“I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.” – Psalm 104:33
My first exposure to Broadway musicals was listening to records of monthly features from the record club our family subscribed to. It was fun to hear the hit songs from The Sound of Music, Oklahoma, The King and I andThe Music Man to name a few. My first time to attend a stage performance of a musical was at the Casa Manana Theatre in Ft. Worth, TX. The theatre was in the round with a circular stage in the center of the audience. I loved attending the Summer Musical Series at Casa, seeing famous Broadway actors and actresses performing on stage with cast members and accompanied by members of the Ft. Worth Symphony.
During all four years of high school, I was the accompanist for our Spring musicals. This experience enabled me to get a hands-on approach in the life of a stage production; it helped me hone skills of timing, cues, accompaniments, vamping and, at times, improvising. The interaction with the cast, director, and fellow orchestra members produced long-lasting relationships and fond memories.
As I reflect on the structure of the workings of musicals, I am reminded of how similar they are to the creation of worship services, especially now as we are worshipping online. Both events require planning, rehearsing, direction, accompaniment, singing, spoken words, lighting, cues and set décor. At musicals, one is given a program or Playbill to follow along. At a worship service, bulletins are handed out as a guide for singing, reading, responding, etc. A musical begins with an Overture and ends with Exit music (in worship we refer to this as the Prelude and the Postlude).
But there are significant differences between musicals and worship worth noting. Musicals are attended by audiences (observers receiving entertainment) and worship services are attended by congregations (participants engaging in acts of praise and spiritual moments with God). While some musicals are based on real-life characters or events, most are centered around fictional stories. On the other hand, a worship service is always based on the most magnificent subject of our Christian livelihood: worship and praise to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The only acting happening in worship is that of Faith and Belief along with the acting of giving and sacrifice.
I love our Summer Broadway Series at St. Luke’s where we join the love of poignant songs and messages from various musicals into our structure of worship. It’s a wonderful way to honor the arts in worship. After all, without the arts, so much would be lost in giving thanks and majesty to our Creator of the Arts – The Holy Spirit, who is the greatest Producer of the greatest musical ever: Life!
Robert Fasol, Organist and Choirmaster
