BONHOEFFER THE MUSICAL, IN CONCERT!
MAY 19, 2019
First United Methodist Church of Birmingham
1589 W. Maple Road, Birmingham
7:00 PM
Starring...direct from Broadway
TALLY SESSIONS as Bonhoeffer
JULIA KNITEL as Maria
This concert is presented in cooperation with the First United Methodist Church of Birmingham Concert Series, LIVE AT FIRST! There will be a Free Will Offering at the Concert which will help defray a portion of the expenses and support the mission work of the church.
RSVP JPW692@GMAIL.COM
CALL 248-703-8882 FOR QUESTIONS
"Ophthalmologist creates heroic musical with Broadway ambitions"
Scott Wilkinson’s twin passions for medicine and music have produced successful careers as an ophthalmologist and a singer/songwriter. These days, the Birmingham resident is applying his gifts to writing the music and lyrics for “Bonhoeffer the Musical.”
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The true story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran minister and theologian who refused to remain silent against the atrocities of Hitler and the Nazi party.
Haunted by the loss of his brother in World War I and horrified by the growing influence of the Nazi Party over the Church, Dietrich Bonhoeffer preaches his own unique brand of spiritual pacifism as a leader of the Confessing Church, where he meets and befriends his kindred spirit, Eberhard Bethge. Bonhoeffer’s work against the Nazi regime has him labeled an Enemy of the State, however, and when he is forcibly conscripted into Hitler’s Army, he is forced to flee to America. While there, Bonhoeffer realizes that he has a duty to fight for good in his own country, returning and joining the underground Resistance. His work as a spy and aiding Jews out of the country takes a dark turn when he realizes that the underground has begun plotting the assassination of Hitler, a move that puts Bonhoeffer at odds with his own pacifism as well as with Bethge. Ultimately, Bonhoeffer chooses to walk his own path, finding grace in resistance and defying evil to his dying breath.
Our story opens with young Dietrich Bonhoeffer trying to comfort his twin sister, Sabine, in her fear of the dark. We are then introduced to adult Bonhoeffer teaching his students on the topic of overcoming the darkness, but with a much more profound meaning. Adult Sabine offers encouragement to her brother. At the end, we are left with the adults in the living room and the children upstairs singing together, "Be the one that's lighting the way."
“There is meaning in every journey that is unknown to the traveler… We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God.”
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“I'm still discovering, right up to this moment, that it is only by living completely in this world that one learns to have faith. I mean living unreservedly in life's duties, problems, successes and failures, experiences and perplexities. In so doing, we throw ourselves completely into the arms of God, taking seriously, not our own sufferings, but those of God in the world. That, I think, is faith.”
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“Absolute seriousness is never without a dash of humor.”
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
"The 'black Christ' is preached with captivating passion and vividness. Anyone who has heard and understood the Negro spirituals knows about [this] strange mixture of reserved melancholy and eruptive joy."
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“There can be no more wars of faith. The only way to overcome our enemy is by loving him.”
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice; we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.”
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.”
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice; we are to break the wheel itself.”
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“This is the end. For me the beginning of life.”
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
If you would like to contact us regarding questions about Bonhoeffer the Musical, please send us a message