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Jonah |
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Go way down deep in the belly of a whale...
a new muscial by David Messick
Join Jonah inside the belly of the whale as Rainbow Puppet Productions presents the musical production of "Jonah." "This is one of the most elaborate productions we have ever created," says
writer and director David Messick. "The puppets are on a ship in the midst of a
terrible storm, Jonah is grabbed into the sea and swallowed by a whale puppet that’s
almost six feet tall. Later, through black light puppetry, we join Jonah inside the belly
of the whale." "We have tried to incorporate multiple puppet styles into this presentation. There are standard wide-mouth people puppets, a parade puppet that rises ten feet into the air, and numerous sea creatures presented with rod puppets and hand puppets." "Jonah" premiered to a standing ovation at the Virginia Festival
of Puppet Ministry and Creative Arts in August. "This was despite, or perhaps because
of a technical glitch that brought the gates of Ninevah crashing to the ground in the
middle of the show," said set designer Jason Wiedel. The story is based on the
traditional Old Testament tale of Jonah. Instead reaching out to others, Jonah tries to
defy God by taking a ship to the far corner of the earth. Jonah’s plan is thwarted
when he ends up overboard and soon finds himself inside the belly of the whale. In addition to diverse styles of puppets, the musical score draws from various song forms. "Jonah was probably the most charismatic character of his day… really able to move a crowd," says Messick. "His opening number has the feel of a Ricky Martin musical number with dancing and a wide array of colorful puppets." Other musical styles include a number performed by fish inside the whale’s stomach. "Since Jonah is trying to runaway from his responsibilities, I thought of the old Del Shannon song ‘Runaway’ and created a song with that 1960’s pop feel." Newport News artist Laura Huff created principal puppets, including the giant whale. She previously crafted giant dinosaurs for Rainbow’s "Really Big Dinosaur Show." Other puppets and props are by Joyce Timberlake, Fiona Andrews, Christine Frank, Kathie Davis, and Jill Harrington. The original songs were arranged and recorded by Steve Scheffler. Scheffler also created many of the vocal characterizations heard in the program. Wiedel provides the voice for Jonah. Other vocal performances are by Tim Add to the event... combine "Jonah" with our "Noah" program.
"The JONAH SHOW was GREAT. I am one of your biggest fans and am just sorry I haven't seen all of your shows.
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JONAH!
See it now! / Jonah clip (Windows Media)
Tharrington; Frank Mailander;
Chris and Don Bartlett; Lisa, Rich, and Tyler Ryan; Fiona, Jillian and Sarah Andrews.
Newcomer to Rainbow, Beverley Slayton, provides his rich bass voice as God.
