Bottoming For Jesus is the kind of show that is straightforward in its name. Gay and formerly Mormon, Michael R. Speciàle explores the tension between his sexuality and his beliefs as he comes of age.

Summoning the patron saint Judy Garland, Speciàle opens this cabaret with ‘When You’re Smiling (The Whole World Smiles with You)’ before entering into the story of his life. Growing up in a homophobic Pacific Northwest, he converted to Mormonism, not by the influence of his friends or family, but because he was too afraid to confront his own sexuality and hoped that Jesus could fill the hole in his heart. It is not quite the story shown in the popular musical The Book of Mormon, but one shaped by loneliness and fear.

Despite the joyful absurdity of its title, Speciàle does not shy away from the darker parts of this journey. He talks about the people he once attempted to convert to Mormonism, including queer people, and the difficulty of recognising that his beliefs had an impact on their lives. His cabaret style keeps these stories from becoming purely confessional. He sings with passion but also with a lovely sense of playfulness, moving between the songs and stories with a warmth that makes even the darker material approachable. When he sings ‘Purpose’ from the Broadway musical Avenue Q, the familiar musical theatre song takes on a different meaning within his story. Later, he turns ‘Nearer, My God, to Thee’ into ‘Nearer Myself to Me’, changing a hymn about drawing closer to God into a song about finding his way back to himself. The audience eventually joins him in the chorus, turning the ending into something communal and genuinely moving.

The show is heartfelt and beautiful, but its narrative becomes less focused once Speciàle moves beyond his Mormon past and into his life as a gay man. The detailed whiteboard presentations about online gay dating and its technological possibilities have been prepared for earlier in the show, but the transition still feels too sudden. Because his life after leaving the church has not been developed into as strong a narrative thread as his early religious experience, the move from his personal story to a comparison between online gay dating technology and more urgent problems in the world feels abrupt. As a result, the final message about responsibility and doing more to make the world a better place feels less fully earned than the emotional journey that comes before it.

Bottoming for Jesus has finished its run