Saturday, April 23, 2011

Feature: Matthew Lombardo, Broadway Writer

Playwright’s Real-Life Drama and Journey of Faith
By Lauren Yarger
When his play closes on Broadway this Easter Sunday, the irony of the timing won’t be lost on author Matthew Lombardo.

After all, High, starring Kathleen Turner as Sister Jamison Connelly, a nun with a faith crisis of her own trying to help a young boy kick his crystal meth habit, was inspired by the real seven-year addiction that almost robbed the playwright of his career, his faith and his life. A last-chance plea to God for help saved all three, so it seems ironic, yet fitting, that the play’s final curtain should come on the day when the resurrection’s triumph over death is celebrated. Without what Lombardo calls his own “miracle,” neither the play, nor he would be here today.

“I never thought I would get this again,” he said, gesturing around the Booth Theatre where we talked the week before the show was scheduled to open Tuesday, April 19. The playwright had seen success very early in his career, having plays produced and writing for the popular television soap opera “Another World.”.

His breakout work in theater came with the production of Tea at Five, his one-woman play about Katharine Hepburn, who made her home in Lombardo’s native Connecticut. The play premiered in 2002 at Hartford Stage starring Kate Mulgrew and enjoyed a successful regional tour. At the same time, however, Lombardo’s addiction to crystal methamphetamines was spiraling out of control.

The worst thing you can do with an addiction is take it on tour, Lombardo said. Suddenly no one wanted to work with him. He lost his career, his home and almost all hope that anything could change. It was a dark place in which he’d never expected to find himself.

No one had, in fact. His high school friends in Wethersfield, CT might have voted him “Least Likely Not to Have a Drug Problem” he kidded. The clean-cut, good looking man from a loving Italian Catholic family didn’t party much in his youth,

“I was so anti-drugs all my life,” he said. “I never touched a drug until I was 36.”

So what changed the course of his life? While in Los Angeles, he fell in love with a man who was a meth addict.

“He was addicted to meth and I was addicted to him,” Lombardo said.

Ironically, after he was hooked, the other man entered a drug rehab program and as part of the treatment, was prohibited from having any contact with Lombardo.

Only two things had made him feel good, Lombardo said: the man he could no longer have and meth. He drew comfort from the one he still could have. He was tired of being “an all-American boy and doing the right thing,” he decided and began taking the drug every day.

Close with his mother, he would work hard to pull himself together for their daily phone chats. She didn’t know what was wrong, but she sensed something wasn’t right. At one point, in 2004, he thought about getting clean and confessed his addiction to his mother. She couldn’t believe it. It was just so unexpected.

He wasn’t able to quit and the habit got worse over the next three years. Finally, his sponsor told his family that they had to break all contact with Lombardo. His mother would play his voice messages over and over again to hear his voice, but couldn’t call him back.

That put Lombardo over the edge and caused a turning point. He calls it his miracle. He prayed to God and said “If you can get me into a cab and to the hospital, I will fight this.” The emotion from this moment in the playwright’s life shows up in a scene from High where Sister Jamison pleads with God to meet her half way.

He did get to the hospital where he slowly, but surely, started on the road to recovery. It wasn’t easy. Because meth “destroys your mind,” he was unable to tell between reality and fiction. While he was using, he never once connected that the drug was what had destroyed his career and was threatening his life.

As things became clearer, he recognized a pattern of addiction that had been present in his life from the time he was a small boy. Siblings also struggle with addictions, so he discovered he was battling a genetic disposition as well as other factors, he said.

Also coming into focus was a new relationship with God. The god he grew up with had been represented as distant and punishing, he said. During his seven years of drug addiction, he had turned his back on faith.

“The god I grew up with is different from the God I know today,” he said. Now, he’s personal.

Also helping on a personal level are the brothers in recovery he has met through his 12-Step Program, Crystal Meth Anonymous. He splits his time between New York and Ft. Lauderdale, where his sponsor is. These folks have helped him learn how to do everything all over again – sober. Even going to the store to buy a candy bar for the first time can be a daunting task, he said.

The 12-step program includes belief in a “higher power.” Lombardo smiles broadly when relating facts about medical professionals acknowledging that this belief seems to make it possible for someone to be healed.

“There’s nothing I can’t handle now because of my relationship with God,” he said.

Proof of this came yesterday when producers posted an early-closing for High following less-than-favorable reviews and sluggish ticket sales.

"Despite the closing, I remain eternally grateful for this amazing opportunity,” he said. “Audiences have been extremely supportive of this project and I am so proud to have collaborated with this extraordinary groups of artists."

Not a day goes by that he doesn’t receive a message from someone who has been touched personally by High and the struggles of its character, young Cody, driven to prostitution and possibly murder while addicted. Recently, Lombardo related, a man in his early 20s languished at the back of the theater after one of the previews. When Lombardo identified himself as the author, the man thanked him for writing the play, and became emotional, saying that his brother was one of the “ones that didn’t make it.”

The play starts with the addiction, but becomes about faith and how to “get out of our way to let the miracle happen,” Lombardo said.

High plays its final performance 3 pm Sunday (April 24). What’s next for the playwright besides welcoming newcomers to his 12-steap meetings?

He’s working on an adaptation of six Greek plays, a vehicle for his specialty – a dynamite woman's role to be tackled by a powerhouse actress of a certain age, like Hepburn, Turner and Valerie Harper who garnered a 2010 Best Actress Tony nomination for Lombardo’s Looped.

