Back to News 
MILLIGAN COLLEGE, TN (January 24, 2007) — Milligan will take the stage for encore performances of their lauded original musical production, The Gospel According to Jazz , on Saturday, Feb. 3, and Monday, Feb. 5, at 7:30 p.m. in Seeger Chapel on the Milligan College campus . Proceeds from tickets sales will help to defray the cost of attending and participating in the 39th annual regional Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival ( KCACTF ) in Americus, Ga., on Feb. 10.
Just before Christmas, Milligan professors Richard Major and Rick Simerly received official notification that the college’s original musical was one of seven productions from a field of 150 entries that had been invited to perform at the regional KCACTF. Milligan will compete with college and university theatre programs representing a 10 state region.
“This is a significant achievement,” said Major, Milligan’s professor and director of theatre. “We were competing with colleges and universities of all different sizes, including Florida State, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Central Florida.”
Written and directed by Milligan theater professor Richard Major, the show is set in what appears to be the washed out remains of a post-Katrina French market section of New Orleans. The Gospel According to Jazz is loosely based on the gospel of John. Its ultimate message is one of hope. Fueled by the vibrant, joyous tones of jazz music, the production showcases the talents of a cast of 18 members and a musical ensemble of 26 directed by Milligan professor and local jazz talent Rick Simerly. Broadway vocalist and local gospel and jazz talent Loretta Bowers of Elizabethton, Tenn., joins the ensemble as guest vocalist.
“The Gospel According to Jazz is indeed a celebration of jazz music and the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” said Dr. Dennis R. Elkins, professor of performing arts at Savannah College of Art & Design, who saw the production during its premier at Milligan’s Homecoming Weekend in October.
“Reinterpreted through the backdrop of a devastated New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, Jesus becomes a social worker bringing relief to the ravaged Louisiana metropolis with his disciples, a rag-tag group of volunteers,” said Elkins. “I’m glad this show will have a longer life and a wider audience. It is an ingenious and inspiring theatre experience.”
All seats are $10 and are available in advance by contacting the Milligan College Bookstore at 423.461.8733. Tickets also may be purchased at the door beginning at 6:30 p.m. each night of the performance.
For more information about the encore performances or the Kennedy Center Festival, call 423.461.8771 or visit www.milligan.edu/theatre.