It’s hard to me to know exactly where to begin this post. Some people would come to write a post like this and wouldn’t be able to come up with enough to say. I, on the other hand, have more to say than I want to fit into one blog post! My heart is so full of joy as I reflect on all God did to bring this event about. I feel I need to share the whole story to explain why The Anima Series Tour was so important and special to me. God has been orchestrating this event for quite soon time, not just with calling The Anima Series to go on tour, but also with changes that have happened in my own life. My hope is that by sharing this story, you will appreciate all God did to bring it all together.
When I First Found The Anima Series
For those of you that may not know, The Anima Series started when Jon Jorgenson and two of his friends decided to make a video of a spoken word poem Jon had written called “Who You Are: A Message To All Women”. They uploaded this video to YouTube July 2013. At first, they got a couple thousand views, but in a short time, it went viral, to the point to reaching millions of views. When that happened, they decided to use The Anima Series as an opportunity to give local artists a platform for Christ through making quality art. So they started making more videos with the goal of inspiring ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
That’s about the point where I come in. It would have been October 2013. I was in my last full-time semester of college at Ozark Christian College and was still living in the dorm. One of the girls on my dorm floor shared the “Who You Are: Women” video to my floor’s Facebook group. I don’t remember exactly what day that was, but I will never forget watching that video for the first time in my dorm room. Initially, I was almost in shock of the powerful message that had just been spoken to me. I watched it at least twice more and by then, I’m pretty sure I was shedding a few tears (Good thing I had a single room at the time. lol). Here's the video:
You see, I was at such a strange place in my life, mental, emotional, and spiritually, when I saw this video for the first time. 2013 had been a hard year, in which I had gone through everything from losing my friend Brandon in a car accident, to having my summer internship postponed at the last minute to the following spring, to attempting to prepare myself to leave the safety net of my college campus when I finished classes that December. On top of all this, I had been fighting a serious spiritual battle with my self-esteem that had been ongoing for about two years. I had gotten to a point where I had bought into some of the lies of Satan about what defines beauty and attractiveness, because I was struggling with my weight and my singleness. Fortunately, I did not turn toward any paths of self-harm that are often associated with self-esteem issues, but I did come close toward heading down one of those paths. It was God’s grace that kept me from choosing to lessen the numbers on the scale in ways that were unhealthy. Just when I was starting to come out of that, a few other things happened that made my singleness stand out like a sore thumb and made me start to question why my relationship status had never changed (and even now still hasn’t at 25 years old).
After having gone through all this and seeing the “Who You Are” video, something clicked in both my heart and my mind. I began to understand the change of heart I needed to have towards myself before I would be able to make a difference in the world for Christ. I began to realize that I, and every other women on this earth, was worth dying for and Christ believed it enough that he actually died on a cross for each and every one of us. It all made sense in a way it never had before. In a short period of time, I became content with my body and with being single in way I had thought would never have been possible when I was in the depth of my struggle. And even now I would say that I have been able to remain satisfied in the love of the Lord. It all started with a video of a guy in a white t-shirt on an empty stage with a message to share and a hope it would touch someone’s life. I know there was a difference in my heart and my life after I began to live my life in light of that powerful message. I even wrote my own spoken word poem on a very similar topic a few weeks later. It was titled “A Princess Worth Dying For”, but after I wrote it, I didn’t do anything with it for about a year. I’ll come back to that poem in a little bit. Although I did have to do a little bit of searching to find the original video (since the first link I was given was from a random Facebook page), I eventually found The Anima Series channel, watched a few of their other videos, and subscribed. I was curious about trying to find the name of the guy that was in the first video. I eventually came to find that his name was Jon Jorgenson. I remembering being so inspired specifically by some of the other videos Jon was in, and I started hoping that I would meet him someday, but not knowing if I ever would. How I “Met” Jon Jorgenson Online
Fast forward to the next summer (2014). I had completed my music ministry internship and graduated college that May. I was so unsure of where my life was headed. But in late June, I remember that I came across a video of Jon asking fans to submit their own versions of the “Who You Are: Women” for a tribute video in celebration of Anima’s first birthday. I was so excited to make my own version! I remember being curious about if they were going to use my version, and they did! I was so excited to have been a part of it.
