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“Newsies” and the Arc of the Moral Universe

“Newsies” and the Arc of the Moral Universe

"Newsies" and the Arc of the Moral Universe

When the Christian Bale version of Newsies first came out in 1992, it was a box office failure, and reviews were mixed. It cost $15 million to make and grossed $3 million in ticket sales. When Disney hired Christian Bale to play the role of Jack Kelly, they didn’t even tell him it was a musical. When it didn’t yield the expected dividend, they put the reel on the shelf and forgot about it. Yet I loved it, so much so that I naively wrote to the Disney Company and asked if they’d allow me to write a stage version of the movie. I was convinced it was perfect for the stage! Apparently, so did many other theatre groups, as unauthorized and illegal stage versions kept cropping up all over the country. Newsies was gaining steam. 

Well, just like you can’t keep a good newsie down, I guess you can’t keep a good story down! Disney finally decided that if there was a populist movement behind this story, maybe they should take another look. In 2011, the stage musical premiered at the New Jersey regional theatre, Paper Mill Playhouse, to popular acclaim, and it went on to Broadway in 2012 for a three-year run. It cost $5 million to stage, which was recouped in seven months, and became the fastest Disney musical on Broadway to make a profit. Walt, you should’ve listened to me…feels so good to be right! 

Pushing personal validation aside, the larger question remains. What is so appealing about this story? Why are we drawn to it? Why did audiences come to their feet multiple times in the middle of scenes during Broadway performances? What are those toe-tapping newsies fighting for that makes their story so compelling? It’s a question I always ask my casts, so I asked them. What do the newsies want? “Justice.” “A chance at a better life.” “To be respected.” “To not feel powerless.” “To have some control over their own destiny.” “To love.” “To be loved.” “A community.” “A family.” “A home.” 

And so, the question comes to you: what do all those answers have in common? We live in an age where we see not only young, mostly white and uniformly beautiful people dancing across a stage at Calvary University with these same needs, we see these desires in all colors and all ethnic groups across this globe. Refugee camps in Syria. Human trafficking in China. Detainment camps at the Mexican border. Clandestine schools for girls in Afghanistan. The corners of intersections outside your local Walmart. Marginalized, impoverished, powerless people are everywhere, all dreaming the same dream: Santa Fe. 

Where does it say ya gotta live and die here? Where does it say a guy can’t catch a break? 

Why should you only take what you’re given? Why should you spend your whole life livin’ 

Trapped where there ain’t no future, even at seventeen, Breakin’ your back for someone else’s sake? 

If the life don’t seem to suit ya, how ‘bout a change of scene, 

Far from the lousy headlines and the deadlines in between? 

Santa Fe! My old friend, I can’t spend my whole life dreamin’ 

Though I know that’s all I seem inclined to do. I ain’t getting’ any younger, 

And I wanna start brand new. I need space. And fresh air. 

Let ‘em laugh in my face, I don’t care–save my place, I’ll be there… 

Just be real is all I’m askin’, not some painting in my head 

Cause I’m dead if I can’t count on you today. 

I got nuthin’ if I ain’t got Santa Fe! 

 Jack personifies his dream of Santa Fe in Act One’s final defining moments, “Just be real is all I’m askin.’” So, what is it that fuels our dreams and weaves the common, connecting human thread? Hope. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” This is our hope: God is not only just, He bends the arc. Newsies is a story about the bending power of hope. 

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 

Through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; 

And we exult in hope of the glory of God. 

And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 

And perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 

And hope does not disappoint… 

Romans 5:1-5a

Newsies opens March 7 with an 11:00 a.m. matinee and continues on March 8, 9, 15, and 16 at 7:30 p.m. and March 10 and 17 at 2:00 p.m. For tickets, go to our box office: https://www.calvary.edu/theatre-box-office/

 

Auction Postponed with Many Events on the Horizon

Auction Postponed with Many Events on the Horizon

Weekly Portraits of Calvary Life

Due to the forecast of more winter weather, the Feast & Fund Auction has been postponed until March 29.  We hope our supporters will be able to change their plans or make new plans to attend on this date.  Click here to sign up.

March is a very busy month for Calvary.  The Theatre Department will be presenting Newsies seven times over the next two weekends.  Click here to purchase tickets.  We also have Calvary Days, our campus preview event, coming up next weekend.  Click here for more information.

In the midst of all this activity, Cycle 4 will be ending, and a new cycle will be beginning.  Shortly after that is Spring Break which coincides with the Chorale Tour.  Click here to see the Chorale’s schedule which includes stops in Kansas, Colorado, and Nebraska.

The end of March brings the new auction date and a recital by senior Cherrish Palmer.  Would you pray that the weather has no further impact on any of these events?  We thank the Lord for each of the students, faculty, and staff who make these events happen.  Would you pray for health and energy to abound?  Finally, we hope you’ll consider attending one or more of the upcoming events!

