Last night I went to go see The Civilians This Beautiful City, about Colorado Springs and the impact of the Evangelical Christian movement there. For those of you who haven't seen the show (or read the reviews), while the Civilians were down there researching the show, the whole Ted Haggard debacle happened.
Don't remember Ted Haggard? He was one of the chief architects of the transformation of Colorado Springs into an Evangelical Mecca. He was also a major moover-and-shaker in Right Wing Christian politics, speaking to President Bush regularly and heading up an Evangelical Christian Association. He was heavily involved in the fight to amend Colorado's Constitution to include a ban on Gay Marriage.
Shortly before the 2006 election, while The Civilians were in town, Haggard was outed by a gay escort who said that Haggard had been a client of his for some time and that they had purchased and done crystal meth together.
The first act of This Beautiful City is largely devoted to creating the world of Colorado Springs, following around various citizens of the town, including high ranking members of Ted Haggard's church (New Life), a transgendered Christian woman, a few atheists, members of other churches etc. The second act is largely devoted to the fallout of the Haggard revelations on the various characters introduced in the first.
SO here's the thing... Ted Haggard was in the audience last night with his wife, Gail. I found out at intermission, before the show's focus had shifted to being about Haggard and the fallout of his outing.
I think This Beautiful City is surprisingly even-handed with Haggard. Probably more so than I would be capable of being. It contains interviews with his son, with members of New Life and with the community. It contains people who are not exactly charitable to Haggard (one atheist activist calls him "a meth-addicted queer bag") but I think it explores it with some sensitivity (honestly, I don't know what show Matthew Murray saw but it wasn't the same one I did).
I cannot honestly imagine what it must have been like to sit through that, however. To sit there and listen to an in depth exploration of your fall from grace in which you feature only as a peripheral character, rendered in voice over.
I spoke to one of the actors after the show who said that he knew something was up early on, that the energy in the house was off, that jokes weren't landing like normal, and then later found out why. It's interesting how a different presence in the audience- even one the audience doesn't know is there- could actually change the energy like that.
Certainly, seeing the second act knowing Haggard was in the audience made it a completely different experience. I found the show moving, funny and occasionally wrenching on its own terms, but man there was a whole 'nother layer added in by Haggard's presence.
This kind of experience is only possible in a theatre. And while I find it semi-indescribable, it's also not one I'll forget any time soon.
... adding more here from Time Out.
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