This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.
[LEFT PAGE] Though Sophocles's text for Oedipus is pagan, the story of an old man redeemed through suffering is Christian However, there were many obstacles to overcome. First, and not the least of which, was the fact that two white men were appropriating a religious black idiom for the purpose of presenting a pagan Greek classic. They were also working with deeply religious ministers and choir members who had their own reservations about using their talents in a seemingly secular project. Observes Butch Heyward, the production's 32-year-old organist who is a member of the Institutional Church of God in Christ in Brooklyn, “It was unheard of to go out and do anything but choir. When they invited us to participate, I was hearing a lot of negative sides that we shouldn't go. But then others said, 'Go. God is opening doors for you.' So we just walked on through.” “We were petrified,” says Breur. “We're students, admirers, sycophants, they're the real thing. But I think our sympathies were in the right direction. We weren't trying to superimpose some sort of different spirit on the form. We wanted to get as deep into the spirit as we could.” “I had to trust the incredible respect we had for the singers and the form,” says Telson. “You run into trouble when you phony it up. One thing I learned to do is give people enough room to personalize what they sang or played. I'd indicate the direction, and sometimes they'd go in directions you couldn't possibly imagine that'd be even more wonderful.” Even so, both Telson and Breuer realized that unless their cast felt good in their hearts about what they were singing, the experiment would not work. Depth of faith is critical to gospel. There have been many examples of gospel singers who have been unable to summon their fiery talent outside the church. Says cast member Carolyn Johnson White, “My brother Sam Johnson cut a record with Columbia several years ago, and I tried to sing with him. But I felt uncomfortable, out of place. I Couldn't release myself. The spirit didn't come to me.” And so, while the director noted to the cast that Sophocles's text was pagan, he also emphasized that the story was Christian: an old man is redeemed through suffering. Nonetheless, at the first rehearsal, things remained tentative and awkward until it came time for Morgan Freeman to deliver the Speech of The Messenger as “the sermon.” “It was word for word Sophocles,” recalls Breuer, “but it was all about the everlasting virtue of love, the love of God, the love of a Father for His children. At that moment, they understood two things: one, that they could've heard that sermon in church. And two, it was delivered by someone called The Messenger, and that's what they called Martin Luther King.” “We got over the hump then,” says Heyward. “We realized there was this spiritual connection. It was God-oriented.” Telson and Breuer respectively credit Heyward (“He is the purest emotional and spiritual embodiment of gospel”) and the Reverend Earl Miller as their invaluable guides in the idiom. The organist Heyward says that when rehearsals started out, “They began as if we were a black Baptist church. Now, I'm not knocking the Baptists, but some churches can be kind of reserved. What they were really looking for was that movement, that surge of energy you get in the Pentecostal church. And I was just trying to help them really get into it.” One way Heyward helped to summon the spirit was to underline the oratorical parts of the production with a percussive beat, opening the door on the idea of a “heightened language.” This was what fascinated Breuer about the rhythms of black preaching, which the Reverend Earl Miller had described to him as “acting for God.” “This is the key to why Martin Luther King was such a great speaker,” says Breuer. “He's the one who brought an African style of speaking, with all its hyp- 14 [RIGHT PAGE] [[advertisement]] [[16 images]] A few reasons we make more than one car. No two people are the same. Everybody expects something different from their car or truck. That's why Nissan® offers all kinds of different models with all kinds of different options. But, as different as each may be, they all have one very important thing in common. Every Nissan is a pleasure to both own and drive. Because at Nissan, we never forget why we build cars and trucks. Or, who we build them for. [[image Nissan logo]] Built for the Human Race™. [[/advertisement]]