Performing Evangelicalism: Theatre and Christianity
Act like a Christian!
Evangelicals LOVE theatre.
Show me an Evangelical church, and I will show you at least one performance coming up in the near future.
Around Christmas time, a nativity scene featuring the church's children fills the stage. Angels, wise men, and shepherds gather around a rough-hewn manger constructed with unpainted 2x4s from Lowes.
Later in the spring, a somber Easter show with a live Jesus up on a cross packs the house with audience members. (Luckily, a church janitor named Brad agreed to play Jesus because out of all the church staff, Brad has the best abs, and the music minister just insisted that the character of Jesus wear only a loin cloth.)
In summer, Vacation Bible School kids might put on a musical featuring Psalty, a big, blue, human-sized singing songbook. Kids sing and dance alongside the huge hymnal while parents watch, clutching their programs with pride.
The start of the school year in the fall could bring another children’s church production, this time about the life of a Biblical figure. My church produced a…
