Watch “Pray  Away” the musical on YouTube! Book, Music and Lyrics by Conrad Askland. This video is from the original 2019 community theater premiere at the Historic Lincoln Theatre in Mount Vernon, WA USA

“Pray Away” delves into the challenging realm of gay conversion therapy, offering a raw and impactful portrayal. Experience the mix of entertainment and raw emotion that left audience members describing the show as both gut-wrenching and emotionally devastating.

I’m finally starting to release some clips from my 2019 original musical “Pray Away”. This song “No More Musical Theater” is a turning point in the musical where it quickly switches from a comedy to a tragedy. This is the last of the “fun and games” moments in the script as we follow the journey of two boys going through gay conversion therapy.

Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more PTGA clips and other music video projects I’m working on at: https://www.youtube.com/@ConradAskland

NOTE FROM THE COMPOSER

When I was researching gay conversion therapy while writing the musical “Pray Away”, I came across an actual note from therapists in gay conversion therapy that said patients should avoid musical theater. So of course I knew right away that I had to create a big number about this. I compiled all the tropes and stereotypes I could think of from my experience in working on musical theater shows. This song started at 4 minutes, then 5, then 6 – until eventually I had about 12 minutes of material. I cut it down to the best (in my opinion) 8 minutes.

During pre-production it was often suggested that I cut this song down, but I loved it so much and really wanted it to stay intact in full – so here it is. “No More Musical Theater” is the second song of Act Two. It’s main purpose is simply to delight the audience. My musical Pray the Gay Away is an emotional rollercoaster with many emotional trigger points for audiences. After this song, the story takes a very dark turn that is an emotionally charged experience for audience members. This song is a final “feel good” moment for the audience before they experience the upcoming darkness (tragedy) together.

My whole mission in creating the musical Pray Away was to bring awareness of gay conversion therapy to a mainstream audience. Most people I talk to have heard of gay conversion therapy but really had no understanding of its practices or affects. This musical aims to change that, and to change hearts. It is my most reverent hope that this musical will be brought to a wider audience. I do think this is a musical that can change the world.

– Conrad Askland, April 2024

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ABOUT THE MUSICAL PRAY THE GAY AWAY

Pray the Gay Away, this highly anticipated and controversial live stage show packs plenty of blissful sacrilege and politically incorrect mischief into a reflection of U.S. culture that is humorous, beautiful, shocking, sweet, thought-provoking and incredibly heart-breaking.

For his fourth full-length musical, Conrad Askland has trained his satirical missile system on the cultural, political and theological forces that surround the painful world of gay conversion therapy and the “pray away the gay” movement. This is a big, full-blooded musical with an irreverently comic heart that is also heart-breaking and emotionally charged. Pray the Gay Away pulls up the carpet to expose the underlying U.S. religious, political and cultural attitudes surrounding homosexuality and our understanding of human rights.

LYRICS to NO MORE MUSICAL THEATER

My trigger point to the dirty, sweaty world of homosexuality was…
Musical Theater

It all began with open auditions at the Rosenbaum Children’s Theater for a production of The Reluctant Dragon

It was – a musical
And that musical was – delightful

But in time, Tyler’s theatrical urges began to bulge and swell
My cravings increased
Growing unsatisfied with ensemble roles, I soon yearned to perform in the Sound of Music

At first it was the role of Kurt, then Friedrich
Eventually I obsessed over Julie Andrews and the quintessential role of – Maria

Tell us. How do you solve a problem like Maria?