Information about help and treatment for methamphetamine and other addictions are available from the following resources:
• Crystal Meth Anonymous, a 12-step program http://www.crystalmeth.org//
• Find a meeting http://www.crystalmeth.org/find-a-cma-meeting.html
• Connecticut info http://www.ct.gov/dmhas/cwp/view.asp?a=2902&q=376512
• List of state resources http://www.methresources.gov/Index.html
• 12 Step Program http://www.12step.org/
• Celebrate Recovery, a church program http://www.celebraterecovery.com/

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Churches Can Use Inspirational 'Soul Surfer' Movie for Outreach



With the nationwide release of the motion picture "Soul Surfer," based on the inspiring, true story of Bethany Hamilton, Outreach Inc., a Southern California-based church marketing and publishing company, aims to equip congregations to reach their communities with resources related to the movie.

"Soul Surfer" is the faith-building, real-life story of teen surfer Bethany Hamilton, who lost her arm in a shark attack and courageously overcame all odds to become a champion again, inspiring millions worldwide through the love of her family, her sheer determination and unwavering faith.

The film features an all-star cast, including AnnaSophia Robb and Helen Hunt, with Carrie Underwood in her film debut, and Dennis Quaid. "Soul Surfer" will go out as a wide release via TriStar Pictures, with a broad-based and integrated marketing campaign managed by FilmDistrict.

"I loved this movie and loved watching it with my family!" said Craig Groeschel, founder and senior pastor of LifeChurch.tv, a multi-site church with campuses across the country, as well as one that meets entirely on the Internet. "It's engaging and entertaining. I think it will draw a wide audience because of its incredible true story. Bethany Hamilton's story is world-renowned, and this movie turned out to be world class too! "

Outreach, Inc. has produced thoughtfully-crafted resources to encourage congregations with a church-wide campaign using themes from Bethany's story and the motion picture, such as the power of family, the importance of faith and seeking God's direction in life.

"Amid the difficult times we are all facing, Outreach's 'Soul Surfer' resources equip congregations with the materials essential to walk through challenges, deepen their faith and strengthen their relationship with God," said Eric Abel, vice president of marketing for Outreach.

Interested churches, pastors or lay leaders are encouraged to learn more about "Soul Surfer" resources by visiting SoulSurferOutreach.com. The Soul Surfer Church Kit is two kits in one, with resources for both the senior pastor and the youth pastor, including:
  1. "The Heart of a Soul Surfer" documentary
  2. Church leader resources, such as sermons, video clips, planning guides and PowerPoint slides
  3. Youth leaders resources for a four-week study, including video clips and messages
  4. The non-fiction inspirational book for teens, "Soul Surfer: Catching God's Wave for Your Life"
  5. Sample promotional material
The Soul Surfer DVD-based study kit will help small groups, families and teens explore the life lessons contained in Hamilton's story. The study contains the "Heart of a Soul Surfer" documentary, including specific clips to go with the four-week study; promotional videos and trailer from the motion picture; a CD Rom with games and activities; a "Soul Surfer" leader's guide and study guide, with Bible studies and group discussion questions.

Outreach also is making available special promotional material for churches, including postcards, banners, bulletin shells and personal invitations.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Ivy League Congress on Faith and Action



In this video, our friend, performer Rich Swingle, gives a report on his talk at the Ivy League Congress on Faith and Action last week at Harvard University. He spoke on Christians seeking careers in the arts. For more information on Rich and his ministry, visit http://richdrama.com/.

Daily Inspiration

The Blind Side

Read about the real life mom from "The Blind Side."

Lifeway: http://www.lifeway.com/article/?id=169816

Guideposts: http://www.guideposts.com/story/sandra-bullock-blind-side-football?page=0,1

Read Matt Mungle's review of the movie at http://www.buddyhollywood.com/.

Lauren Yarger, Bio

Lauren Yarger has written, directed and produced numerous shows and special events for both secular and Christian audiences. She co-wrote a Christian musical version of “A Christmas Carol” which played to sold-out audiences of over 3,000 in Vermont and was awarded the 2000 Vermont Bessie (theater and film awards) for “People’s Choice for Theatre.” She also has written two other dinner theaters, sketches for church services and devotions for Christian artists.

Yarger trained for three years in the Broadway League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Three-Day Training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway run.

In 2008 she was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She writes reviews of Broadway and off-Broadway theater with a Christian perspective for Reflections in the Light (http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/) and is editor of The Connecticut Arts Connection. She also is a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com

She also reviews books for Publisher's Weekly and is a member of the National Book Critics Circle. She formerly was Connecticut theater editor for CurtainUp, a national theater web site bsed in New York and a reviewer for American Theater Web.

She also served as Executive Director of Masterwork Productions, Inc. and worked in arts management for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra.

She is a freelance writer and member of the Drama Desk, The Outer Critics Circle, The American Theater Critics Association, The League of Professional Theatre Women and The CT Critics Circle.

A former newspaper editor and graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Yarger lives with her husband in West Granby, CT and has two adult children.

Copyright Notice

All contents copyright © Lauren Yarger 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013. All rights reserved. For reprint permission, contact masterworkproductions@yahoo.com.

Scripture from THE MESSAGE Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

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