Nothing Pink play explores religion, sexuality

It would be easy to take a story of religion and homosexuality and make it dogmatically simple.

But “Nothing Pink,” the UNC Department of Communication Studies’ first production of the year, is looking to shake up convention.

Opening tonight, “Nothing Pink” was written and produced by off-Broadway playwright and award-winning communication studies professor Paul Ferguson. It is an adaptation of a novel of the same name by Mark Hardy.

The one-act play examines the teenage character Vincent as he struggles to reconcile his newly discovered homosexuality with his Christian upbringing.

“It shows Vincent’s struggle with what his parents believe and what he believes,” Ferguson said.

The story takes place in a small, conservative southern town. Vincent’s father is a Baptist minister — played by local actor Allan Maule — who raised his son to believe that homosexuality is a sin.

But when Vincent meets Robert, played by 2010 UNC alumnus Phil Denny, and feelings develop, Vincent must work to find his true identity.

Ferguson took on the project after friends told him about the novel. After reading it, Ferguson knew it was something he wanted to pursue with this creative production team, he said.

“We’d been looking for a project to work on together for eight years,” Ferguson said.

Actress and script consultant Dayna Bowers, a UNC alumna, agreed.

“We knew it was right because of the serendipitous timing,” Bowers said.

The music shifts between popular and hymnal pieces, which come to represent Vincent’s internal challenges. The music is interspersed throughout the performance to convey the struggle to the audience, Ferguson said.

“First, there’s a Counting Crows song, and then the hymn ‘Softly and Tenderly,’” he said. “Both sound beautiful and both fit and both are wonderful in their own very different ways — but it leaves you wondering, ‘Wow, how do I choose? Which one is more right?’”

Ferguson said he is very excited about the work that Hartman, who plans to conduct the show, has done.

“There’s a reason he is a Broadway musical director,” Ferguson said of Hartman’s talents.

A choir, made up of Bowers, Susan Burcham, Michelle Gear, Morgan Hoffman and Turner Popalis, performs most of the music.

Bowers said she thinks the play’s complexity will surprise audience members.

“I think it can speak to a lot of people in a lot of different situations,” she said. “It just gets something at the core of your roots.”

Ferguson stressed the universal message of the play’s plot — even though it might not be apparent at first.

“Everybody ultimately comes to a crossroads where the beliefs they grew up with aren’t necessarily what is still true for them,” he said.

“I hope everyone who watches finds solace, or sees that they aren’t alone with their struggles.”

Contact the Arts Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.