I said no more musical theater
No more musical theater for me
No more backstage pouts or belting out all my inner dreams
And if I relapse, wear my taps, even just one time
I just have to say NO
That’s why there’s no more musical theater for me

Son, you could be just like him
Change the world to God’s world

There is no more musical theater
No more musical theater for me
Now it’s time to avoid Andrew Lloyd
And inner rhymes of Sondheim

So I’m no longer over the moon
For tech week boom boom in the Green Room
That’s why there’s no absolutely no more musical theater for me
(applause)

No there’s no more musical theater for me

So you’re saying no more Judy Garland?
Ha – Greta was bettah
And no more Barbra Streisand?
I hope she understands

So have you straight up given up speaking in dialogue rhyme?
Yes, I just don’t have the time

Because I’ve lost the passion for verbose verbal mansions
And unscholarly scansion

But the biggest temptation for me was
Those overdone Cockney accents

Top of the morni’ governor
Have a bloomin’ raspberry tart will ya?
Now you got no trouble and strife today for your Tom and Dick
It’s Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve

Now who don’t love a nice strong cock-ney accent

That’s why there’s no more musical theater for me

And no Recitative – Recitative

Is universally hated by everyone except old Queens who like Gilbert and Sullivan

Never again – No – No – No

Unless of course, the recitative comes right before the dream sequence

No! Save us from the dream sequence…

Muaha ha ha ha! Muaha ha ha ha!

Well hello Erik Jacobsen
How do you know my name?
I am omniscient

Oh it’s only a dream Erik
You can do anything you want in a dream
Politics – Religion – ooh Lutefisk!
And no one will ever know
You could rob a bank – No
You could vote for a woman to be a minister – Ugh No
You could master the dark art of musical theater – Noo!

Surrender Dorothy – there is no resisting Satan’s secret diabolical weapon
Satan’s secret weapon is a tap dance chorus line

Tap dancing is fun
Come on you know you like it
Join us just for one
Join us – Join us – Join us
Gosh darn it – okay
Tyler Noooo!

(Tap Dance)

There is no more musical theater
No more musical theater for him
It’s a burial for Ariel with Tevye and Tiny Tim
No more torch songs with feather boas
The only arc I study now is Noah – Noah’s Ark

Now it’s a total breakdown of money notes
Disney quotes and those octave jumps

Satan get behind me

No more mugging and chewing the scenery
Or dreaming of sugar-plum weinery
So goodbye Phantom, goodbye Forum
Goodbye Fiddler, Goodbye Hair

Musical theater well I don’t care!
Theater will only get your heart broken
While pushing you toward the love unspoken

So hello to my King
And goodbye to my Queen

Judy Garland you are dead to me
Goodbye Satan
Goodbye Barbra

No Barbra I didn’t mean it, please forgive me

No, don’t cry for me Minnesota

Hear my cry O Lord
And set my demons free

Goodbye Satan and musical theater

Time to tell musical theater good-bye-ee-aye-ee-aye

(Applause)

No More Musical Theater © 2019 Conrad Askland

I just love this duo ice skating routine to my musical setting of 1 Corinthians 13 “Love Never Fails”

This recording is from the 2019 live stage performance of my musical “Pray the Gay Away”® which brings the painful world of gay conversion therapy to the stage. Many thanks to the PTGA cast, crew and our incredibly supportive audiences on this important musical theater project.

Justyna Plutowska & Jérémie Flemin perform beautiful ice skating choreography to Conrad Askland’s song “Love Never Fails” set to the bible lyrics of 1 Corinthians 13

“Love Never Fails” is a song from Conrad Askland’s musical theater show “Pray the Gay Away”®. This video released on the two-year anniversary of the premiere of the musical theater show “Pray the Gay Away”®. Thank you so much for the incredible support from PFLAG, our cast and crew, and the incredible outpouring of love and support we received from our audiences.

The musical “Pray the Gay Away” is bringing awareness of the painful world of gay conversion therapy to a mainstream audience, in hopes that the public will demand a complete and total end to the practice. LYRICS Love is patient Love is kind It does not envy It does not boast But rejoices with the truth It always protects and trusts Always hopes Always perseveres Love never… Love never… LOVE NEVER FAILS

Ice Skate Choreography by Justyna Plutowska & Jérémie Flemin

Love Never Fails (Reprise) music by Conrad Askland

“Love Never Fails” song recording from the stage musical show “Pray the Gay Away”®

PTGA Book, Music and Lyrics by Conrad Askland

Pray the Gay Away® the Musical © 2019 Conrad Askland

On Thursday January 30, 2020, the Historic Lincoln Theatre will show Pray the Gay Away® the musical on the big screen. This event is free and open to the public. Join us as we celebrate the cast and crew that brought this new theatrical work to the stage at the very same Lincoln Theatre. Doors open at 6:30pm and showing starts at 7pm. Open festival seating, first-come first-served and it’s free!

