FLORENCE Local theater director David Hope has known for years that the Bible and its spiritual truths has inspired many a Broadway stage production.
He even came across that affirmation in a book called, "You've Got To Have A Dream: The Message of the Musical," written by Scottish theologian, Ian Bradley.
After reading the book, Hope said he knew at some point he wanted to direct a concert that would show the public, "that some of the most beautiful, inspiring and comforting music ever written for the Broadway stage has as its core message many of the scriptural truths found in the Bible."
So he set out to create that concert featuring 12 beloved songs from 10 classic Broadway musicals.
Those selections will be performed by a 50-voice choir from across the Shoals at 7 p.m. Saturday, at Woodmont Baptist Church, Florence.
The Bible On Broadway event is free to the public and, according to Hope, packs enjoyment for the whole family.
"To my knowledge, a concert of this type has never been done in northwest Alabama," Hope said.
Some of the song selections from the various productions include "Climb Every Mountain," "You'll Never Walk Alone," "One Hand One Heart" (from "West Side Story"), "Sabath Prayer" ("Fiddler on the Roof") and "Children of Eden." A 10-piece orchestra will accompany.
As a special treat for the audience, the closing number which is also the finale to "Le Miserables," "Bring Him Home," will feature special guest Taylor Lamm who played the leading role of Jean Valjean, in the Summer Stock production several years ago.
According to Hope, most people don't immediately associate the Bible with Broadway musicals.
"... if we look a little deeper and really examine the plots and lyrics of the songs that move the plots, we find that over and over Biblical truths serve as the foundation for the message in the songs and very often the entire musical."
One of Hope's favorite examples, and one of the musicals with the strongest spiritual references is "Les Miserables," with its 31 references to God, six references to Jesus, eight mentions of Heaven, four mentions of the soul and explicit illusions to Calvary, the passion and blood of Christ, sacrifice, salvation and sainthood.
"The entire premise of the show is the love and mercy of God and the redemption of man," Hope said.
He said such a concert could only come to fruition with a talented team to work with.
Gene Anne Gifford is the project's vocal director and Becky Foster is musical director and accompanist.
Foster said she enjoys being a part of something that so many people love.
"People love musicals and this is free, so it has a real nucleus to spread across the Shoals," she said. "It's naturally a variety in that there are several musicals involved and the references in some selections may be really surprising to people. And, they're being performed by some really amazing, talented singers."
Soloists include Tammy McCollister, Jill Gatlin, Carol Johns, Mikayla Camp, Salina Fugate, Ann-Marie Patrick, Suzanne Mills, Josh Davis, Joey Wright and Tanner Rhodes.
Choir member Sandra Vetters said the show is timely and unique.
"This is music that many of us have known for 50 years or more and David wants the music to resonate with people today and it does," Vetters said. "This is truly educating people from all over through various community and church choirs and just individuals who love to sing. It's a diverse and well trained group.
It's such a marvelous idea and we've worked to create a broad appeal. It's been so inspiring and is going to be a true gift to the community."
Hope said his desire for the show is one of enlightenment for his audience, "to the bridge between the entertaining world of musical theater and the world of theology and spiritual experience."
