Loading...The children, choir and adults of St. James Episcopal Church, Shelbyville, are performing “EEK!!! A Christmas Musical” on Sunday morning Dec. 27 in the Fellowship Hall on Main Street in Shelbyville just after 10 a.m. Eucharist.
This is the first Christmas play held in the parish in many years and the first musical. EEK!!! Is a modern morality play featuring the Holy Family’s visit to the Inn at Bethlehem. There they meet the innkeeper, whose warm heart and generosity allow him to welcome Mary and Joseph and to cherish the star and its signal of a miracle of timeless dimensions. By contrast his wife is so caught up with materialism and selfish values, she actively dismisses this most important event while she goes shopping, returning to “shoo” away the family in the stable. All is not lost, however, when all the small children of the parish, dressed like mice, scare the innkeeper’s wife away, and all end up singing “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”
The older children are all working with adult advisors, building sets, handling lights, cameras, and costumes and stage management. They will be filming the performance and in January will learn how to edit a movie and make DVDs of St. James’ performance of EEK!!!
EEK!!! Is published by St. James Music Press, Music by Richard Shephard;
Lyrics by Mark Schweizer. A one-time fee of $40 permits photocopying the materials, and it comes with production notes and practical ideas for costuming and set design. The play seems particularly applicable for small churches, and combines humor with a healthy dose of moral values without getting preachy. Teaching the little ones how to scurry like mice and go EEK at the top of their lungs does not seem to be a problem so far.
Starring are the following parishioners:
Cast: Innkeeper – Mike Cowan
Innkeeper’s Wife – Diane Coon
Mary - Madison Walters
Joseph – William Thompson
Baby Jesus – James Sheldon
Inkeeper’s Mother-in-law – Pauline Walters
Visitors to the Inn – Jane Bellman, Molly Cowan, Karen Crawford, Audrey Sheldon
Mice – Daniel Elmore, Miriam, Matilda, and Margaret Sheldon, James and Jackson Sloan
Members of the production crew follow:
St. James Shelbyville’s Production & Stage Management
Music Director: Paul Salmon
Stage Management: B. J. Campbell, Christiana Olsson, Cindy Weinmann, Halleigh Olsson
Set Design/Building: Matt Walters, Tom Nelson, Chris Sloan, Jerry Tinney, Jake Tinney
Sound, Lighting, Cameras: Tim Crawford, Jack Clark, Taylor Crawford, Charles Boughton
Costumes: Mo Wakefield, Terry Walters, Janie Butler, Betty Boughton, Madison Walters, Harley Tinney
