breaking and emotionally charged. Pray the Gay Away® pulls up the carpet to expose the underlying U.S. religious, political and cultural attitudes surrounding homosexuality and our understanding of human rights.
Possibly God’s second-favorite musical.
Self-rated at PG-13 for mature themes and highly emotional content. A production preview guide is provided on this page.
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Book, Music and Lyrics by Conrad Askland
Clergy public statement on the musical Pray the Gay Away®
“PFLAG is thrilled to be a part of this timely and important THEATER production. The topics raised will hopefully generate discussion and a commitment to more understanding and acceptance of the LGBTQI community.”
- Linden Jordan, Skagit PFLAG
Call It Pride
One of our cast's favorite songs in PTGA is "Call It Pride", which is sung from the perspective of the Youth Pride group in our musical. Why is the song so moving? Come see the world premiere of the PTGA musical to find out!
Show Dates Nov. 8-24, 2019
PTGA will run Nov. 8-24, 2019 at the Historic Lincoln Theatre in Mount Vernon, WA.
TAG FREEDOM OF SPEECH COMMITMENT STATEMENT
Freedom of speech is the foundation of our communities and our nation. The works that the Theater Arts Guild (TAG) presents may awe, illuminate, challenge, unsettle, confound, provoke, and, at times, offend. We defend the freedom to create content and exhibit such work anywhere in the world, and we recognize the privilege of living in a country where creating, exhibiting, and experiencing such work is a constitutional right.
To put a show on the theater stage, or exhibit a work of art, is not to endorse the work or the vision, ideas, and opinions of the artist. It is to uphold the right of all to experience diverse visions and views. If and when controversies arise from the exhibition of a work of art, we welcome public discussion and debate with the belief that such discussion is integral to the experience of the art. Consistent with our fundamental commitment to freedom of speech, however, we will not censor exhibitions in response to political or ideological pressure.
– Theater Arts Guild Board of Directors – March 2019