I remember sending my video to the Anima Series email address, but I’m pretty sure that Jon was the one that answered it. He complimented my video and signed the email as he always signs off – “Keep being awesome.” And over the next few weeks, I discovered that Jon has his own blog, a personal Facebook page, and a personal YouTube channel. I also found out that he had published a book (Authentic Love) and I ordered it. Through looking at all these, I found that he listed his email address publicly and was willing to answer emails from his fans. About the end of July, I sent him an email introducing myself, briefly thanking him for what his videos had done for me, and asking him some general life advice. He replied and gave me some good tips through some videos links. And that started an online connection that has lasted ever since.
For over a year, we have exchanged emails back and forth (not all the time of course, but fairly often). We occasionally chat on Twitter and on his Facebook page too. Since Jon is big on inspiring people and emphasizes creativity in most of his work, he has been a constant support and encouragement to me in my creative pursuits. He always takes the time to answer my emails, and has remembered my name ever since my first email. He has watched all my spoken word poems when I send him the links, and he gives me great feedback every time. He has read some of my posts here on my blog when I ask him. He is probably one of my biggest encouragers and inspirations I have had in the creative process. There are so many things I would have never thought I could do if it wasn’t for Jon, his work, and even his personal encouragement. And all the while, I kept hoping that I would someday get to meet him in person, but wondering if I ever would. When I First Showed An Anima Video At My Church
Fast forward again to October 2014, I was teaching a Jr. High girls Bible study on the topic of modesty. We were going through The Secret Keeper by Dannah Gresh (a great book for that topic) and we were coming to the point in the study when we would be talking about inner beauty, our attitude about ourselves, and comprehending God’s love for us. I’d been trying to find different videos to supplement my lessons each week, and I realized that the “Who You Are: Women” video was absolutely perfect. I believe that when a woman knows how valued she is in God’s eyes, modesty will become not just a list of fashion rules to be obeyed, but an attitude in which a woman will worship God with her life, and that video was a great example of how to find that mindset. So I showed the “Who You Are: Women” video and the girls were touched by it too.
It was also at this time that I decided to make a video of my first spoken word poem to share with the girls, which was very much inspired by the “Who You Are: Women” video. “A Princess Worth Dying For,” although I still had a lot to learn about spoken word and making that type of video, left a powerful impression on the girls the last week of teaching. Here's the video:
But I remember I had a very ironic thought while I was showing the girls the “Who You Are: Women.” As I was praying that this message would speak to their hearts, I thought how awesome it would be if we could hear Jon do that poem live. I didn’t know if that would ever happen, but I hoped that it would, then I kind of forgot about it for quite some time.
When Anima Decided to Go on Tour
When The Show Finally Happened
When the show finally started, it was like I was like watching one of the Anima videos live. It was so cool! Jon recounted stories from his time as a camp counselor at a Christian theater summer camp (Spotlight Youth Theater) and how watching these kids informed what he understands authentic love to be. He shared some spoken word poetry within the context of this narrative of his lessons from the summer camp. Jon really is a great speaker and super funny! I already knew this from his videos, but it was awesome to get to see it live. At the end, he concluded that if anyone had been inspired by any of his work, we had those kids he worked with to thank for inspiring him. (It was also pretty awesome to discover that I had connections to a few of those kids. It truly is a small world!) Then, he concluded by reading his two most famous poems: “Who You Are: A Message To All Men” and “Who You Are: A Message To All Women.” I got a video of him doing the last one.
Getting to hear Jon recite the poem that touched me so personally was incredible. Now, I know the words so well, I was mouthing them while Jon was saying them. But as I started to think back through the time I had been a fan of The Anima Series, I couldn’t help but marvel at what God had done to bring it all together. Ever since I’d seen their first video, it had been a small desire of my heart to meet Jon in person, but I didn’t think it would really happen, especially while he was living in New York. But there he was, doing a show on the stage in my church, and I knew that God had orchestrated it. I also realized that the thought I had about the girls in my Bible study a year ago seeing him performing “Who You Are: Women” live had become a reality, since three of seven girls from the Bible study were there at the Anima show that night. At the end of the show, as Jon was giving his acknowledgements, he thanked me for all I did for bringing this event together, which kind of made me smile. When I had others thanking me for organizing the event and telling me how much they enjoyed it, I knew it was a God thing.
