Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus Presents World Premiere of The Ten Commandments: The Musical
Sat. March 18, 2006 12:00 AM
Chicago, IL -
What started out as a joke at a board meeting has become one of the most ambitious—and highly anticipated—productions ever staged by the Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus.
“The Ten Commandments: The Musical,” which runs April 21-22 at the historic Athenaeum Theatre, will deliver the story of Moses with healthy doses of high camp, high drama and even a few high heels.
“I was sitting with the CGMC board of directors a few years ago when one of the members asked me what our next big production was going to be,” explains Patrick Sinozich, artistic director of the chorus and half the creative team behind the show. “I blurted out ‘The Ten Commandments: The Musical’ just to be funny. But everyone smiled and nodded as though it were a good idea.”
The more he thought about it, though, the more Sinozich realized it actually WAS a good idea. The story of Moses leading the Hebrews out of Egypt is packed with the kinds of drama and heroic figures and plot twists that have kept epic musicals popular for decades.
And the CGMC version isn’t the first attempt to turn the story into something more theatrical; Cecil B. DeMille filmed it twice, first in 1923 and then in 1956 with Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner and Anne Baxter. Ben Kingsley played the lead in the 1996 TV movie “Moses,” and Val Kilmer voiced both Moses and God in 1998’s animated “Prince of Egypt.”
“And we won’t even mention Dudley Moore’s horrible ‘Wholly Moses!’ in 1980,” adds Sinozich with a shudder.
Heavily influenced by everything from Monty Python to Gilbert and Sullivan to “Les Misérables,” “The Ten Commandments: The Musical” is a homage to everything Sinozich loves about musical theater: its pageantry, its spectacle and—yes—its ridiculous penchant for making people break into song at the drop of a hat.
Sinozich wrote the book, music and lyrics with CGMC member Bill Larkin, best known to Chicago audiences for his spirited performances at Howl at the Moon piano bar. Sinozich has been arranging music for the chorus for 10 years, and Larkin has written comedy songs for radio and TV for almost as long.
The original score they wrote together explores a range of styles including ragtime, doo-wop, gospel and the soul-stirring anthems that make musical theater so compelling.
And while they found they made a great creative team, working with only gay men and a non-profit budget gave Sinozich and Larkin plenty of creative challenges.
“First of all,” says Larkin, “we identified seven leads as we mapped out the storyline. But we had the budget for only six wireless microphones. So we had to make one of the leads a mute. Have you ever tried writing a song for a mute?”
But he adds, “There is a lot for gay men to enjoy in this story: drama, splendor, bitchiness … it’s essentially ‘Desperate Housewives B.C.’ And we have a central character who struggles to find out who he is and where he belongs, which any of us can relate to.”
Bringing scriptural stories to life with a chorus of gay men might raise red flags on both sides of the religious divide, but Sinozich is uniquely qualified to bridge the gap; he spent five years studying theology, philosophy and scripture while a member of the Franciscan Friars. “Our version of the story is actually true to the Book of Exodus,” he emphasizes. “Despite the laughs, there is a powerful message of a people in bondage given their freedom. And the song sung by the Hebrews when Ramses finally sets them free is a tremendously moving moment.”
“The Ten Commandments: The Musical,” directed by Jay Paul Skelton with choreography by Keith Elliott and Jake Stigers, runs Friday, April 21, at 8:00 pm and Saturday, April 22, at 5:00 and 8:30 pm in the historic Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport. Tickets are available in person at the Athenaeum Box Office or online at www.cgmc.org.
“The Ten Commandments: The Musical,” which runs April 21-22 at the historic Athenaeum Theatre, will deliver the story of Moses with healthy doses of high camp, high drama and even a few high heels.
“I was sitting with the CGMC board of directors a few years ago when one of the members asked me what our next big production was going to be,” explains Patrick Sinozich, artistic director of the chorus and half the creative team behind the show. “I blurted out ‘The Ten Commandments: The Musical’ just to be funny. But everyone smiled and nodded as though it were a good idea.”
The more he thought about it, though, the more Sinozich realized it actually WAS a good idea. The story of Moses leading the Hebrews out of Egypt is packed with the kinds of drama and heroic figures and plot twists that have kept epic musicals popular for decades.
And the CGMC version isn’t the first attempt to turn the story into something more theatrical; Cecil B. DeMille filmed it twice, first in 1923 and then in 1956 with Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner and Anne Baxter. Ben Kingsley played the lead in the 1996 TV movie “Moses,” and Val Kilmer voiced both Moses and God in 1998’s animated “Prince of Egypt.”
“And we won’t even mention Dudley Moore’s horrible ‘Wholly Moses!’ in 1980,” adds Sinozich with a shudder.
Heavily influenced by everything from Monty Python to Gilbert and Sullivan to “Les Misérables,” “The Ten Commandments: The Musical” is a homage to everything Sinozich loves about musical theater: its pageantry, its spectacle and—yes—its ridiculous penchant for making people break into song at the drop of a hat.
Sinozich wrote the book, music and lyrics with CGMC member Bill Larkin, best known to Chicago audiences for his spirited performances at Howl at the Moon piano bar. Sinozich has been arranging music for the chorus for 10 years, and Larkin has written comedy songs for radio and TV for almost as long.
The original score they wrote together explores a range of styles including ragtime, doo-wop, gospel and the soul-stirring anthems that make musical theater so compelling.
And while they found they made a great creative team, working with only gay men and a non-profit budget gave Sinozich and Larkin plenty of creative challenges.
“First of all,” says Larkin, “we identified seven leads as we mapped out the storyline. But we had the budget for only six wireless microphones. So we had to make one of the leads a mute. Have you ever tried writing a song for a mute?”
But he adds, “There is a lot for gay men to enjoy in this story: drama, splendor, bitchiness … it’s essentially ‘Desperate Housewives B.C.’ And we have a central character who struggles to find out who he is and where he belongs, which any of us can relate to.”
Bringing scriptural stories to life with a chorus of gay men might raise red flags on both sides of the religious divide, but Sinozich is uniquely qualified to bridge the gap; he spent five years studying theology, philosophy and scripture while a member of the Franciscan Friars. “Our version of the story is actually true to the Book of Exodus,” he emphasizes. “Despite the laughs, there is a powerful message of a people in bondage given their freedom. And the song sung by the Hebrews when Ramses finally sets them free is a tremendously moving moment.”
“The Ten Commandments: The Musical,” directed by Jay Paul Skelton with choreography by Keith Elliott and Jake Stigers, runs Friday, April 21, at 8:00 pm and Saturday, April 22, at 5:00 and 8:30 pm in the historic Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport. Tickets are available in person at the Athenaeum Box Office or online at www.cgmc.org.