Sara Klaassen

Alumni Relations Coordinator

Upcoming Calvary Events

Calvary Days                                March 7-9

Newsies performances               March 7-10, 15-17

End of Cycle 4                              March 8

Start of Cycle 5                            March 11

Chorale Tour                                March 18-26

Feast & Fund Auction                 March 29

Cherrish Palmer’s Senior Recital        March 29

“Music of Germany”

“Music of Germany”

Calvary Music Faculty and Special Guest Artist, Keum Hwa Cha

February 23, 3 p.m.

Calvary University’s Music Department presents “Music of Germany” featuring a variety of music by beloved German composers on Saturday, February 23, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. at Blue River Bible Church, 15608 Fairchild Dr, Kansas City, MO 64147.  This is a FREE concert.  Enjoy selections by J.S. Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms and R. Strauss both vocal and instrumental selections as performed by our Music Department Faculty and a Special Guest Artist.

GUEST ARTIST

Keum Hwa Cha, Violin

Dr. Keum Hwa Cha is a violinist and violist who has given numerous concerts as a soloist, chamber musician and concertmaster in the United States and in South Korea.

Visit Website

Dr. Haekyung An

Soprano

M.Mus., M.Mus., D.M.A., Associate Professor of Music, Calvary University

Un Chong Christopher

Piano and Mezzo-soprano

M.Mus., Associate Professor of Music, Head of Piano, Calvary University

Calvary University Presents “An Old Time Family Christmas”

Calvary University Presents “An Old Time Family Christmas”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Old Time Family Christmas

Calvary University invites you to start your Christmas season with our Music Department as they present An Old Time Family Christmas.  Come, join us on Friday, December 7, 2018, at 7:00 pm at Blue River Bible Church, 15608 Fairchild Dr, Kansas City, MO, across the street from the Calvary Campus.

Enjoy the voices of our own Calvary Chorale, our new traveling singing group, lux voces, instrument ensemble, special guest artist plus voices and instruments of various Music Department students and faculty.

Ticket Information:

  • $10.00 adults
  • $7.00 for seniors (65+) & students
  •  Children 4 and under are free.  

Online ticket sales have closed. Tickets may still be purchased at the door.

Calvary Masterworks Chorus presents John Rutter’s Requiem

Calvary Masterworks Chorus presents John Rutter’s Requiem

John Rutter’s “Requiem” 

The 2018 Calvary Masterworks Chorus invites you to enjoy an evening of classical & hymn music as they present John Rutter’s “Requiem.”

Our Masterworks Concert will open with a series of beloved hymns by Charles Wesley, John Newton, and Isaac Watts that have been rethought by British Composer and jazz pianist, Christopher Norton. These beautiful, creative, and moving arrangements accompanied by a pipe organ give a new sense of beauty to the 18th-century texts. John Rutter’s “Requiem” was completed in 1985 and is a choral masterpiece. His setting of this work is beautiful, with melodies that illustrate the depth of the text. The text is a mixture of Latin and English and includes a movement that features his famous setting of Psalm 23. 

  • Please join us on Friday, November 9, 2018, at 7:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 416 S.E. Grand Ave., Lee’s Summit, MO 64063 to hear this wonderful Masterwork.  
  • Tickets – $10.00 Adults, $7.00 for Seniors (65+) and Students, Children 4 and under are free.  Tickets may be purchased online with the form below or at the Calvary University switchboard. 

Online sales have closed. Tickets may still be purchased at the door.

Calvary University Introduces “lux voces”

Calvary University Introduces “lux voces”

Calvary University introduces their new traveling music group lux voces.  The group consists of Calvary students and alumni. 

This new group is made up of young, talented musicians, praising God through their music using vocals, guitars, drums and piano in their performances.  Our goal is to serve Christian schools and churches by sharing the good news of Jesus Christ through music and testimonies.

The group will be available for Sunday morning church services and Christian school chapels as a way to introduce or familiarize Calvary University to families around the metro area with an interest in a local university.

The group debuted at the President’s Dinner in September to a great response.  Would you like to have lux voces visit your church or school?  They are now scheduling for the 2018-2019 season.  The group has their own equipment, sound technician, and sponsors for each performance. 

For scheduling: contact Teresa Purinton

   

Scheduled Church Dates:

Sunday – November 11 – 10:45 a.m. – Northwest Bible Church – Kansas City, MO

Sunday – December 2 – 10:30 a.m. – Lawson Bible Church – Lawson, MO

Friday – December 7 – 7:00 p.m. – Calvary University Christmas Concert – Kansas City, MO

Sunday – January 27 – 10:45 a.m. – Abiding Faith Baptist Church & Mission – Kansas City, MO

Sunday – February 3 – TBA – Pleasant Grove Bible Church – Kansas City, MO

Sunday – February 17 – TBA – Elm Springs Baptist Church – Kingsville, MO

Friday – April 12 – 7:00 p.m. – Calvary University Spring Concert – Kansas City, MO

*For scheduling: contact Teresa Purinton