UNITED STATES
America Magazine
Margot Patterson
Ten years ago, poet, playwright and performer Michael Mack Googled the name of the priest who had sexually abused him decades earlier when he was an 11-years-old boy living in North Carolina. He found out his abuser was alive and living in Worcester, Mass., not too far from where Mack lived in Boston. After years of holding imaginary conversations with the priest who had molested him, Mack decided to seek him out to have a real one. What followed is the subject of “Conversations with My Molester: A Journey of Faith,” a play written and performed by Mack and directed by Daniel Gidron, which will open in New York City on Sept. 24, the day Pope Francis arrives there as part of his visit to the United States.
Three years ago when the play premiered at Mack’s parish church, the Church of St. Paul in Cambridge, Mass., and then was subsequently staged elsewhere in Boston and the Washington, D.C., area, the play won plaudits from The Boston Globe, The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Public Radio, CBS News and others. Its performance in New York this fall follows Mack presenting the play in New York City’s Midtown International Theatre Festival last year and winning the award for best script. His performance in it also won a nomination for best solo performance. These accolades, plus the scheduled visit to the United States of Pope Francis, led to the upcoming revival at New York’s Bridge Theatre, where it will run until Oct. 11. (For more information, see http://www.michaelmacklive.com)
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