(I was also subjected to dozens of performances of “Starchild” (the sequel) and “My Turn on Earth,” neither of which have any redeeming value whatsoever and are best forgotten altogether). As a result, I have seen “Saturday’s Warrior” more times than I care to count. Part of my duties as the oldest son included spending nearly every weekend night for the next 2 years running a spotlight, manning a soundboard or selling frozen yogurt at the playhouse (yeah, I was really popular with the ladies back then). Given that the founders were all active LDS and hoped to tap into the large Mormon community in Las Vegas, they spent the first several years of the company’s existence staging LDS-themed plays. When I was a teenager, my father, along with a couple of like-minded friends, started a small community theater company, dedicated to the idea of presenting wholesome family fare. Only “Warrior” had the chutzpah to craft its own unique theology, courtesy of the Flinders clan.īefore getting to the nitty-gritty, I feel compelled to demonstrate my bona fides on this subject.
“Johnny Lingo,” “My Turn on Earth,” “It’s A Miracle” - they all preached generalized Christian messages, such as treat others kindly, don’t judge a book by its cover, etc. It’s quite a ride!įor me, what sets “Saturday’s Warrior” apart from other Mormon entertainment is that, for better or worse, it has spawned several quasi-doctrinal ideas that still hold sway today. For the sake of brevity, I will refrain from a detailed plot description suffice it to say, it’s a dramedy about a young man’s struggle with temptation, that features wild-eyed teenaged representatives from the local chapter of the “Zero Population” movement, a wheelchair-bound dancer, an extended mediation on the size of the father’s nose, dozens of “friends,” and the most devastating “Dear John” letter ever written.
But for me, while Brother Lingo and his island crew hold a special place in my heart - along with that kid from the “Cipher in the Snow” - they pale in comparison to the granddaddy of all Mormon cheese: Saturday’s Warrior. When I was at BYU 15 years ago, I often ran into “wild and crazy” RMs sporting “Mahana, You Ugly” or “Wanted: Eight-Cow Woman” T-shirts. Many Church members consider Johnny Lingo to be the zenith of kitschy Mormon culture (for the uninitiated, you can see it here).
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