This evening, Doctor Sexson and seven talented MSU students acted out an incredibly entertaining celebration of the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible and William Shakespeare's The Tempest.
For some reason I was expecting a lecture based-format, and was pleasantly surprised by the talented musical that unfolded before me. The performance was structured as a musically enhanced conversation between the eight people on stage, which functioned as a commentary on contemporary issues presented by these two foundational texts. One of the major topics that recurred throughout the evening was the declining literacy of today's society, which included several comical demonstrations. Another intriguing subject mentioned was the issue of the Bible being viewed as an idol, without those who hold it in high esteem having any true comprehension of its contents. Although the issues mentioned this evening were of a highly serious nature, the performers were able to discuss them in a manner that kept the audience very engaged. The section of the performance I found most entertaining was a debate between Dr. Sexson and the actor adjacent to him. In this debate they bounced responses of Biblical text off of one another, with Dr. Sexson representing the eloquence of the KJV, and the actor representing the slang of modern times.
I am embarrassed to say that I have not yet read The Tempest, so I did not appreciate the puns focused on it in as much as those playing on the KJV. However, I was very much impressed by the evening's performance, and thought that it was a very enjoyable way to spend an hour break from writing papers.
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