‘after all the terrible things I do’ is not what you think it’s about

“after all the terrible things I do” was a very misleading title for the Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s play that I reviewed. I waited in the foyer reading the promotional billboard. Statements like “I cheated on my pregnant wife” and “I stole from my job” lead me to believe I would see scenarios like those in the play and I was even more anxious to view the play.
The setting was a bookstore owned by Linda (Sophia Skiles), a native Filipino. David (Mark Junek), a college graduate and aspiring author, is waiting for her. Linda is interviewing David for a job as a salesman. David shares that he has returned to his small hometown where he is safe from an outrageous father in Chicago and a challenging college experience in Iowa.
An overly anxious David derailed during the interview by mentioning personal situations and revealed that he regularly visited the bookstore with his mother as a child. Linda recalls the “big hair” little boy. Before David leaves, Linda insinuates that he is gay and decided to give him some suggestions for his remaining job interviews, pointing out that he needs to be more subtle with his sexual preference. At that point, I figured out that this play was not about the statements I had read as I waited for the play to begin, which disappointed me.
The revelations that David and Linda share about their personal lives while working caused them to feel a degree of empathy and commonality.  Linda exposed that her son was gay and committed suicide. David wanted to include that information in his “fictional” book he has started under the auspice that Linda and him would help each other to resolve their own emotional pain and gain personal redemption. Linda read some of David’s book where he listed a couple dozen names that gay men are called, which were all quite vulgar to me. The plot thickens when David told Linda about the bullying he experienced. After a few bouts David tells Linda that he had bullied her own son and then enticed him with a kiss which he liked. Linda divulges that she inadvertently caused her son’s suicide due to her adamancy against her son’s lifestyle. David reveals that his sexual and physical abusiveness towards his most recent lover surprisingly caused David to be stalked by him and he was on the run. Linda fires then rehires David when he picks up his last paycheck and tells her he is moving to New York.
For the life of me I still could not find an association between the plot and the title of the play, especially because what was discussed was all done in the past. The title says  “after … I do” when it should have been “after … I’ve done.” I had to remain open-minded and susceptible to the reality of bullying and sexual identity crises. This stage production had brief episodes of humor which I believe made my attention drift away from the play and anticipate the ending of the show. Instead of it being a two- person dialogue, I would have preferred a gathering of different character portrayals to add some different flavors to the play. I’m far from homophobic because I accept that relationships of any kind are full of emotional joys and pain. The message that the playwriter, A. Rey Pamatmat, wanted to convey was delivered well. Homosexual bullying and abuse are common place and can cause those individuals to become traumatized. Yet, this play should be free to the public. I establish a two and a half star rating for this play.