After the show, Jon had a meet and greet time and posed for pictures. Now we didn’t have a super big crowd, but Jon was so good about giving time and attention to everyone.
Of course I got a picture with him too, which many of you who know me have probably already seen, since I have plastered it all over my social media! lol
I also got one with Jon’s wife Erin. They’ve only been married a few months.
Erin let me keep one of the beautiful calligraphy quotes she made as merchandise, and I love it! (After talking to her some, I know why Jon calls her “Sweet Bear.” She really is a sweetheart)
Jon also gave me a thank you card that also has Erin’s calligraphy on the front. It’s so pretty.
When the show was done and they packed up their stuff, Jon gave me another big hug (It’s hard for any hug of Jon’s not to be big, since he’s so tall! haha).
While we were hugging, I said, “It was so great to finally meet you, Jon.” He replied, “It was great to finally meet you, Bethel.” As they drove away, I couldn’t help but praise God for giving me this small desire of my heart. Final Thoughts
I hope this story has demonstrated what God can do to change lives for His greater plan, but also bring lives together for His glory. It amazes me how this story unfolded even as I have been writing it down for this post. Jon and The Anima Series have touched hundreds of thousands of people’s lives through their YouTube videos, but they also like to touch lives on a more personal level when they have the opportunity. That’s one of the main reasons they choose to go on tour in the first place. Jon has said before that,
“Some people are called to touch millions of lives, while others are called to touch one life a million times.”
Anima’s work may someday touch millions of lives, but I think it’s safe to say that Jon is well on his way to touching my life a million times, and I don’t know if I will ever be able to thank him enough for it. I hope all of you look for and seize the opportunities to do the same for the people in your own life. You won’t regret it.
Here’s Jon video vlog from the day of my church’s show. I do have to say that I had no idea he was not feeling well until I watched this, and it impresses me all the more that he pressed on so well, despite his discomfort. Maybe it was his crazy socks getting revenge on him! lol
(There’s a short clip of me toward the end, wearing a black and white striped t-shirt)
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More recently, I started thinking about this quote again, but I started to focus on the idea of when my path crossed with my friends. I have been blessed to have friends from so many different places and from different events in my life. Many of those circumstances I believe were orchestrated by God to bring these people into my life. As I thought about the ways in which I have met my friends, it dawned on me that there are several friends that I met under slightly strange and even humorous circumstances. So I thought I would share ten of these unique ways I made a friend. (Note: I am only listing these friends’ first names for the sake of privacy) Brittany – “I Knew It Was You and I Cheered For You!”
That story makes me smile, because I love it when God brings people into your life that already know how you are before you meet them to help you along your way. For this reason, I am so grateful for Brittany. Dani - A Unique Birthday Surprise
Toby – In the Pool On Choir Tour
Miri – “I’m Your New Roommate. I Think You Know My Boyfriend”
Terry – “Do You Like Lord of the Rings?”
Terry is one of the few people that I would dare to say loves Middle-earth more than I do. He is so well-researched on the subject and we had many intelligent conversations about it over the years. Of course we talked about other things too, but this was unique because I had the chance to create a friendship with one of my professors (outside the music dept.) before I was in college. When I finally got to Ozark, Terry and I were already great friends. I eventually came to be his student assistant and graded papers for him, and I would usually come up to his office to visit with him about once every other week. For one of his birthdays, I decorated his office with a Lord of the Rings theme as a surprise. It just seems funny in hindsight that we became friends because of Lord of the Rings. I am so grateful for Terry and our long-lasting friendship. Taylor – “I Didn’t Know Your Last Name!”Taylor (a girl Taylor, just to clarify) and I met because our moms were a part of the local MOPS program together. We were good friends in junior high and high school. But what was funny is that we met after our siblings had met, my little sister and her little brother. She knew about me prior to meeting me in person, but not long after she meant, she told me that she didn’t know my last name, because her little brother referred to my little sister with their last name! We both cracked up about it, but it was definitely a funny way to be introduced to a friend. I am so grateful for Taylor’s friendship. High School Friends – “Would You Like To Share A Snack?”It sometimes hard to remember what my life was like before I went to Kankakee Trinity Academy for junior high. I had been homeschooled for several years, but my parents decided that my sisters and I needed more structure to our education. I remember making a visit to KTA the spring before we enrolled. Since I was going into 7th grade in fall, I got to spend the morning with the 6th grade class so I could meet students in my grade, and then I spent the afternoon in the junior high class to see the teacher. Now I don’t remember a whole ton of details about this visit. I mostly read a book while they were going over their lessons and working. But for some reason, I remember that they had a morning snack time when they got to pick one thing out of their lunches. I was unprepared, but I remember a few of the kids offered me a little of their snacks, one of which was those pudding bites that were popular at the time. I think back to remember that there four people in the class that day that stayed at KTA until we graduated, and the first memory I had of them was the simple act of kindness of offering me part of their snack. I don’t remember if Laura, Laura (yes, there were two), Ari, and Ray all offered me something, but it’s funny to think that was the moment that started it all. We all got pretty close in our high school years, along with the others that joined our class, and I am still blessed to remember all the good times we had at KTA. I am so thankful for all of them. Daniel – “Can I Color With You?”
