While on a flight to Long Beach, CA on JetBlue, I watched one of the complimentary video presentations that play as the plane first takes flight. This particular set of programming was centered on broadway and some of the theatrical shows currently playing. As the shows ticked by and various actors and producers were interviewed, lo and behold who should I see but actor Will Swenson. (See picture below)
Some in the LDS world may have seen Will in such movies as Singles Ward, Singles Ward 2, the RM, and the Sons of Provo flick. Now the world knows him as Tony Award Nominated Will Swenson, star of "Hair" on Broadway. For those unaware of why this is significant, Hair is as strong a piece celebrating moral counter culture and includes a nude scene, a rare thing in popular theater. Most of Will's entries in the world of IMDB and Wikipedia make clear that he no longer practices his Mormon faith.
Then on TV the other day I noticed actor K.C. Klyde following in the footsteps of fellow Mormon actor, Kirby Heyborne, who at one point appeared in multiple beer commercials. KC has appeared in "The Best Two Years" and "Christmas Angel" and has appeared on a very highly visible Super Bowl Commercial for Budweiser. While on a much better position than Will Swenson as far as church standing, I wonder at what point on the road to success that Kirby and KC chose to support beer commercials?
I suppose I am being a bit harsh, but at the same time, what moral position can we as a people keep in the world if some of our most public faces chose to abandon their beliefs for "a good gig?"
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