Some might ask, ‘What exactly is the Christian perspective? After all,’ they might rightly argue, ‘there are a wide variety of Christians in the world today who disagree on many things.’ By ‘Christian perspective’ I am not referring to an American, Republican, evangelical view, though it can be that. But this does not negate the fact that quality work written from a Christian perspective is greatly lacking. Of course there are many plays and musicals that are amicable, or at least not antithetical, to the Christian worldview, and it is these that most Christian theatre companies, groups, and educational departments often turn to. Undoubtedly there are others, and certainly there are smaller productions with smaller acclaim that have been done over the years (the recent success of The Christians by Lucas Hnath might be an example), but either I am not aware of them or they run below most people’s radar. The shows which have a reputation and name recognition are few: Godspell, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and perhaps Jesus Christ Superstar are the only ones that I could list. I was asked by a student a few years ago about what good Christian scripts and plays are in existence.
As sparse at that is, however, quality theatrical material written from a Christian perspective is even rarer. It exists in small pockets, such as Lamb’s Players Theater in San Diego, California, or Taproot Theater in Seattle, Washington, but these are the exception rather than the norm. Quality theatre presented from a Christian perspective is hard to find.
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