Religion the musical!

Religion 2812

 

The use of musical theatre (and musical theatre productions) present allegorical adaptations of theological concepts. Musical theatre is becoming a tool to modernize theological ideas as a means of making them more “marketable” to the general public by looking at not only the literary aspects of religion, but also the culture of religion that includes such aspects as family, identity, mass culture, and acceptance.

 

Through the use of the musicals “Jesus Christ Superstar”, “The Book of Mormon”, and “Children of Eden”, the above topics will be explored in relation to religious adaptation.

 

These three musical theatre shows look at the face value representation of characters, the production elements that contribute to the shows “physical reality”, as well as the use of music and lyrics to convey theological ideology. Overall, the conclusions that are made will look at the use of musicals to convey religious ideas, as well as how they can mirror modern perceptions and stereotypes of religion.