I laugh when I think about it or look at the picture. It’s one of my favorite stories about making a friend to retell because it was so funny! I am so grateful to have Daniel as a friend. Angela & Kendra – Disney PrincessesThese friends are actually unknown to each other, but I call them both my Disney twins! The reasons why I am listing them together is because the circumstances under which I befriended both these ladies was very similar, and had to do with Disney Princesses.
It just funny to me how something that is meant to bring joy to children can bring joy to adults as well, and actually bring people of common interest together. For this reason, I am so grateful for both Kendra and Angela. Brandon – “Can You Help Me With My Makeup?”
As the week progressed, I remember I was having problems with my feet, and he encouraged me to sit down while I was helping him. We had just gotten instructions from our director to use the lipstick color on his cheeks instead of the blush because it was the best for his skin tone. I remember testing it on his face, seeing that it looked OK, and then preceding to put more on him while saying, “This is kind of weird. I’ve never put lipstick on someone’s cheeks before.” We both started cracking up! But I remember that after we finished laughing, he said, “I’m glad I could make you laugh during this time,” remembering that my feet were in some pain. Again, at the time I thought it was strange, but now I realize how sweet it was that he was that considerate of how I was feeling. Part of the reason this story is special to me is because Brandon passed away a little over a year later. I didn't have the chance to get super close to him, but the short time we were friends made a big impact on my life that I did not realize until after his death. Even though he is gone, I am still so grateful to have called him my friend. To read more about Brandon’s story, click here. Final ThoughtsWell there you have it. I hope you enjoyed reading these stories as I did recall these memories of how some of my most special friendships began. I want to encourage you to remember that you never know when or how God will cross your path with someone he wants you to befriend. You never know how God will use you to impact someone’s life. Remember the quote I shared at the beginning, think about the people it applies to, thank God for crossing your path, and live out your friendships in that gratitude. You will never look at friendships the same way again.
