Does Theatre Last Forever: Evangeline The Musical Review

One question I have for myself that I think about a lot is does theatre create legacy. Because it disappears after it is done. We take down the set, we pack up the props and boom it’s gone. But the text is still in the body and mind of the actors. The ideas went into the air and they influence the audience. So in some ways it lives on inside of us.

Two weekends ago, I went and saw my absolute favorite musical of all time called Evangeline The Musical at Manship Theater. I saw Evangeline for the first time when I was a senior in high school. It moved me in such a deep way, I really think it’s one of the reasons I chose to go to school for theatre. My grandma had always taken me to the theater for my entire childhood, but this musical was different. It was about spiritual commitment to one another and to God. Because as a teen I had such a strong spiritual connection to God I felt as thought there couldn’t be anything better than a musical that pointed to God as such a resource of peace for humanity.

The commitment of the actors reminded me of the Broadway play I’d seen six months prior called Les Miserables, which I’d seen over the Christmas of my senior year. At the end when the curtain came down, I’d felt as though I’d had a deep, spiritual experience, and I couldn’t stop weeping. My whole body felt alive. And the display of God’s forgiveness in this play made me want to create similar creative feats. I wanted everyone to feel God’s love the way it was displayed in Les Miserables.

Evangeline did not disappoint this past weekend. It was just as spiritually moving as I remembered it to be in high school. I had the CD and the VHS tape, which I’d watched and listened to a number of times since high schools, and there’s something about a live performance that’s so much more moving and captivating and spiritual than listening to it later. Which brings me back to my question, does theatre leave a legacy? I believe it does in the spiritual sense. Once you have seen a play and it’s moved you in a deep spiritual way, there’s no way to unsee it. The actors are vessels of communication and are tasked with portraying a message that can stick with you forever. It takes so many hours to prepare, and it becomes a feast for the audience to devour once they sit down in their seats.

Evangeline was quite the feast. There was Ana Andricain, who I’d seen in the PBS special that I’d watched on the VHS tape, but never in person, and her connection to the role and incredible stage presence gave everyone chills throughout her performance as Evangeline. I was surprised by my film buddy, Jason Dowies, who brought such a strong voice and characterwork to the lead male role, Gabriel. Ana and him together were the perfect match. The friar, Andre Chapoy, who played it 30 years ago when I was in high school, and watching him do it again this weekend moved me again in such a deep way. He’s changed so much as an actor and as a man and you could see the play meant so much to him now and that the words had more depth. It resonated with the audience in such a deep way, and he even came to tears at one point. My heart felt like it was going to fall out of my chest. I wondered why he was not on Broadway right now.

I had a few actors on the stage who were special because they actually attend our acting school, Elaine Courrege and my friend’s daughter Lucy who came to our summer camp, and they were both in the show and I was so proud of them. When the cast breaks down in the song ,“Worth the Wait” at the end of the show, the whole room was trembling in the presence of God— not a dry eye in the house. I do believe they deserve an encore performance. I’d watch it 10 times if I could.

I find theatre art to be a calling and a social impact art form. It truly can change the world, one play at a time.