37th St. Thomas Passion Play

The Mission Statement of the St. Thomas Passion Play is very clear.

“We are a community of people from various places, walks of life, and religious expressions of Christian faith who gather under the auspices of Saint Thomas Parish to reenact the Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through the “Passion Play”. Our goal is to build the Christian community of Southington through the gathering of prayer, by producing a theatrical offering of thanksgiving to God by using our talents for His Glory and for the sake of the Gospel. We wish to accomplish this by offering a safe, dignified, respectful and loving community. All who wish to participate in this prayer are welcome. No one will be judged for where they are in their walk with the Lord. We discriminate against no one. We value all aspects of participation, and every sacrifice made to our common goal. We do not offer our identities in either our public literature or to the media. We seek to offer a true and heart-filled prayer to God in thanks for the offering of His Son, as well as the blessing of community through the Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit.”

So this review will be very different from the norm and very general in nature. I was very impressed with the quality of this prayerful two-hour production presented in the school auditorium. Twenty-one scenes take the audience on a biblical journey that begins with the birth of the Savior, through His ministry and the events of Holy Week, and finally His Resurrection.

Father Nicholas P. Melo writes in the program that “’We Believe’ is the theme of this year’s Passion Play. What an appropriate title of what is celebrated here for our community--the very core of all we believe as Christians.” The priest continues, “It is amazing to watch people of all ages, of different Christian denominations, come from near and far, week after week, for several months, just for one reason--their belief that Jesus IS our Lord and Savior.”

A large group of adult actors perform the familiar events of Christ’s life, while an even larger chorus and youth ensembles back them up. An impressively large number of men played the requisite number of male roles. Of course the youngest member of cast that appeared as members of the crowd and angels were adorable. When the entire cast lined up in single file around the perimeter of the large gym, there were no empty spaces.

The action is mixed with musical numbers of carefully chosen contemporary Christian music, some performed by the choruses and some by a small group of pit singers that also sang a prelude. All are accompanied by an orchestra in the pit. “Mary Did You Know,” “Trial Before Pilate (Including the Thirty-Nine Lashes)“ from ‘Jesus Christ Superstar,’ “Exult You Just Ones” by Roc O’Connor “God and Man at Table Are Sat Down” and Michael W. Smith’s “Agnus Dei” were the ones that I recognized this year.

The actors make use of the entire space, especially the center of the cross formed by the aisles. Sitting in the front row of the break made us feel like we were part of the action. There were some beautiful set changes when needed and the requisite crosses. The lighting was extremely well-done for this space; especially the mood set for the Garden of Gethsemane and the tableau of “The Last Supper.” The storm that followed Jesus’ death was also pretty impressive.

All of the actors and singers have been rehearsing since January. Every one of them gave a wonderfully prayerful and inspiring performance. Thank you to the cast, crew and musicians who helped present the 37th annual Passion Play.

PASSION PLAY TICKETS
Listed below are the contact names and phone numbers to obtain
tickets for Saint Thomas’ 37th Annual Passion Play.
Diane 860-628-4197 Lois 860-621-0411
Ginny 860-628-4628 Janet 860-621-6347

Remaining Performances
TUESDAY MARCH 31st cast B 7:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY APRIL 1st cast A 7:30 p.m.
GOOD FRIDAY APRIL 3rd cast B 7:30 p.m

Tickets are FREE but you need one to get in. Donations can be given after the two hour performance. Get there early because it is General Admission.

From The Waterbury Area:
1. Follow I-84 East to exit 30, “Marion Avenue”
2. Turn left at the end of the new ramp.
3. Turn right at the next traffic light.
4. Appx 100 yards there is a new traffic light, go straight across.
5. Follow appx. 3/4 mile to center of Plantsville.
6. Bear left (more straight than left actually) at light. Bank is on the right. (You are actually on Route 10 North)
7. Follow appx. 3/4 mile to left turn onto “Bristol Street”.
8. St. Thomas Church / School are appx. 3/4 mile on right.

Pictured: Members of the chorus in a previous production