See the original post here:
Who Knew? The Bible Really IS On Broadway - Times Daily
- Spiritual Enlightenment: What It Is and How to Experience It - November 10th, 2020
- 5 Things You Should Know About Spiritual Enlightenment ... - November 10th, 2020
- Spiritual Enlightenment - Truths & Paths | Live and Dare - November 10th, 2020
- The 3 Stages Of Spiritual Enlightenment : In5D - November 10th, 2020
- What Is Spiritual Enlightenment or Spiritual Awakening? - November 10th, 2020
- Is there a spiritual side to dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic? - RTE.ie - November 10th, 2020
- National Trust observes Divali with educational presentations - Loop News Trinidad and Tobago - November 10th, 2020
- The Wanteds Tom Parker and wife Kelsey say newborn son is light at the end of our tunnel after brain cance - The Sun - November 10th, 2020
- The best response to Islamism is Christianity - Spectator.co.uk - November 10th, 2020
- Astrology 2020: Message of the Day (November 8) - Newsroompost - November 10th, 2020
- Huge chalk art project brings positivity to street on the Outer Banks - OBXToday.com - November 10th, 2020
- The birth of modern Europe - The News International - November 10th, 2020
- NLE Choppa Dated A 46-Year-Old Woman When He Was 16 - HotNewHipHop - November 10th, 2020
- Roy Exum: We Need God's Help - The Chattanoogan - November 10th, 2020
- Faith and Governance: The Role of the Church in Social Justice - THISDAY Newspapers - November 10th, 2020
- When Raving Was Radical - The Nation - November 10th, 2020
- Navigating the Mind: What Medication Cannot Address - James Moore - November 10th, 2020
- No Man's Sky: 10 Things You Didnt Know About The Korvax - TheGamer - November 10th, 2020
- It's Not That Detroit Is Too Poor, But That Seattle Is Too Rich - TheStranger.com - October 19th, 2020
- Eye Gazing Exercise: Possible Benefits and How to Try It - Healthline - October 19th, 2020
- Batman: Bruce Wayne Has The Same Origin Story as The Buddha - Screen Rant - October 19th, 2020
- Fiction: Into the Darkness With Don DeLillo - Wall Street Journal - October 19th, 2020
- Rabbi Art Green (still) believes Hasidic ideas are key to the Jewish future - The Jewish News of Northern California - October 19th, 2020
- Alan Arkin on Hollywood success: 'I was miserable pretty much all of the time' - The Guardian - October 19th, 2020
- The joy of the Mallorcan landscape - Majorca Daily Bulletin - October 19th, 2020
- Sudbury author explores the power of healing - The Sudbury Star - October 19th, 2020
- The Revolutionary Beethoven - CounterPunch.org - CounterPunch - October 19th, 2020
- Exercising Religion and Taming Faction - Los Angeles Review of Books - lareviewofbooks - October 19th, 2020
- Op-Ed: The civil rights legend who opposed critical race theory - The Center Square - October 19th, 2020
- Chant of the Buddha - Part II - Outlook India - September 26th, 2020
- Tantra exhibition review: An enjoyable journey on the road to enlightenment - Evening Standard - September 26th, 2020
- The Revolutionary Beethoven - Dissent - September 26th, 2020
- Review: Capital in the 21st Century - Camden New Journal newspapers website - September 26th, 2020
- Finding God: Christianity and the Global Mystical Societies - THISDAY Newspapers - September 26th, 2020
- Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith Used This Parenting Technique That Inspired Jaden and Willow To Be Unusually Close - Showbiz Cheat Sheet - September 26th, 2020
- The art of tantra: is there more to it than marathon sex and massages? - The Guardian - September 26th, 2020
- Saying goodbye to the Israeli one-state prophet - +972 Magazine - September 26th, 2020
- Spiritual Enlightenment - How To Become Enlightened - August 10th, 2020
- Spiritual Enlightenment - The Most Profound Truth Revealed ... - August 10th, 2020
- SERMONETTE: Seek the Holy Spirit and hold on! - Crow River Media - August 10th, 2020
- What Is Spiritual Bypassing? 7 Steps To Avoiding Toxic Spirituality - YourTango - August 10th, 2020
