quite a few years, contributing several choral arrangements to the show.
“Imagine our surprise when we realized this was the same Chris Smith
whom we knew as a police officer in Bryn Athyn and from his work on the
Cairnwood and Glencairn tour videos! Strange coincidence. We got to
reconnect with Chris when he attended the opening of CB West’s production
of Grease last spring.
“We learned a lot over the course of the year from Joseph about the
incredible process of getting this show to Broadway. Jess even got to sit in
as Joseph rehearsed one of the show’s crucial choral pieces with his CB West
choir. And so we were privileged to go with Joseph and a group of CB West
choral and theater students to the premiere matinee, meeting some of the
actors afterwards. It was a thrilling experience.
“From an entertainment perspective, the show is great. The sets and
costumes are fantastic, the music and singing are strong and beautiful. But all
of these things can be found in many Broadway productions. This show has
something deeper because of its story, and so the overall impression is very
powerful and moving. Some of the depictions of slavery are really hard to
watch. But, as the song suggests, it is uplifting and inspiring in the end. The
audience, mostly in tears, was on its feet before the curtain call.
“It has been fascinating to be connected, in some small way, to the last
leg of this show’s incredible journey from Chris’s personal dream to the heart
of Broadway.”
And thanks to Brian, Ed, Chris and Bret for this “amazing” Glencairn
connection.
(BMH)
‘just who do we think we are?’
It might seem that the matter of same-sex marriage was settled by the United
States Supreme Court one-vote majority ruling in June, and that there is no
point in discussing it further. But the controversy over such a sweeping and
earthshaking change – one that a large portion of the population believes is so
contrary to the spiritual and moral foundation of the culture that it may well
spell the end of our civilization – will not go away any more easily than the
abortion debate has in the wake of Roe v. Wade more than 40 years ago.
The seriousness of the cultural divide that is tearing the nation apart is
very clear on the court itself. It is hard to imagine any more strongly worded
rejections of the majority opinion than the ones issued by the four dissenting
justices.
“The Court invalidates the marriage laws of more than half the states and
orders the transformation of a social institution that has formed the basis of
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