Blue Like Jazz Live

Christian drama can either be really good, or really really bad. That's a statement of fact. When you decided to attend a dramatic event that is "Christian" you have to hedge your bets and keep your expectations low, because there are far more of the really really bad than the really good.

I started seeing posters around campus on my university a couple weeks back for a performance entitled "Blue Like Jazz Live". I read the posters pretty carefully, wondering if it had anything to do with the book "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller, which I had recently read and loved. It did. I was definitely interested, but afraid the performance would be one of the really really bad variety, and would ruin what was a fantastic book.

Then, a couple people I trust to have decent taste reccommended the play. Okay, so I'll check it out. I watched the trailer on the internet (here) and talked some friends into coming with me. Last night we drove to a church that was just outside the city, and bought tickets and sat down to wait.

It was really really GOOD. I mean it. If you ever have a chance to see Jason Hildebrand do this performance, jump at it. It was brilliant. We laughed until we nearly cried. And then we got hit by the truth so carefully crafted into Donald Miller's stories. After it was over, we headed out to a pub. We needed to sit and talk. We talked about a wide variety of things, but our conversation was peppered with quotes from the play.

I was driving home with a friend, and the only thing that disappointed us was the "come to our church" message that the pastor of the church finished with. We talked about whether or not we would bring non-believers to this one - we would. We would hope that the pastor wouldn't do that sort of message, but my friend aptly commented that he thought that any smart person would catch that this kind of proselytization speech was exactly the kind of thing that the play addressed and debunked.

For those of you in Calgary, who read this today. Go see the play tonight. And call me if you go, because I'd love to see it again. It was worth every penny. If you're not in Calgary, but you're going to be at the Nashville YS convention next week, watch for the play there. That will be it's American debut. Or, if you're in Calgary, you could contact me in a couple of weeks, and borrow the DVD of the performance that I ordered. I guarantee it won't be as good as watching it live, but it's worth it to see it anyway. I just have to wait for it to be mailed to me.