{"id":749,"date":"2009-04-30T04:01:14","date_gmt":"2009-04-30T04:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2009\/04\/great-expectations-the-musical.html"},"modified":"2009-04-30T04:01:14","modified_gmt":"2009-04-30T04:01:14","slug":"great-expectations-the-musical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/04\/great-expectations-the-musical.html","title":{"rendered":"Great Expectations . . . The Musical"},"content":{"rendered":"

A couple of days ago I saw Great Expectations: The Musical<\/em>. It was performed at the Boerne Community Theatre<\/a> by the Teen Troupe. Now I might have seen this musical simply because Great Expectations<\/em> is one of my favorite novels, but I was significantly motivated by the fact that my son, Nathan, has a major role in the performance. He played the role of Joe Gargery, Pip’s brother-in-law, mentor, and father figure. (Photo: Nathan, standing, sings to Pip “Ever the Best of Friends.” Yes, Nathan does have red hair!)
\nThis musical version of Great Expectations<\/em> is a decent adaptation of Charles Dickens’ original. Of course much had to be cut to make it fit into 90 minutes or so. I was particularly disappointed with the disappearance of Uncle Pumblechook, one of Dickens’ most pompous, laughable characters. And the ending of the musical was rather weak, but so is the ending of the novel. (In fact, the official ending of Great Expectations<\/em> is the second one written by Dickens, a happier but less convincing ending, in my opinion.)
\nI love Great Expectations<\/em> for many reasons.\u00a0 It is full of surprises (none of which I’ll spoil here, in deference to my son the blogger<\/a>). The characters are fascinating. The local color is rich, as is usually the case with Dickens.
\nBut what I love most of all about Great Expectations<\/em> is the way goodness proves to be redemptive, even through suffering and hardship. In fact, the basic goodness in the novel belongs to none other than Joe Gargery, the character played by Nathan in the musical. At first, Joe’s kindness and patience seem simplistic and naive. But, in the end, the ripple effects from his goodness touch many characters. I won’t say more than this. But I was thrilled to have my son playing one of my favorite roles in one of my favorite stories. (If someday he can play Javert, my life will be complete. Talk about living vicariously through you son . . . wow!)
\nI doubt you’ll be able to see Great Expectations: The Musical<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 This adaptation, by David and Karen Coons, is rarely performed these days. But you can<\/em> read the novel, and this I HIGHLY<\/em><\/strong> recommend. Like me, you may have read it years ago in school. But I promise you that an adult re-reading will pay rich benefits. If you want a special treat, listen to the novel read by Frank Mueller. He is an absolutely superb reader, whose various voices are convincing. You can find it at Audible.com<\/a> or iTunes<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A couple of days ago I saw Great Expectations: The Musical. It was performed at the Boerne Community Theatre by the Teen Troupe. Now I might have seen this musical simply because Great Expectations is one of my favorite novels, but I was significantly motivated by the fact that my son, Nathan, has a major…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-recommendations"],"yoast_head":"\nGreat Expectations . . . The Musical - Mark D. 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The Musical"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/","name":"Mark D. Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}