We will have some limited edition merchandise for sale to benefit our local chapter of Skagit PFLAG and the writer, Conrad Askland, will be on hand to meet audience members.

Pray the Gay Away® the musical sold out at the Lincoln back in November 2019, so this is your chance to see it if you couldn’t get tickets back then. We felt so bad turning so many people away when it sold out, so please join us! PTGA brought the painful world of gay conversion therapy to the stage that was a hit with audiences.

The first review is in from La Conner Weekly News on the premiere run of Pray the Gay Away® the musical at the Historic Lincoln Theatre in Mount Vernon, WA from Nov. 8-24, 2019. Thank you to Ken Stern for taking the time to watch our show and write the review.

Review Excerpts:

‘Pray the Gay Away” a must see

“By definition world premieres are ambitious. This one is audacious.”

“This is a colorful, high energy production that had a supportive full house audience applauding throughout.”

“This play is a powerhouse of history and current events”

Conrad Askland “has created a tour de force”

“The production values are first rate”

Read the full article online:

https://laconnerweeklynews.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=27&ArticleID=2696

PDF of article:

‘Pray the Gay Away’ a must see – La Conner Weekly News – La Conner, WA

Thank you to Amy Kepferle for her article in the November 6, 2019 issue of Cascadia Weekly about my fourth full-length original musical Pray Away.

Read the article on the Cascadia Weekly website at http://www.cascadiaweekly.com/cw/currents/a_musical_with_a_mission

Excerpt:

Cascadia Weekly: The play takes place in the 1980s. Same-sex marriage is now legal, and people have more rights than they used to regarding who they love. That said, what do you think the similarities are between now and then when it comes to accepting people for who they are?

Conrad Askland: The reason I am doing this production is that what you are saying should be true. We should be on the “other side” of this issue. The truth is, gay conversion therapy is still being widely practiced in the United States, and the Supreme Court is currently deciding whether the Civil Rights Act applies to the LGBTQ+ community. I personally do not see this as just an issue of gay rights, I see it as an issue of basic human rights, which the LGBTQ+ community should be fully a part of. This divide, this dehumanization, is part of the citizens of the United States defining what our culture is and what we want to stand for.

PDF of article:

Cascadia Weekly_ A musical with a mission

St. Paul’s Episcopal church of Mount Vernon, WA interviewed me about my musical theater work “Pray Away”. You can read the article here: St. Paul’s interview on Pray the Gay Away the musical

Excerpt:

What would you most like people to know about this show and why they should experience it?

(Conrad) I think people have preconceived notions about what the content of the show is and its viewpoint…and I think most everyone is wrong. I’ve workshopped the material with a wide variety of focus groups to test the material. I always ask two questions: “Is there any place where you feel this show attacks the church?” and “Is there any place where you think this show attacks God?” Every single person in our workshops, over one hundred in all, have said no to both questions. If they had said yes, then I would have made changes. The show is not meant to preach, but to put opposing viewpoints and experiences on stage and let audiences make up their own minds. So in that way it doesn’t have a particular stance — but with the combination of music it will be very emotional for people and give them something to talk about within the community. Especially within churches. Of course, audiences are the final ones to have opinions and we will find those out on opening night.

