Philly Fringe 2024: Must See Theatre Company presents davidbdale’s Dirty Priest

Content note: This review deals with the topic of child sexual abuse in the church.

The show, whose story involves a Catholic priest accused of molesting children, is performed in a church: the Priestley Chapel of the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia on Chestnut Street. This isn’t a Catholic house of worship, but still, it’s an interesting choice for a play that paints a negative picture of certain clergy members, and notable that church staff welcomed the production, which runs through Sunday, September 29.

Performing the show inside a church gives it an added richness that probably could not be duplicated had it been staged in a traditional theater. As my friend noted after joining me in the second row, the setting added to the illusion of sitting in a confessional.

This one-act, hour-long performance, directed by Steve Gaissert, begins with a priest (Mark Falango) drinking beer as he listens to a penitent (Mark Del Guzzo). We soon learn that this penitent did not come to confess. Rather, he is looking for a confession from the priest regarding his alleged past actions toward the childhood penitent and his brother. The penitent reveals that his brother, now fully grown, has attempted suicide. The penitent blames the priest, but the drama unfolds with ambiguity that is both frustrating and compelling, making it harder to feel compassion for the penitent or contempt for the priest. As the show progresses, the tension builds between the two characters.

At the September 5 performance I attended, Falango convincingly portrayed the priest, perhaps in part because when he is not acting, he maintains a psychotherapy practice, where he must have years of experience listening to people’s problems. He spoke with a quiet, soothing voice, and asked questions, and sounded as though he truly cared about this penitent.

The production is an unusually collaborative one. As Dirty Priest performances continue, Falango and Del Guzzo will trade roles for some shows, and an additional actor, Russ Walsh, will sometimes step in as the priest.

Some audiences may find the lack of unequivocal facts difficult, but the priest's character develops in an interesting way. It turns out priests are like any other human being: no one is 100 percent good or bad.