Last week my wife and I took our daughter and two granddaughters to see Noah, the Musical in Branson. Noah is playing at the new Sound & Sight Theatre in Branson and Sound & Sight puts on this musical extravaganza.
Sound & Sight is owned by Glenn and Shirley Eshelman and the theatre and musicals are based upon their original operations in Strasburg, Pennsylvania.
The productions are centered around Old and New Testament themes that convey the good news of Jesus Christ.
Keep in mind, however, that this operation is not a non-profit. It is a business and its goals include spreading a good news while also making a profit .
You can learn more about Sight & Sound including downloading brochures about their shows by going to their webpage at : www.sight-sound.com.
The Sight & Sound Theatre is a sight to behold, a veritable city on the hill . It is located at 1001 Shepherd of the Hills Expressway which is at the intersection of Shepherd of the Hills Expressway (Red Route) and Expressway Lane. The best way to find it is to go to their webpage and look under “Directions.” A link to their local map can be found at :
http://www.sight-sound.com/StaticContent/images/maps/br_larger_map_local.gif
Our family went to the Saturday afternoon performance.
What can I tell you? The story is about Noah. Sound & Sight make sure that the people attending understand that they are seeing a fictional telling of an ACTUAL event. As an evangelical Christian, I was satisfied to hear the stage production/musical described in this manner.
We drove up to the building which was immense. I am including in this blog some of the pictures of the outside and inside of the building. I would like to show you some of the sets; but am unable to (more about this later).
My wife and I obtained our tickets. The price for myself, my wife, my daughter and two grandchildren was more than a pittance but slightly less than a tithe. It was slightly in excess of $ 150.00. Did I mention that the theatre is a profit making institution. Yes, it is true that I have attended over the years numerous Broadway musicals and it was less than many Broadway productions. The ticket prices are on the Webpage and should call before you go to check on ticket prices and availability.
The quality of the production was variable. My wife commented that the production was a cut above a church production. I thought the lighting, sets and artistic portions were equivalent to most Broadway productions. The music was not up to Broadway productions, at least in my opinion.
The transformation of the ark to Jesus and the cross at the end (I presume I am not giving away any secrets) was absolutely outstanding.
The individual who played Noah did a great job and had a super voice. He carried much of the production.
It was fun watching the live animals that were involved. I had expected more animals but I guess that I should not be surprised that it more “Calvin & Hobbs” than live tigers and lions, which would probably have increased the theatre’s insurance liability rates and caused me to exit more quickly had they gotten loose.
I think the show (despite the cost) will be a success. It is a quality experience and believe me it should not be too difficult selling Jesus in a sparkling sash in the Branson area to the seniors along with some small live animals for the kids. (I do not mean to be too disrespectful but I did not always know if I was in the Temple with Jesus or was consorting with those who changed money and sold pigeons.) I guess that is the difficulty with making a profit on religious themes. One never can be quite sure if you are on the side of God or mammon or trying to straddle the fence.
The artwork in the production is excellent as is the set design. Despite, instructions to the contrary I tried to get several non-flash pictures for the blog. The theatre obviously takes a very serious view of using your camera during the production even with the flash off. Believe me, the owner as an ex-photographer should know what the the quality is of pictures you get with a hand-held camera with the flash off. They are not worth posting any way. If you do use your camera, you will get a visit from the anti-photo Nazi as did I. I have now been admonished about taking photos in China, at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia and at Sight & Sound Productions in Branson, Missouri. Ah well, the inside photograph without a tripod wasn’t very good anyway. You can look at their brochure for pictures if you are interested or buy one of their postcards.
By the way, as usual, I did not tell them that I was blogging the show. I prefer to see what the standard treatment was.
Would I recommend that you go to see this production. Assuming you have the money and are willing to spend it, I would say “Yes.”
The message is a good one. The sets are great. I asked each member of our family if they enjoyed it and each one of the family , including myself, and all said that they enjoyed it.
2 comments:
I haven't seen the show you're talking about yet, but I imagine that it will do very well in Branson. Branson is a nice little town for a couple days' vacation, but tourism there is really insane. Since Branson is located smack dab in the middle of the Bible Belt, Noah should do very well.
Thanks for the information on the Noah musical. It's good to hear it from those who have seen it. I've heard about it through some of the shows on TLC (Gosselins, 17 kids and counting) and the set itself looks pretty amazing. I'll have to bring the little ones out and see it.
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