- Will Tammy Duckworth be the first deist veep since Thomas Jefferson? - Religion News Service - August 10th, 2020
- Jamila Woods' "SULA (Paperback)" and Creative Ancestry and Self-Love in the Age of "List" Activism - PopMatters - August 10th, 2020
- Creation, conscience and the bomb | Earthbeat - National Catholic Reporter - August 10th, 2020
- DREAMS OF WALDEN POND: The Way of Liberal Religion - Patheos - August 10th, 2020
- Let's Show Power! Rev Abbeam Danso and Apostle Nkum challenge The Mystic Twins to open battle - GhanaWeb - August 10th, 2020
- Jacob S. Rugh: An open letter to the BYU Committee on Race, Equity, and Belonging - Salt Lake Tribune - August 10th, 2020
- Your Weekly Horoscope News: August 10th - August 17th - Sporteluxe - August 10th, 2020
- #482 Author and Intuitive Michael McAdams and His Book, An Angel Told Me So - BlogTalkRadio - August 8th, 2020
- Hinduism Survived Years Of Raids Through Its Inclusiveness, Not Violence And Bloodshed - Outlook India - August 8th, 2020
- A rebuttal to Sam George's mid-length propaganda: "The path to enlightenment ain't easy. We get it through trial, struggle, self-flagellation.... - August 8th, 2020
- Dimension of Krishna Sadhana - The New Indian Express - August 8th, 2020
- Why Bodh Gaya is Considered the Navel of the Earth - Ancient Origins - August 8th, 2020
- 6 Facts About Water Lilies That Will Make You Love Them Even More - MSN Money - August 8th, 2020
- Satan in the Times | John Mark N. Reynolds - Patheos - August 8th, 2020
- How To Meditate, Body Scan, Breathe Mindfully And Become More Present - elle.com - August 8th, 2020
- When panic disorder hits a nation - The Star Online - August 8th, 2020
- World Teacher and Happy Science Founder Ryuho Okawa Introduces Four Principles of Happiness that Transcends Race and Religion in His New Book... - August 8th, 2020
- ARTIST: Zachary Ian Garden featured in The Art of Tattooists - The News Herald - August 7th, 2020
- Honey I Joined A Cult Coming To Brainwash PCs in 2021 - GameSpace.com - August 7th, 2020
- Pick of the Podcasts: Guru, Calm Down Dear, Give Me Some Good News - The Sunday Post - August 7th, 2020
- Excerpt: From the Translators Note to Rumi; A New Collection Selected and Translated by Farrukh Dh... - Hindustan Times - August 6th, 2020
- 'History will judge us' Have progressive UK rabbis reached end of the road on Israel? - Mondoweiss - August 6th, 2020
- Chulayarnnon Siriphol on Finding Ways to Express Opinions - Ocula Magazine - August 6th, 2020
- Speech and Slavery in the West Indies | by Fara Dabhoiwala - The New York Review of Books - August 6th, 2020
- Power of 5am thoughts - The New Indian Express - August 4th, 2020
- India is a spiritual country, but we're still not taking the wealth of the Bhagavad Gita: Vedanta scholar Jaya Row - The New Indian Express - August 4th, 2020
- The Sacrifice of All Doubts - Kashmir Reader - August 4th, 2020
- View the awe-inspiring Hermitage of St. Sava - Aleteia IT - August 4th, 2020
- A Suitable Boy: Seven films to watch that are set in India - Spectator.co.uk - August 3rd, 2020
- Chingy wants to uplift with self-reflective new album, 'Crown Jewel' - STLtoday.com - August 3rd, 2020
- Feds sprayed chemicals into the eyes of a retired ER nurse and veteran - Street Roots News - August 3rd, 2020
- The American Founding vindicated against its foes on the Right and Left - MercatorNet - August 3rd, 2020
- Lam Tian Xings Anthem of the Calamus is an ode to Hong Kongs resilient spirit - Lifestyle Asia - August 3rd, 2020
- Asking the Clergy: Why is patience a virtue in difficult times? - Newsday - July 31st, 2020
- El Topo: The weirdest western ever made - BBC News - July 29th, 2020
- Lam Tian-xings Anthem of the Calamus is an ode to Hong Kongs resilient spirit - Lifestyle Asia - July 29th, 2020
- Corruption, the Devaluation of the Human Spirit and the Futures of Black Humanity (2) - The News - July 29th, 2020
- 'It took genius to chisel these buttocks' the top 10 bottoms in art, chosen by our critic - The Guardian - July 29th, 2020
- Hippy In the Mikvah - Lubavitch.com - July 29th, 2020