For the 2017 Easter weekend, the Living Bread Ministries church choir transformed their annual performance of the musical, “On the Third Day” and blended it with a new musical called, “The Risen One.” For me, the 2017 Easter weekend is the first time that I will be part of the audience rather than the choir.
During my sophomore year of high school, I was part of the very first musical my church ever produced. I’ve been in every musical since then, but this year I was not able to take part in it because I was in a college that was 50 miles away. Attending the musical as an audience member and watching from the seats instead of being on the stage was such a new experience for me.
I still remember the choir auditions, weekly choir practices and dress rehearsals that occurred between the months of December and April. The church musical was my first time performing in a full-length production, and I learned a lot from being in it. The additional workload of my AP/Honors classes and my Speech & Debate team led me to learn how to properly manage my time between all of my responsibilities. Being in the choir also helped me develop my voice and my stage performance, both of which I ended up needing for my piece in my Speech & Debate competitions. I missed the feeling of being in the choir and in the musical, because it was the one thing that I was able to contribute to my church.
This year, I was still able to contribute to my church by helping pass out the Playbills and greet new guests. I was able to join the audience once the play started, and I definitely enjoyed watching the musical as much as I enjoyed being in it. Some songs from the previous musical were added to this new musical, and I found myself singing along to the songs that I knew, creating a feeling of nostalgia that washed over me.
The musical started with a musical number, followed by a scene where Joseph of Arimathea was telling Nicodemus, a non-believer, about Jesus. Nicodemus refused to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, and Mary Magdalene came to him and told him about how Jesus saved her and she was no longer condemned. Joseph continues to tell Nicodemus about all the great things Jesus has done, and Nicodemus slowly began to believe in Jesus. However, Nicodemus was afraid to tell people about his newfound faith in Jesus because he didn’t want to be kicked out of his High Priest position. By then, Jesus was taken by the Roman soldiers, ready to be put on trial and was eventually crucified. Mary Magdalene and a few of Jesus’ disciples wept over his crucifixion, and Nicodemus was disappointed in himself for not doing anything to save Jesus from being condemned. Mary told him to forgive himself, because Jesus forgives all sinners, no matter how much they’ve sinned. After three days, Jesus rose from the grave and came back to life, and he stayed on earth for 40 days before going to heaven.
I was moved by the story overall, and the new scenes that the director added to it was woven so seamlessly that I almost didn’t notice that those scenes were added in the first place. The musical was an amazing production, and its depiction of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection moved a lot of hearts that night. Compared to the previous musical, the message in this production was more direct and more personal to me. I was proud of my fellow church members for all of the hard work they put into this musical, and I look forward to the year that I am able to join them in this musical mission once again.