I love the theater. I more I have had the chance to be part of productions, the more than I have come to love the experience. I had almost forgotten that I loved it so much until I was cast in the KVTA production of Mary Poppins a few months ago. Prior to this, I had only been in one official musical, had helped backstage for another, and was in the choir for 5 years of my college’s annual Christmas program. I know that I have not have very much experience compared to some, but I’ve had enough to recognize the lessons that can be learned by being involved in a production in any capacity. There were some of the best growing experiences I had in my time at Ozark Christian College. As I reflect on the productions I’ve been in, I’ve realized that there are powerful life lessons that everyone should learn. There three to me seem to most obvious A Cast and Crew Work As A Body And A Family The think that anyone who has had a good experience being in a production would agree that one of the best parts of that experience is the community formed by being in a production together. It’s been interesting how I’ve come to recognize this since I’ve been cast in Mary Poppins. All the other productions I had been in were in college. Therefore, I knew most of the people I was working with, because they were either classmates, staff members, or music department regulars. It was in a setting that was familiar to me. While I did enjoy this setting, it has been an adventure being in a unfamiliar setting. Being in Mary Poppins has been totally different. When I auditioned, I pretty much only knew the Assistant Director, one of the costumers, a few people I mostly knew by name, and the friend I was auditioning with. My friend and I both made it, but she had to drop out of the production soon after being cast. I really did feel like I knew no one when I started. I also found out that out of our cast of a little less than 50, there are about 10 of us that are new to KVTA, which is a pretty high number. But it’s been pretty amazing how we quickly we all started to work together and get to know each other. Everyone has been super friendly to me and I am truly enjoying getting to know each and every one of them. Even as some of us newbies are finding a way, we are all united in our goal of producing the best production that we can, no matter the size or nature of our part. This has reinforced a truth that I already knew. The cast and the crew of a production work both a body and a family. They work as a body because each and every person contributes something to the greater whole of the production. No matter how small a part or a job seems to them, they all part of the greater whole. And everyone has to keep doing their part or job properly for the play to go the way it’s supposed to. They also function as a type of family because as they go through the experience of a production, you support each other and bond with each other through the shared experience you have. It makes everyone very close by the end of a production. And in the end, you all have produced something so much bigger than ourselves. And that’s one of the best parts. Every Part of this Body Is Important As I just mentioned earlier, every part or job in a production is important. If even one of the background people is missing, it throws off everything. This is every more true of the work that goes on backstage of a production. They are the reason everything runs like a well-oiled machine. And things don’t get done without them. I don’t think I realized this truth until I became one of those people in college. To make a long story short, my sophomore year of college, I went from being a girl that hardly knew how to put on my own makeup to being in charge of makeup for our Christmas production, and eventually the rest of the productions the school did while I was a student (6 total). I laugh about it know, but at the time, I was terrified! I hadn’t really been in charge of something like that before and I was still learning how to do stage makeup properly, but Mary (my college drama director) had faith in me, and now I’m grateful she gave me the chance to grow in the process. I learned so much and was eventually able to teach others. I came it love my backstage job, and it was a bittersweet thing when I finished my last Christmas production in college. [If you want to see a little of my specialty makeup work, there are a few pictures at the end of this post] Through all those productions, I realized how important the backstage jobs are. They aren’t the ones that get much (if any) recognition. In fact, those are the kind of jobs where it’s because no one notices them that they know they are doing their job right! Everything that goes on backstage is important and cast members should never take that for granted. For that matter, audience members shouldn’t either. It's an important lesson for all of us to learn.
As a Christian, I believe humility is an important tract for all other Christians to have, because we should remember that our lives are meant to be lived for the glory of the Lord. But Christians struggle with humility just as much as the next person, so I've observed. That's why I’m so grateful that there is very little ego in Mary Poppins. I’ve been in productions that were on both ends of the scale – very little ego among the cast or too much ego among the cast. It really does make such a difference in the atmosphere behind the scenes and the community that is formed because of it. Through it all, I learned the importance of stepping out of the spotlight and being OK when you don’t always get recognition for what you do. If we always had to get recognition for everything we did, most productivity would stop! That is not the way to get the job done. Remember to be grateful for the part you are playing for the greater whole of the production. That is the best way for things to go the way they are supposed to. Finals Thoughts There are just some of the lessons I have learned from my theater experience, and I will probably be learned more as we get closer to opening day for Mary Poppins. I am so grateful for all the productions I have had the chance to be a part of, because each one brought unique lessons of their own, but I will probably save these stories for another post. Remembering these lessons has also been a great reminder of the importance of taking what you can from any experience you have in your life in order to make you a better person. I hope of you are able to do the same thing. Please enjoy a few more pictures from past productions I’ve been in, and stay tuned as I plan to write more about my experience in Mary Poppins over the next few weeks. Ok, so I technically didn't do this for a play, but I did do it for my drama class, so that counts right? Anyway, I made myself up to be Elphaba from Wicked three times in two years. First time (left) was Halloween 2010, second time (center) was my drama class presentation day, and the last time (right) was for a demonstrative speech a year later (2011). Do you like? It was a great night when I got to see Cats for the first time. In fact, it was only about