I could have only imagined what a wonderful program it would be. Today was the day. We left the church about 7:30 a.m. for the three-hours-plus drive to Lafayette, which gave us plenty of time to go to the restroom after we arrived and be at the doors when they opened at 11:30.
As soon as we entered the theater, we were serenaded by Christmas classics played in an upbeat style by a versatile theater organ. Then came time for the show. The first half--about an hour--was a tour de force of singing and dancing by the school's several different choirs in a musical revue that's worthy of Broadway. It's hard to imagine that Purdue doesn't even offer a music major and all these students are volunteers. The act ended with the stage full of all the singers, more than 200 of them, and the arrival of a flying Santa as the finale.
Then came the second act--with all these hundreds of singers arranged in silver robes on risers in a massive choir to sing another hour of sacred Christmas songs. You won't hear a more Jesus-centered, God-honoring program in any church this season. It was thrilling and remarkable.
It's difficult to describe the impact of these always-smiling, moving, performing singers. When they used choreography, it was perfect. When they were moving freely, each singer expressing his own personality, it was engaging. When they stood perfectly still and sang a capella (only once or twice in the whole concert; the rest was accompanied by a top-rate live orchestra), their performance was perfect.
(For a clip of last year's show, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leXQrGQCWFU, which gives a better idea of the impact of these performers.)
We ate dinner as a group before leaving Lafayette and enjoyed happy conversation with the 51 others on the bus, all the way there and back. It was a great day. And we got home in time for me to report on it here!
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| I snapped this picture of the stage as guests were arriving for the noon show today. |
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