[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of “Missionary Positions” written and performed by Dan Prevette, directed and developed with Jessica Lynn Johnson and playing at the Hollywood Fringe Festival 2023.
In my experience, the world of solo plays is inherently female. I’m not sure why, there just seem to be many more female shows. Perhaps it’s our instinct to empathize? Our natural ability to overshare? Whatever the reason, whenever I have the rare opportunity to see a solo show created by a man, it’s a bit of a magical event!
Dan Prevette is the magical man in question, and his “Missionary Positions,” which I had been warned was absolutely brilliant by those in the know, didn’t disappoint! Dan grew up in the evangelical church and as part of his parents’ mission, they moved around a lot. Thailand, Cambodia, Romania and the US for a little grounding. Growing up in these vastly different cultures was a wild adventure for a kid, but the Pentecostal church made it all the wilder. Although most of us can’t quite relate perhaps to the all-encompassing and total Christian immersion of evangelical life, Dan’s parents were the ‘good’ kind of Christian. Faithful, kind, steeped in the traditions of the missionary to share the gospels and to go to the far reaches of the earth and contribute to the communities around them. They were in fact sitting behind me in the audience… laughing along. So thankfully no horror stories!
It’s a strange way to grow up. At least for most of us. But that isn’t really the point of this solo show at all and it certainly isn’t an angry rejection of faith. Dan tells his story as a journey to find himself within all that structuralism and his path toward a realization that being ‘found’ isn’t necessarily all it’s cracked up to be. Dan stands out. He’s very, very tall and blond and a bit hunky. So I can only imagine what they made of him in Asia, where he would have literally towered over everyone, even as a 12-year-old. He must have seemed like a mythical beast, rarer even than a man with a solo show.
“Missionary Positions” is the story of a life. From child to man. From evangelical to not. From a tightly held belief system to freedom to become yourself in however long that takes. Dan shares all this with candor, delight, warmth and a wonderful sense of irony. He takes the stories of his childhood and makes beautifully hilarious and genuinely profound vignettes of them.
Moving from country to country, growing up, falling in love, and experiencing life through the lens of the church but never seeking to destroy it. We all have different worlds in which we have lived. My childhood is vastly different from my husband’s, it couldn’t have been more different in fact in every way, and yet we are so incredibly alike. Humans are miraculously similar, no matter what our histories are, we have much more in common than we do not. And I believe that, in the end, it is that deep connection that will save us all. Even if we are totally fine with being a little lost….for now.
“Missionary Positions” is a brilliant, funny and very moving show. Gorgeously written, Dan performs each and every charmingly discovered character with the kind of genuine talent this writer yearns for. He is charismatic, in the non-religious way. He commands the stage and not just because he is made of god-like proportions…with a small ‘g’ of course.
For a man in search of himself he seems to have found something close to wonderful…a rare talent for creating moving and powerful and very funny moments, gifting an audience the vital communal experience of laughter and empathy. I love love loved this show!!!!
I was able to see “Missionary Positions” as part of the Whitefire Theatres Solofest.
Dan Prevette is bringing this incredible show to The Hollywood Fringe 2023.I dare you to miss it!!! I predict huge audiences and sold-out performances and awards!!
When:
June 4, 6:45pm, June 16 7:15pm, June 24, 3:45pm
Where:
Zephyr Theatre
7456 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90046
Tickets:
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/9837?tab=tickets