Sing Hallelujah!

This new gospel musical comedy was written by Jim Hesselman and Bob Payne. SING HALLELUJAH! takes place in Johnsontown, North Carolina and features such songs as "Do Lord", "Onward Christian Soldiers", "Down By The Riverside", "Swing Down Chariot", and "Amazing Grace." As a group we agreed on a few things and disagreed on a few things about this musical. First we agreed that the acting was horrible. We also agreed that the music and the voices were amazing. We disagreed about the strength of the storyline. Some found it easy to relate to and quite funny, while others found it predictable and over-exaggerated.
Historically speaking, Gospel as a form of music is purely American. It has its roots in Classical as well as African Folk Music, but Gospel reaches more people than just about any form of music. The group was suprised at how many of the songs they knew or had heard before. The group ranged from those who attend church regularly to those who have never set foot in a church or worship service of any kind, yet everyone had heard at least 2-3 of the songs before. These songs are part of our common culture as Americans.
When asked to sum up the theme of the play in one sentence it was interesting to hear the different ideas. "Don't judge a book by its cover." "Communities, like families, can build on common ground." "Everyone needs Grace and forgiveness." And "You need friends even when you don't want to admit it." Each person in the group got something a little different from the play.
The main characters all seemed to have Biblical counterparts. The main lady, Victoria was overly judgemental and constantly on the look out for sin just like the Pharisees. One man and one woman, represented the 'rabble' that Jesus spent so much time with. And the young Reverand was the 'Christ-like' character. He always spoke the truth, he went looking for the lost, and he helped people find Grace.
Overall, it was decided that the play was worth seeing. Everyone enjoyed themselves and learned quite a bit. We will all be look forward to the next one!