I have to be honest, I’ve never been a big fan of drama.  I’m not talking about the typical Republican/ Democrat drama or Yankees/Red Sox kind of drama.  I’m speaking of plays, skits and especially musicals.  I don’t know, personally it’s just hard for me to look past the overacting, huge arm movements and overall gestures of gigantic proportion.  When I hear the word “musical”, I generally translate that to mean singers who can’t act and actors who can’t sing.  How harsh, I know.

This was my frame of mind until I was invited to see the rock opera !Hero in Tulsa, OK.  I didn’t know much about it except the fact that its cast included some of today’s top Christian music artists.  I mean, with a cast that included the time-tested talents of Michael Tait, Rebecca St. James and Mark Stuart, how could it be all that bad?

Much to my surprise, shortly after the first song, I too was engulfed by the excitement that the rest of the audience was feeling.  This abstract masterpiece, which was the brainchild of industry legend Eddie DeGarmo, revisited a tried and true story but was delivered from a futuristic angle.

The original music created for !Hero was what really sold me on the presentation.  Each song was crafted to follow a perfect timeline of the last days of Christ on earth.  A rock driven musical format was predominant and well represented.  However, everything from a tongue numbing rap from rapper T-Bone, to beautiful ballads were on the menu as well… a little taste of everything.

Not only did Tait, St. James and Stuart deliver an expected and very impressive performance, I was floored by the talent of some up-and-coming artists.  Billy Buchanan (lead singer of FUSEBOX) gave every indication that he is going to be around for a long, long time.  His vocals added a dynamic to the rock opera that would have been difficult for even the most seasoned musician to achieve.  Also unveiled were Donnie Lewis (where has she been hiding) and Gotee recording artist Paul Wright. 

!Hero isn’t a mystery or a thriller.  You don’t have to figure out if Professor Plum used a candle stick or a lead pipe to “off” someone in the library.  Most importantly, you don’t have to worry about me spoiling the ending for you.  As believers, we all know the ending - an ending that has sealed our eternity through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Although the outcome is predictable !Hero lets you view the last days of Christ with a different set of eyes than you’re used to… a “21st Century Passion Play” so to speak.

The bad news is that if you haven’t already seen the live production, you probably won’t be able to anytime soon.  Due to the artist’s schedules and touring rigors, I’d imagine an encore tour of !Hero would be difficult to achieve.

The good news is that a live performance DVD is now available.  Not just a DVD, a Dove Award nominated DVD.  Although it’s tough to catch the atmosphere of a live production on film, I was surprised at how well the DVD was actually able to do this.  A project like !Hero doesn’t come around very often and I highly recommend you do yourself a favor and check it out.

I can’t believe I actually liked a musical…shhh…don’t tell anyone I said that.
 

Bruce Johnson is an award winning songwriter and staff member of MMGI.  He is also the founder of Ten ‘til Two Music based in Lowell, Arkansas.  To reach Bruce, email him at 10til2@cox-internet.com