If the President's Son Were Gay... And On the World Stage

Diversionary Theatre Executive Artistic Director Matt Morrow has managed to reel in a genuine ground breaker.

"Now or Later" is the latest work of young, brilliant LGBT playwright Christopher Shinn. While this production marks Shinn's first production at Diversionary Theatre, he is hardly a stranger to the theatre world. He is the recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship, OBIE Award for Playwriting and a Robert Chesley Award and his play Dying City was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Morrow, who is directing the show, says, "I've been in love with Shinn's work since I read his first produced play, "Four," back in 2000. "Now or Later" continues Shinn's remarkable aptitude for melding whip-smart dialogue, sculpted characters and big ideas. Here, he whirls together the strained relationship between a father and his gay son, with the searing association between free speech and the Islamic faith. The result is a jaw-dropping play that will leave you spinning."

"Now or Later" first premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London in 2008, under the direction of Dominic Cooke and the cast featured the very talented Eddie Redmayne. The play had its U.S. premiere at Boston's Huntington Theatre Company in October 2012, and now it arrives in San Diego this
February.

The play begins in a hotel penthouse on election night, when the voter returns are all great news for the Democratic Presidential candidate and his family. But sequestered in a downstairs room, the soon-to-be President's son watches as controversial photos of him at a college party explode over
the Internet and begin sparking an international firestorm.

Beyond the politically provocative story are real people: A father and son, and the crisis the son is undergoing. Shinn's writing expands the conversation around ethics, LGBT rights, religious beliefs, freedom of expression and the challenges of an increasingly interconnected planet Earth. Ultimately, he begs us to examine how the political rhetoric impacts and affects individual lives.

I believe in the adage "Genius Loves Company..." It seems Morrow was able to nab Shinn's work due to their mutual success. Prior to joining Diversionary Theatre, Morrow was the Associate Artistic Director of City Theatre Company, a LORT theatre in Pittsburgh dedicated to producing new work. He has also worked with The Sundance Theatre Institute, The Banff Centre, American Conservatory Theater, Lincoln Center, PlayPenn, and Page 73 Productions while in residence at the Yale School of Drama. He also served as The John Wells Professor of Directing at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Drama (Graduate & Undergraduate Directing programs), and is a member of the Lincoln Center Director's Lab.

If the genius of a playwright and proactive themes don't grab you, perhaps an intimate cast of six will. The Presidential hopeful, John Sr., is played by Eddie Yaroch, who won the Craig Noel Award for his work in "The Curious Case of the Watson Intelligence," "Enron" at Moxie. He is a regular over at New Village Arts with roles in "The Miss Firecracker Contest," "Circle Mirror Transformation," "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" and "The Seven-Year-Itch," to name a few. Yaroch is also a Shakespeare nut, with roles from "Hamlet," "Midsummer - The Musical," "Richard II," "King John," and "Macbeth" all under his belt.

The son, John Jr., is played by Tyler Jones. You may have caught him at the Diversionary when he performed in "Baby With the Bathwater" or in "Henry V" (New Fortune Theatre); "Mud Blue Sky" (Moxie); La Jolla Playhouse's "Accomplice" (San Diego); or "Macbeth" at Intrepid. Alongside Yaroch and Jones are co-stars Whitney Brianna (Tracy), Lisel Gorell-Getz (Jessica), Joshua Jones (Matt) and Matt Thompson (Marc).

Often I share an LGBT special event night happening in conjunction with a play. You know what I love about Diversionary? Every night is LGBT night! But, with this show, I highly recommend attending on Thursday, March 3 and arrive early, at 6 p.m. That will allow you to attend the Happy Hour event, during which Morrow will be in the lounge chatting about "Now or Later." The perspective will get you thinking and add value to what you see and hear and beside that, it includes hosted hors d'oeuvres... Might as well indulge all the senses.

"Now or Later" runs at the Diversionary Theatre Thursdayy, February 11, through Sunday, March 13. For tickets and more information, call 619.220.6830 or go to diversionary.org