Religion and Broadway

The Tony Awards is the only award show I watch on television. Minor awards are given out pre-show, leaving only handful of the “Best” awards for the broadcast, including best musical, best play, best actor, and best actress. We are treated to a series of blockbuster acts from the best of the best that Broadway has to offer while blessedly relieved of having to sit through best supporting script writer who also does stage lighting awards. It is the best promotional show on television. I usually end up scheduling a trip to New York after watching it!!!

This year was interesting. A plethora of revivals showcases the fear investors have of the new and unproven. Even stage plays featured revivals like Death of a Salesman. New musicals included the award winner Once beating out Leap of Faith, Newsies, and Nice Work If You Can Get It. Even these shows demonstrate timidity, with Leap of Faith being based on Steve Martin’s tour de force movie from 10 years ago, and Nice Work based entirely on Gershwin tunes.

But what really surprised me tonight was a plethora of Broadway shows with a religious theme. There were revivals of Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar; Leap of Faith ( now closed) based on a traveling evangelist who runs into a real miracle; and last year’s Tony winner The Book of Mormon, an irreverent look at the Mormon religion.

I find it somewhat ironic that Broadway…that hot bed of liberalism…is still fascinated with religion, which is viewed a forbidden fruit by some. Three of these musicals are straight forward attestations of faith. In the now closed Leap of Faith, Rev. Nightingale runs a scam on Kansas farmers telling them he can make it rain to break a drought. He dummies up a fake Christ on the Cross with tears of blood streaming down from Jesus’ eyes. In the process, he crosses paths with a crippled boy who believes what the good Reverend is peddling and later walks without his braces or crutches. Faced with a true miracle of faith, Rev. Nightingale runs away to come to terms with his personal belief system

Jesus Christ Superstar is a moldy oldie from the 1960’s rock opera days. It has held up well. Jesus’ crucifixion is viewed through the eyes of Judas, who is the storyteller and cannot come to terms with Jesus combined humanity and divinity. The music is outstanding. I Don’t Know How To Love Him is probably the most famous tune from the show. It is sung by Mary Magdalene as she wrestles with the same issues facing Judas. The song ends with her concluding that despite what she has seen, He is just a man.

Written in 1971, Godspell is based on the Gospel of Matthew. Like JC Superstar, there is a variety of styles of music, but it is far less intense and you leave humming Day by Day to help get you through your life. It is a feel good musical and favorite of local theater groups.

I’m not sure why the resurgence of religious themed plays and musicals is happening now. It costs a lot of money to see any of these shows. I find it fascinating that when times are tough, and attendance in mainstream Protestant churches is down by almost 35% from the attendance high point set in 1965, that these types of entertainments can be successful. But they are, and they are winning awards as icing on the cake.

Faith in America is an enigma. While we are surrounded by secularism, our souls are still looking for the sacred. Maybe Broadway is a strange place to look. But in this day and age, any port in a storm.