Andy's Blog: A Personal Word
January 2008 Archive
Gospel of John • Live Touring Performance
Jan. 10, 2008
Coming to Trinity on Sunday, January 27
4 PM • Sanctuary
Everyone is Invited. Nursery Available.
It took nearly five months for actor Brad Sherrill to memorize all 20,000 words of The Gospel of John. He had plans to perform it just once at his home church in Atlanta, but has since presented John’s gospel more than 400 times in professional theaters and churches across the U.S. and Canada. On Sunday, January 27, 2008 at 4:00 PM, Sherrill will bring his celebrated touring performance to Trinity United Methodist Church in Homewood. The event will be in Trinity’s main sanctuary, and there is no admission charge. Nursery available. Everyone is cordially invited.
The Gospel of John is a one-man “live” performance of the fourth gospel in its entirety. Since its premiere in 2000, The Gospel of John’s 400 performances have included a six-week off-Broadway run at New York City’s historic Lamb’s Theatre (2003) and theater runs in Washington D.C., Toronto and Atlanta (from 2001-2005). It has also been performed at Yale School of Divinity (2002), the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD (2004) and American and Catholic universities in Washington D.C. (2005). In 2007, The Gospel of John will make its Chicago theater debut at Provision Theater Co. during the month of February.
With perhaps a dozen very simple props used in a variety of ways, Sherrill transforms the gospel into a captivating drama, presenting the entire story of the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. An estimated 80,000 people across the country have now experienced a rare opportunity to see and hear an entire gospel presented live in this dramatic fashion. Response to The Gospel of John has been overwhelmingly positive from clergy, lay members and the news media.
“An amazing achievement!” writes Kathy Janich in her review for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “The overriding question here is whether the word of God can work as a drama. Sherrill proves that it most certainly and successfully can,” said Janich. “You need only watch him as John the Baptist, testifying to his first sighting of Jesus Christ, to become a believer. And this moment comes less than 10 minutes into the show.”
The Washington Post adds: “The Gospel of John is a sweaty, gritty tale of a miracle-working idealist who runs afoul of the law. Passion, longing, envy, greed, ambition, intrigue and betrayal – it’s all here, and it is riveting!”
For more information visit: http://www.gospelofjohn.com
Brad Sherrill has acted professionally in Atlanta since 1983. He was selected by Atlanta Magazine in 2000 as Atlanta’s Best Dramatic Actor and by Creative Loafing (another Atlanta publication) in 2001 as Atlanta’s Best Actor. He has performed in 15 productions at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre and is an Artistic Associate for the Georgia Shakespeare Theatre where he has acted in more than 30 productions during 16 seasons. Sherrill began acting at the age of eleven at First United Methodist Church in Chamblee, GA, where he is still a member.
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