PDF of interview:

Pray_The_Gay_Away-Interview-Conrad-Askland-St-Pauls-Episcopal-Church

Read the Article: La Conner Weekly News article on Pray the Gay Away 110119
Article by Mary Rose Denton

Excerpt:

Afterwards, I sat down with the mastermind, creative and musical director Conrad Askland, to talk this timely play, from inception to world premiere production. This is Askland’s fourth full-length musical and, he said, “by far my best work.” Askland took a two-year hiatus from his career as musical director for Cirque du Soleil and Rock of Ages to write and develop “Pray Away.” “It is not the show I want to do but the show I have to do,” he says rather openly and humbly. “The is a story that has to be told. We are seeing a roll back in the rights of the LGBTQ community. It’s not just gay rights, it’s about human rights.”

Thank you to Entertainment News Northwest (ENNW) magazine for doing a cover story on my fourth original full-length musical Pray Away. Read the ENNW November 2019 cover story article on their website at https://www.ennw.info/

And a big thank you to Marla Bronstein who took the time to attend our rehearsals and interview cast members in preparation for this story. The world premiere of Pray Away the musical will run Nov 8-24, 2019 at the Historic Lincoln Theatre in Mount Vernon, WA.

Entertainment News Northwest November 2019 cover story

Pray Away at the historic Lincoln Theatre

By Marla Bronstein

Pray Away (PTGA) is an original musical that is best described as a serious musical comedy. Its world premiere, 3-week run open s November 8, 2019 at the historic Lincoln Theatre in Mount Vernon, WA.

The PTGA project started back in 2015 when writer Conrad Askland was working as musical director and keyboardist for Rock of Ages with Norwegian Cruise Line. He overheard a cast member mention they had been put through gay conversion therapy as a teenager, resulting in a suicide attempt. He started reading books on the subject, and 30 pages into the first book, he knew he had to create something on the topic of gay conversion therapy. “As a writer, the texture of what I want to say can only be done in the format of musical theater,” he said. “This is not the show I WANT to do. It is the show I HAVE to do.”

The play is set in 1980’s Minnetonka, Minnesota. It shows the collision course of two boys subjected to the controversial practice of gay conversion therapy, the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod that says “homosexual behavior is intrinsically sinful,” a Youth Pride LGBTQ support group fighting for human rights, and the local community caught in the middle.

There are 28 musical numbers, an eight-minute tap dance, and a bunch of stuffed animals. The play is rated PG-13 for mature themes, language, violence, drugs/alcohol and emotional content… basically just about every emotional trigger you can imagine. Because of the sensitive subject matter, the production team has created a Production Preview Guide with the intent to help people determine if the play is suitable for their viewing. The Guide is available through the production website at www.ptgashow.com. Note that the Guide is filled with spoilers.

The show is co-directed by TAG favorites, Lindsey Bowen and Gave Guevara, and is well supported by leaders in the community.

Pastor Bethany Hull Somers of Burlington Lutheran Church (BLC) wants theatergoers to know that the show is both hilarious and heartbreaking. Pastor Somers is looking forward to the ways it will positively affect her community and others where it is staged. BLC is honored to endorse this show and the difficult but life-giving conversations it stimulates.

A prepared statement by Pastor Somers and Reverend Paul Moore of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church includes the following: “Aware of the intensity of the dialogue regarding the LGBTQ+ community in the life of the Christian faith, we celebrate the richness that our LGBTQ+ members, attendees and leadership bring to our congregations.”

Linden G. Jordan, a board member with Skagit PFLAG, is proud that TAG is taking this opportunity to lead on groundbreaking material.

Sharing an actor’s perspective, Jenny Woods, who plays the part of Engebjorg Jacobsen, believes audiences will be impressed by Askland’s funny and poignant script, as well as his original music, and will leave the theater being moved by the feel-good message of love and acceptance.

Askland said, “When I started this project, I didn’t fully realize how the dehumanization of the LGBTQ+ community contributes to the high rate of youth suicide. I hope that the decrease of the youth suicide rate within the LGBTQ+ community is a common ground that everyone can support.”

Tickets are selling well via the Lincoln Theatre Box office, www.lincolntheatre.org. Don’t wait too long to get yours.

PTGA is honest, brave, and the love and compassion oozing from every member of this cast is worth the price of the box of tissues I suggest you bring with you.