Seven years ago, my friend, Alan Bean, who is the music
director for our church, composed a cantata for our Easter morning
service. He asked me to juggle during
the song “Hosanna”, which, of course, was the Palm Sunday part of the story. I obliged because Alan is my friend; I
obliged because Alan is also a medical doctor and has frequently given us free
advice and input as we’ve tried to raise our kids to be relatively safe and
healthy; I obliged because our church has done a lot for us over the years and
I like to give back even if just a small way; I obliged because I rarely turn
down an opportunity to have an audience.
While I viewed this cantata as a one-time event, Alan saw it
as the start to a seven year dream that is coming to fruition this week. From that cantata came the inspiration for a
full length musical drama called the Bus
Stop Athiest. Once again, Alan
invited me to juggle in the world premiere of the show, which opens at Merrill
Auditorium in Portland this coming weekend.
Once again, I obliged. I obliged
because Alan is my friend; I obliged because Alan is also a medical doctor and
has frequently given us free advice and input as we’ve tried to raise our kids
to be relatively safe and healthy; I obliged because our church has done a lot
for us over the years and I like to give back even if just a small way; I
obliged because Merrill is a beautiful, 2000 seat concert hall that has hosted
the likes of Jackson Browne, Bob Newhart, Bill Cosby and many other world renowned
performers. My wife and I saw the Soweto
(South Africa) Gospel Choir in this same hall.
So this morning I sit in the wings of an all-day
rehearsal. The truth is, I’m in two
scenes for about a total of four minutes.
I have no lines, and, thankfully, I don’t have to sing. My presence in the show will not increase
ticket sales, nor will it enhance the effectiveness of the message Alan is
trying to get out. I do hope it adds a
little to the entertainment value for those four minutes. I know the experience of being in such a big
production (a cast and crew of just under 100) has been fun and fascinating.
The cast is diverse.
Several are other friends of Alan that he invited. Others auditioned. There’s an acrobat who has moved here
recently from Las Vegas; there’s a Hispanic actor who moved to Maine from San
Diego. There’s a troupe of dancers, all
of whom are pre or early teens; The 17
year old who plays Jesus looks more like a young Jerry Garcia; the angel
Gabriel looks like Mr. Clean.
I will refrain from trying to critique the show, as my
experience with musical theatre is limited to playing flute in my high school orchestra
for our class play Annie Get Your
Gun. I can say, though, that the
music, all composed by Alan, often comes across as a mix of The Eagles and the
Edwin Hawkins Singers. True Gospel rock
in the classic sense. Like any musical,
the strength is the music, and there are some very strong voices in the cast.
The best thing about the show, though, is that all the
proceeds go toward Compassion International’s fresh water program. One eighth of the world’s population still
does not have access to clean water, and this causes more deaths each year than
hunger. That is a cause I’m happy to oblige.