Critic sings praises for 'Beautiful City,' but finds its view of the Springs one dimensional

Compelling. Hilarious. Frustrating.
 
Three words you might not expect to see in a single theater review. But they're the best words to describe "This Beautiful City," a musical about the evangelical community in Colorado Springs that was commissioned by Colorado College and created by New York theater company The Civilians.
 
As entertainment, the play is hugely successful. The six outstanding actors shake the rafters with their passionate sermons, debate election results with all the fervor of TV pundits and bring Michael Friedman's vibrant songs to life with heartbreaking honesty and emotion.
 
There are also moments of blinding insight, as when a business owner says she's had bricks thrown through her window because she produces Darwin Fish car emblems.
 
Or when Marcus Haggard, son of New Life Church founder Ted Haggard, admits that after his father's sex-and-drugs scandal broke, he "lost any idea that humans are perfect."
 
But moments like these are the exception. Ultimately, the play focuses too much on the travails of Pastor Ted while offering only superficial depictions of less famous evangelicals.
 
As a result, the theater company squandered an unprecedented opportunity to promote real understanding in our city. Except for one young meth addict, none of the Christians are given a chance to tell us how they came to their faith. Even non-Christians are presented as zealots who photograph themselves kicking churches they don't like.
 
In a 20-minute talkbalk after the performance, director Steven Cosson said that the stories of 175 people who had been interviewed (most of them by CC students) were left unused.
 
And that's too bad. For while it's certainly true these stories would have been less titillating, it's equally true they would have better represented the people who live and work in this beautiful city.

GRADE: B

DETAILS

"This Beautiful City" by The Civilians
When: 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday
Where: CC's Cornerstone Arts Center, 825 N. Cascade Ave.
Tickets: Free, but tickets are required, available at the Worner Campus Center Information Desk, 920 N. Cascade Ave.