 Musical Director: Bette Dale Moore Cast: Eric Ellis Bob Ecker Doug Brinkman Doug Clemens Jonathan Perry Marylin Holly Bette Dale Moore Michele White Cyndi Rogers Band: Chicken Dinner Road Dennis Stokes - Mandolin/Guitar - Guitar/Mandolin Gary Eller - Banjo/Guitar Curt Bedell - Bass  $9 in advance / $12 at the door February 24th @ 7:30pm February 25th @ 2:00pm February 25th @ 7:30pm March 2nd @ 7:30pm March 3rd @ 2:00pm March 3rd @ 7:30pm This "Greatest Story Ever Retold" is based on the book The Cotton Patch Version of Matthew and John by Clarence Jordan in which the Gospel is presented in a setting of rural Georgia with country music songs, the final and perhaps best work of Harry Chapin. As this Gospel begins, they sing that "Somethin's brewin' in Gainesville." Herod is the mayor of Atlanta and, inevitably, Christ is lynched by local thugs only to rise again. Drama critics loved this show and so did a broad spectrum of religious commentators. A dream come true. A breath of fresh air. Something good is happening. A reverential retelling of the book of Matthew. It takes the Bible's passionate intensity and directness for contemporary meaning into the popular vein without diluting it. —Contemporary Christian Music Powerful drama and a joyous celebration. This musical succeeds mightily. —The Episcopalian The show offers a vivid witness. This is the Gospel. —The American Baptist Magazine Entertaining and inspiring, it will lift your spirits and renew your hope. —The Long Island Catholic Rollicking, foot-stomping, hand-clapping new musical. —The Messenger BACKGROUND (... from Wikipedia) Between 1968 and 1973, Dr. Clarence Jordan, a Southern Baptist minister, published four books where he translated the New Testament into colloquial Southern language. These "Cotton Patch" versions were brought to the attention of Tom Key, an Atlanta actor and playwright, when he was contemplating a play that would transplant the story of Jesus into the mid-20th century American South. Jordan's versions already featured the Southernized Christ that Key was thinking of. Jesus Davidson was born in the town of Gainesville, Georgia, and was laid in an apple crate. He was baptized in the Chattahoochee River, he preached to a crowd of thousands on Stone Mountain, and he met his end in Atlanta. Key built upon Jordan's work, making additions and changes such as the decision to have Jesus lynched rather than crucified. With Jordan's versions as his source material, Key, together with Russell Treyz, wrote the book for the stage play. The music for the production was written and composed by the legendary Harry Chapin, in what would eventually prove to be his final musical work. In all, Chapin produced 26 songs for the show, many of them in a bluegrass style befitting the play's setting.  |
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44. Cotton Patch Gospel
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