St. Luke's Blogs

Broadway, or the theater district in NYC, traces its roots back to the mid-18th century when one of the first large theaters opened in lower Manhattan. About that same time, Benjamin Franklin had started experimenting with electricity. Many streets along Broadway started illuminating the pathways with arc lamps—these made light by sparking an electrical current between two electrodes, resulting in a very bright, white light. With the opening of the Olympia Theatre in Longacre Square (later renamed Times Square)—history was made with the installation of the first electric lights at its entrance in 1895. Following Olympia’s lead, other theaters began replacing the smoky, open-flame gaslights with the more modern and bright lights. So, the Great White Way truly described how it looks when you first turned and saw the theater district at night.  The name was coined thanks to Shep Friedman, a columnist for the New York Morning Telegraph, when he wrote a story about the area and used the headline, “Found on the Great White Way.”

When you look back in history, you will see that the people who first helped the church come to life are a diverse people. In fact, two of the strongest leaders of the early church were quite different from one another.

Peter was one of the first people to follow Jesus. He famously laid down his nets to become a “fisher of people.” (Matthew 4:9)  Peter followed Jesus from the shores of the sea of Galilee where he grew up working with his hands, making a living by fishing. Peter went from being a blue-collar worker to leading the church from Jerusalem to Rome.

Paul was from a family that provided him the best of education…

Ariel has always been my absolute favorite Disney Princess. When I was a little girl, I loved swimming in the water, whether it be in a pool or the ocean. I would imagine I was a beautiful mermaid with long flowy hair and lived in the ocean in an amazing coral castle, deep in the ocean amongst my ocean friends.

Ariel is an amazing role model for young girls. She is an independent girl who has a healthy curiosity. Throughout the movie, Ariel is reminded that her father does not like her to go to the shore because she may be seen by the humans. In fact, King Triton forbids her to go to the shore.

Ariel does make some horrible mistakes…

Weston was a freshman baseball player for his high school in Morgantown, West Virginia. Weston is from a baseball family. Weston’s dad is the head baseball coach for the University of West Virginia. During a game last year, Weston collided with player from another team. It was a serious collision and caused significant injuries to Weston. In just one moment Weston received a broken nose, broken bones in his face, and a traumatic brain injury.

Weston spent six days in the local ICU and was sent to Atlanta to work on his recovery…

Then the whole company of them arose, and brought him before Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ a king.” And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” And Pilate said to the chief priests and the multitudes, “I find no crime in this man.” But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.” A third time he said to them, “Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no crime deserving death; I will therefore chastise him and release him.” But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. So Pilate gave sentence that their demand should be granted. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, whom they asked for; but Jesus he delivered up to their will.

“For in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.

My favorite song in Wicked the Musical is “For Good.”  Written by Stephen Schwartz, it is one of the most recognizable songs from the show.  It is a heartfelt duet sung by lead characters Elphaba and Glinda near the very end of the show when they are saying goodbye to each other.  It truly is a farewell song.

Elphaba is a misunderstood student at Shiz University, born with green skin, for which she is ridiculed her whole life.  She is a person who is not hesitant to stand up for what she believes is right.  Elphaba is forced to flee Oz, leaving behind a friend that has changed her “for good.”  Glinda is a wealthy and popular girl who has always had her way.  She despises Elphaba after she accidentally volunteers to be her roommate.  But she finds that by living as roommates, Glinda begins to see the good in her, which unearths the good within herself…

One of the elements that helps make a Broadway show possible is costumes. Costumes help actors bring a character to life. One of the best and most celebrated costume designers is Susan Hilferty. Susan is best known as the Costume Designer for Wicked. After the story had been written and the music created, Susan was tasked with bringing the characters of Wicked to life. Creating the world of Wicked meant designing 269 individual costumes. She had to know the story inside and out. Her hard work paid off.  She won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Costume Design. Susan understands that everyone acts differently when they put on a costume. The actors walk differently, carry themselves differently and they perform differently. A good costume helps an actor’s imagination flourish. When an actor wears a great costume, it changes them.

The Apostle Paul understood what good clothing can do for us…

In the musical Annie, the song “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” takes the audience into the daily struggles of the orphans who live in the terrible orphanage run by Miss Hannigan.  Every day, the orphans experience hard work with little payoff.  Tears and heartache are part of their ongoing emotional roller coaster.  The girls are sad, lonely, and often hopeless.  As the song builds, the chorus of girls deliver a powerful line, “No one cares for you a smidge when you’re in an orphanage!  It’s the hard-knock life.”

Miss Hannigan’s orphanage is symbolic of the dreadful, solitary condition that so many of us find ourselves in during the hard-knock times of life.  The feeling that we are alone and there is no one around to care or help can be paralyzing…

Being a part of Poteet Theatre has changed my whole heart in a way that surprised me, more than I could have ever imagined.  I thought from the moment I could walk and talk, I was going to be on Broadway.  When I tell you I did everything I could to prepare for that, I was training at every company, with every instructor, for hours and hours a week, and it is safe to say that I was absolutely obsessed.

Fast forward to college when I found out that my training had led to bad physical habits that would make it impossible to carry the 8-show a week requirement.  “Devastated” barely covers the feeling of thinking your dreams are crushed forever.  I decided to switch my passion over to film and television – a beast I knew nothing about – that would become my sole mission in life to tackle.  It ended up taking me over 7 years to find my own power in that industry, and I still struggle with holding on to who I am when it comes to standing my ground in the face of Hollywood mega giants…