Father Uxbridge Wants to Marry

MORDEN: “SCREW! It’s disgusting! . . . All
my life I’ve been miserable. All right. If my
cross was to be miserable, I could at least
look over at the Church and feel better when
I saw my priest was carrying the cross of
celibacy. For me. That’s right. Being pure.
Suffering. For me. FOR ME! . . .What’ll I have
if you can screw, too? You have already, for
all I know. With my Debden.”

A controversial and underground favorite since it was first produced Off Broadway, “Father Uxbridge Wants to Marry” features playwright Gagliano’s signature mix of intense/compressed drama, sex, cinematic dissolves, quirky humor, and soaring and vivid stage language.

When the play begins, Morden, an elevator operator, is told he is being replaced by an Otis automatic elevator. Morden’s fragmented mind takes him on a cinematic journey through a landscape of a crumbling institution — a Church that no longer serves his needs; of Bach arias; of hammer- and-nail poundings at the crucifixion; and to past-and-present confrontations with his “vegetable” mother, former wife, present mistress, and conservative and hip priests — all the while seeking a salvation and transcendence that will allow him to smash his elevator “right on through the roof.”