Monday, June 02, 2008

Jesus at the 'Wick

Missy Young's benefit concert for Season of Concern was a truly incredible success. The room was packed, her fundraising goal was surpassed and the singing was...

Well, it went beyond just "singing." It resonated. Which made the concert move like church. Southern Baptist church. As people in my family would say, we had us some Jesus up in the Bailiwick Repertory last night.

Those of you familiar with the Chicago theatre community know just how wrong the mental picture of "Jesus at the Bailiwick" truly is.

Wait a second... A few years ago, I actually DID bring Jesus to the Bailiwick - - I directed the Chicago premiere of Terrance McNally's Corpus Christi on the Bailiwick's mainstage.

I have also been naked in a play on the Bailiwick's mainstage, so I think the "Jesus at the 'Wick" thing and the "showing my penis in public and calling it art" thing balance each other out.


Missy's idea for this concert event is inspired. She celebrated her birthday performing music she loved with good friends and in the process, she raised a lot of money for people in need in her community. Her generosity is overwhelming.

If you couldn't figure out which "soon to be closing" Broadway musical's selections were being performed in the concert, this video taken by Angel over at Angel's Crash Pad should clue you in and give you a little taste of the Jesus that Missy and her cast brought to the Bailiwick last night.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

"...Well, it went beyond just "singing." It resonated. Which made the concert move like church. Southern Baptist church. As people in my family would say, we had us some Jesus up in the Bailiwick Repertory last night...."

When you say things like this, I QUAKE to think about how much we might have in common.