Think of it as 'Broadway meets video game' and drop contemporary
Christian music's hippest black rocker—platinum selling Michael Tait
of dcTalk fame—into the center of the mix for the starring role in
!Hero—returning in live concert for a 2006 run.
The cast, aside from Michael Tait:
Anadara Arnold as Maggie; (you gotta hear her songs, she's goood!)
Ryan Edgar as Agent Hunter;
Michael Quinlan as Jude;
Donnie Lewis as Mama;
Marshall Mcluhan as Petrov;
Jason Eskidge as Kai;
Playdough as Jairus;
Shannon Bain as Devlin;
Bob Farrell as Governor Pilate.
Bob Farrell bears dual roles: That onstage of portraying wheelchair
bound Governor Pilate—and offstage of being the production's director.
The premise of !Hero is a simple one:
"What If He Were Born in Bethlehem... Pennsylvania?"
The stark reality of what that might look like: An African American
Jesus with dreadlocks being crudely crucified on a street sign in New
York ( Jesus is portrayed by Tait); a Judas that kills himself with a
.45 caliber bullet to the head; and a drug addicted, tarot card
reading "girl of the streets" updating the role of Mary Magdalene.
A 21 member cast floods the stage amid the fervent blast of rock music
and video screens constantly flashing a litany of high tech images and
pulsating graphics.
Noted Tait in a recent interview: "This production struck a chord with
me from the very first time I read the script. I knew I had to be
involved. People for years have tried to put a 'face' on what they
believe in and this expereience will definitely stretch your thoughts
about the Jesus you knew growing up. It has stretched me to new levels
artistically and spiritually and I'm passionate to be back on the road
with a message as timely as that of !Hero."
The question was instantly posed of !Hero: 'Have we finally gone too
far in reaching the MTV generation with the gospel?' The controversy
centered around !Hero only seemingly served to attract major crowds
and wide praise from critics. !Hero started initially as one man's
creative dream.
Personal note:
iHero is the brainchild of Eddie DeGarmo and Bob Farrell. Now I wish
the husband and wife team would release another album--or maybe modern
bands --PLEASE MAKE A TRIBUTE album! Alt-version? classical version?
Metal Version Anything Farrell & Farrell! Please!