a month and a half ago (July 31, 2015). My friend Angela and I made plans to see it together, and she invited a few of her friends to join us. It was such a beautiful summer day and we were all excited and curious about the show, since we hadn’t seen it before. Part of what made this production so special is that this theater company does their productions every summer outside, in a setting that compliments the story they are telling. Since they were doing Cats, they choose to build their stage in front of an abandon building that was once part of the town’s mental hospital. Since it was outdoors, we can early to set up lawn chairs, and then we had a picnic dinner and relaxed before the show. When the show finally started, I was not disappointed by the quality or the staging of this play. It still amazes me what the Acting Out Theater Company is able to do with their outdoor settings. Plus, we even had a full moon rising over us toward the end of the evening, which when perfectly with the show. It was pretty cool. [All of the pictures I'm including in this post are from the Acting Out Theater Company's Production] Overall, I have a fairly positive view of this musical, which rather surprised me, but I thought it has more questionable content than it does. I believe there is a lot that can be observed from the plot of this musical, if we take the time to look at the plot a little more closely. Seeing Life From A Cat’s Perspective is Thought-Provoking I must confess that I am more of a dog person than a cat person. I have had some bad experiences with cats as a child that kind of turned me off to being a cat lover. And even my love of dogs did not come until I was in college. However, even though I’m not as fond of cats, I found the insights into a cat’s train of thought to be very interesting, even if some of it was in the mind of human writers. I was very amused when they talked about their names in the song The Naming of Cats. It makes you think that maybe cats do have different names for themselves than we do. Any pet get used to the name that we call them, but in their minds, they probably have their own names that they call each other. And the names they came up with for each other are not anything like human names, or a name a human would could probably conceive for his pet. It was extremely interesting to me. I was also intrigued by the stories of each of the different cats’ lives and the concept of the Jellicles and the Jellicle Ball. The times when I’ve watched cats and dogs playing, I’ve sometimes wondered what is going on in their heads and how they perceive what is going on around them. This play gives us the opportunity to explore the possibilities of what is going on in their heads. Although it is fictional and humanized to a certain degree, it’s done in a creative way that is very compelling to the audience. You are totally drawn into the cats’ world, and that is credit to great writing and acting. Don’t Judge A Person (or a Cat) By Its Cover
When Old Deuteronomy (the Jellicle Cats’ patriarch) chooses Grizabella to ascend to the Heavenside Layer, their hearts are changed towards her. I think there is a profound lesson that can be learned from Grizabella’s story. We are so quick to judge people without knowing their story. We judge them for everything from their outward appearance to our first impressions of them. We do this without getting to know them as a person. We don’t take the time to learn their story. As a result, we often miss the opportunity for a relationship to be built or for lessons to be learned from their lives. We often turn our hearts bitter and make enemies for ourselves in the process. When we do, we miss a very powerful point. As a Christian, I believe that we are to remember a few key truths in this matter. Fellow Christians, we are NOT called to judge those that do not commit to our standards of morality or judge anyone based on their outward appearance. One of the biggest problems in this matter is assuming that we should. What we are called to do is listen to them, give them the value they deserve as human beings, and find ways to demonstrate love toward them. I have often found that it’s the stories that I do not to listen to at first are the ones that I most need to hear. This is especially true of the story of people’s lives. Listening to the stories of people’s lives and taking to heart to wisdom (both direct and indirect) within their life stories is a wise practice for anyone, no matter what stage of life you are in yourself. I appreciate how prominently this truth plays out in the story of Cats. The Concepts of Rebirth and Heaven Are A Little Off-CenterThe only major problem I had with the plot of Cats was this concept of rebirth and the “Heavenside Layer.” Now, there are a few things I need to clarify before I explain my disagreement. First, part of the concept of their rebirth is connected to the idea that cats have nine lives, which when you get down to it from a scientific standpoint, most people know this is not true. Second, I am fully aware that we are taking cats verses humans, but that is also part of my frustration with the way that this is presented here. In this play, their concept of rebirth is basically to be given a new chance at life when they prove to be the most worthy. Grizabella ends up being chosen because she proved to be the most worthy, but she also had the greatest need. She had lived a full life and had been through a lot. This meant that she was worthy of making the ascent to their version of Heaven. And it seems to be implied that Grizabella will return to earth as another cat in another life. As a Christian, I believe that we are called to be born again, but not in any way like they portray it in Cats. We are called to confess our wrongdoings, admit that we are in need of a Savior, and then go through a spiritual rebirth as it is symbolized in the act of baptism. We are supposed to die to ourselves and our old ways of life, but it’s more of a redirection of our current lives. Because the truth is that we only get one pass at life. There is no chance of reincarnation or physical rebirth once we are dead. I also believe that our ability to get to Heaven is not based on any of our own merits or who has suffered the most in this life. Our ability to get into Heaven is based solely on Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross, our acceptance of this sacrifice, and the way we lived our lives in response to this sacrifice. That is definitely a different version of salvation than I see portrayed in Cats. However, as long as you know about and understand this difference, I think this is still a great play to watch. Other Positive Elements These comments are specifically directed at the production I saw, because I believe that the Acting Out Theater Company did a phenomenal job! The makeup and costume design for this production was top-notch. The quality of this production lived up to all my expectations and more. They picked the perfect setting for the Russell Hotel and it was even more awesome to see the moon rising over us toward the end of the play. Well done AOTC!
