Palm Sunday…and a cabaret murder mystery musical comedy. There are many times that I have thought to myself that, especially with the timing of the show, the choice seems irreverent. On Palm Sunday we hail the arrival of our Savior arriving in Jerusalem on a donkey. The expected king has arrived, but only days later, the people will turn on him and he will be crucified. Those who saw it as a failure might have felt differently when the Temple curtain split upon his death or when Jesus rose from the dead and walked with the living on Easter Sunday. Jesus was the ultimate King, just not the type people expected. I love Holy Week and the powerful reminder of what God has done for us. Which brings me back to the original question: Why perform Curtains this weekend?
The answer is found in the musical itself. The show is hailed as a love note to musical theatre. There are so many nods to the classics that might be missed. Oklahoma, Show Boat, Annie, 42nd Street, and Chicago are all represented in our choreography. Lines throughout the show are lovingly poking fun at what makes “show people” who they are and how they are unique compared to the world around them. But is this enough to make it worthy of Palm Sunday? No.
But if one analyzes the meat of the story, there is so much more to think about. The production of Robbin’ Hood is in shambles. The show, the people, and the relationships are broken. Their world reflects all the ugliness that sin has to offer. And, far be it from me to say that Cioffi is a Christ figure, because, well, he isn’t. But like Jesus on Palm Sunday, Cioffi may not be what the ensemble expects, but it turns out that he is exactly what they need. He comes in as an outsider who the cast and crew view as a nuisance more than anything else, but he helps repair what is broken and extends grace to those who need it most.
This story has resonated with our cast and crew. I don’t know if it is the music, the comedy, or the storyline that has hit home, but the students have been in love with the show since they first listened to the score. This group is chock full of talent, some realizing for the first time that they might belong with these “special kind of people known as show people,” and others who have been around a long time. But by the way they have come together, worked together, encouraged, and built their show together, I’m not sure you will be able to tell who falls in which category. We have had students take the lead on the set design (Reese Strunk) and light design (Colton Leimkuehler), we have an amazing stage manager (Megan Metcalf) and tech team, several moments in the show were choreographed by students (Elizabeth Richert, Maddalyn Richert, Wednesday Joiner, Aiden Eichberger, Jiana Nicolosi, Karsten Quinton and Jacob Howard) and our costumes came together in a big way with the help of Shelby Burns. Our choreography is some of the most difficult I have put onstage and the music for this show is no small undertaking. This ensemble took on the challenge with confidence and it shows.
So even though Lent isn’t quite over yet, let’s take a few hours to enjoy the light-hearted comedy of some beautiful musical theatre while we prepare our souls for the long awaited but still unexpected King of Kings.
