LITCHVILLE, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Everyone is welcome to a community event in Litchville on Sunday February 25th.
Jonathan Swenson of Paraphrase Theatre will perform “Witnesses” in the Litchville/Marion Elementary School Gym at 2:30 p.m.
According to the news release, the production is an innovative and inspiring re-telling of the Gospel, Swenson portrays eight different characters as each responds to Jesus. Through these eye-witness accounts, both comedic and serious, the audience is encouraged to see Jesus from fresh perspectives; not cold and distant, but as one who was intimately involved in the “nitty-gritty” of life.
Swenson talked about the upcoming production with Steve Urness during a Voice of the Valley show.
Here are some of the eight characters Swenson will be playing:
The stingy Innkeeper, (with a Bronx accent) is a character who is money hungry, has no clue who is sleeping out in the back nor does he know who this child was that was born at his inn. He just wants to make money and would be shocked to find out who was really there.
The Tailor is one of Jonathan’s favorite characters in the show. He is an imagined childhood friend of Jesus who has been picked on, he’s hurt, perhaps even abused. Jesus is the one person in his childhood, who came to his defense and who was a friend. Jesus made a lasting impact on the tailor’s life.
Abe is a crazy man. He didn’t go to the Last Supper, but he went to the second to the last supper and he is very anxious to tell all of us every single detail. He used to not be able to speak, but now he can, thanks to Christ, and he is going to tell the world!
An Italian, pasta-loving Lazarus has experienced something that no one else has, he was dead and now he is back to life. He helps us understand that story with some of the humor that we might otherwise miss.
One of the characters you will meet on February 25th has two sides to him. First you will meet the Demonic, who is easy to see as evil and what we call, “demon possessed,” and yet as he encounters Christ and as Christ heals him, we meet a beautiful young man named, David who has been socially outcast because of his problems and now we see a man who is being welcomed into society, touched, loved for the first time. We see what happens when grace enters a person’s heart.
Barabbas is very human, he is a street fighter, he has “been there, done that” and yet he comes into the presence of Jesus Christ in a way he doesn’t expect, but in a way that he is forced to deal with and will forever change his life.
Thomas tends to be written off as the skeptic, or the “doubter,” but in this drama, we see someone who is heartbroken, has lost his friend, and is so overcome with grief that he has a hard time believing.
It is easy for us to take the gospel for granted sometimes and forget what the resurrection really means to us. When the people meet Peter, they are going to celebrate, laugh and experience the joy of Christ coming back in a really refreshing and a fun way.
This “fresh and evocative” performance is being sponsored by the Community Religous Events (CRE) six congregations of the Litchville/Marion area. A freewill offering will be received to help defray the expenses and to bring other events such as this to our community in the future. Refreshments will follow the performance.
Bring the whole family for an afternoon of drama ministry and fellowship with your friends and neighbors. Church groups – young and old, confirmation classes, high school youth groups, Bible study groups, etc. this is an event your group won’t want to miss! ALL ARE WELCOME!