Content Ratings
Update: Due to the popularity of this blog post, I turned this review into a short e-Book in April 2022, providing more detail and insight into Wicked the Musical from a Christian perspective. To learn more or order your copy, click here
DISCLAIMER: I come to write this review with much prayer and careful thought, as I know that there are varying opinions about this musical within Christian circles. As much as I enjoy the music and the plot of Wicked, I know that some Christians believe we shouldn’t see the play because it’s about witches and magic.
If you have specific concerns related to this issue, I would encourage you to skip to the section “The Line Between Magic and Magick is Not Super Clear” under "Other Negative Elements" before coming back to the beginning here to read the rest of this review. I believe that they are some strong lessons within this play that need to be explored within a Christian context, since I personally have not found a Christian review on this musical. My intention in doing this is providing a reference for discernment, whether you have seen the play or not. It is not to prove my opinion right. Although I do hope than some of you will come to see that there is more to the plot of this play than witches. If you still disagree with me after fully reading this review, that’s fine, but please state your opinions in a kind, respectful way. Thank you
It was one the most fun memories I have from my first year of college when I got to see Wicked the Musical for the first time. The day before Thanksgiving Break of my first semester at Ozark Christian College in 2009, a group of about twenty of us (give or take a few) carpooled to Kansas City, KS (about 3 hours from Joplin) to go see the show together. I had never seen a Broadway level production before and I was so excited. My excitement only increased as I watched the play and was amazed by the quality of the production. Plus, I was with some of the girls that became my dearest friends at Ozark. After the show was over, we didn’t get back to campus until after 2am, but we were listening to the Wicked soundtrack the whole way home. It was so much fun!
A little over a year later, I had the chance to see Wicked again. This time, it was in Chicago and I was with two of my best friends from high school. All three of us had seen Wicked once before and wanted to see it again, so we went into the city together for the evening during our Christmas break that year (2010). I was so grateful to do that with those girls especially. We had a blast!
Part of my love for this musical is the fond memories I have of these experiences of getting to see it, as well as countless memories of enjoying its music at other times with other friends. But one of the other reasons I enjoy it so much is that I love the questions it poses about wickedness, justice, and friendship. Even though I don’t agree with everything in this play, I believe there is much to be learned if we take the time to look a little deeper into the message this play is trying to convey. These are the morals or lessons that the plot of Wicked teaches, and a Christian perspective on each one:
No One Mourns the Wicked (But We Should)
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Lion's Eyes Reviews is a blog dedicated to reviews of Christian books, most of which are non-fiction, but may also occasionally review movies and musicals. It will also feature the work Bethel does to help launch and promote the works of Christian authors.
The name is derived from one of Bethel's favorite books, Through the Eyes of a Lion by Levi Lusko. Through these reviews, Bethel hope to give Christians the tools they need to look at the world "through the eyes of a lion" so they can find the courage to "run toward the roar". To find the detailed archives of these reviews, you can check them out here: Books In Review Movies in Review Broadway In Review Quick Reviews To understand the rating used in these reviews, click here Categories
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Bethel Grove is a Christian young woman who loves to read and write, eat Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Blizzards, and disciple teen girls as a youth leader. What started as a hobby of writing book reviews and doing deep biblical studies eventually led her down the path of self-publishing and helping other Christian authors launch their books. She hopes to someday be a vocational youth minister and well-known author.
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