While in Branson, at my mom's prompting, we saw the show (Cough. Cough. I can hardly type this with a straight face.) Noah, the Musical. It isn't the first time she has suggested this show. It always surprises me because she isn't a fan of music, or noise, or anything song-like. I've never read through Genesis and thought....now that would make a great musical--if only someone would produce that.
Everywhere you go in Branson there are advertisments for shows. The shows are their bread an butter. At one of the places we stopped there was a replica of the arc they use on stage, and I have to admit it was impressive looking. We grabbed a pamphlet and again, mom lobbied for the show saying that she'd read it was one of those "experiences" you don't want to miss. Later in the evening (at the last minute) we decided to head to the show--and I mean last minute. We were late. The parking people directed us towards the handicapped parking to save walking time. They put us way up in almost the last row, as to not interrupt the others enjoying the show who made it there on time. We joined the show already in progress and Noah, and family were singing their hearts out--musical style. A few minutes into the show mom leaned over to me and said....."I don't think I like this." The good news is that there was only 2 hours and 20 minutes left until it was over.
The first half (while they were building the arc) was a little draggy. The second half (while they were on the arc) was kind of cool. The stage, and both sides of the building were turned into 3 stories of the inside of the arc. The audience's view looked in the animal stalls. Most animals were fake, but they had a few real animals in the stalls and on the stage. Goats, and chickens and donkeys, and cows and such.
After Mom expressed her dissatisfaction I asked her what she thought it was going to be. She said, "I don't know--not so much singing". I realize when you have an image in your head of how something is going to be that you filter out the other clues that pop up. Here is the pamphlet advertising the show. Perhaps there were a couple clues....
The first clue of course is the title. Noah the MUSICAL. Not Noah, the play or Noah, the commentary or Noah, the dramatic reading.
The second clue is that the people in the ad seem to have their hands up, looking skyward, with their mouths open. A dead giveaway that there are some really long notes being held.
We survived the first half, and enjoyed the second half :-)
Oh, my.
ReplyDeleteSo, I have to ask: what do you sing about, in a story like this, for two and a half hours? It's not like there's a whole lot of dialogue in the original text. Did they start out with people whose thoughts and actions were all evil, all the time? Did Methuselah make an appearance? How many songs were devoted to mocking Noah for building an ark? I'm sure they stopped when the flood ended, instead of going on with the rest of Noah's sordid story...
Heh, heh. Good questions. There was a lot of creative freedom with the show. There was a 20 minute intermission, which left 65 minutes on either side to fill with Noah speculation. Yes, Methuselah made an appearance and there was reference to his age.
ReplyDeleteNoah had a lot of angst in the first half to sing about. Fear of building the arc. Fervent witnessing to the crowds. I have never read this in my version of Genesis, but the king decided to build the Tower of Babel 'just in case' there was some truth to Noah's preaching. Noah also had to deal with (and sing about) the night his brother came with the throngs and set the arc on fire. (Again, not in my version of Genesis) Noah got mocked a lot, and boy was he in turmoil.
The second half was once the door was sealed and their time in the arc. While in the arc Ham and Shem got kind of testy with each other because Ham's elephants were eating the majority of the feed and they had to fight about whether or not to do away with the big animals in order for the small animals to have enough food.
It ended with getting out of the arc, and the rainbow and a correlation between the arc and the cross and an invitation to come foward and get saved. Noah's adventures after the arc would have made for a much more interesting musical!
(Nearly)Every show in Branson has to find a way to recognize military and provide a way to turn your life around and get saved. God. Family. Country. Take your pick on the order. Noah didn't work the military thing into this show though.
That's hilarious!
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of the show they do say it is a fictional account of a factual story with character that are not found in the Biblical text, which you missed having arrived late. They also encourage the audience to read the biblical account themselves. And they never once said the tower was the tower of Babel. They called it the "Tower of Safety".
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