This weekend Landmark Christian School along with the Southern Crescent Symphony Orchestra will perform one of the biggest cultural arts events to hit the metro Atlanta area.Tonight and tomorrow night, theatre goers from all over Atlanta will be traveling to the Coweta County Centre for Performing and Visual Arts for the chance to see “King David Oratorio.” Get ready for the Southeastern premiere of this new musical masterpiece by two of Broadway’s greatest contributors, Alan Menken (“Beauty and the Beast,” “Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin”) and Tim Rice (“Evita,” “Lion King,” “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”). Recently Landmark announced that Menken will be in attendance at the Saturday evening performance.

Written as a celebration piece for the 3000th anniversary of the founding of the city of Jerusalem, “King David Oratorio” is a depiction of the life of King David. The oratorio utilizes David’s actual Psalms as well as events from 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles. It encompasses many styles of music (rock, jazz, music theatre, choral, and chamber) and is presented in a concert form.

“King David Oratorio” has been produced only once before in its entirety, and only one other time, in part. Menken and Rice are considering reworking the show into a full Broadway production and this could be the last time the show will be seen in its original concert form.

“King David Oratorio” will feature the Southern Crescent Symphony Orchestra, a 70 voice choir, and professional vocalists from Atlanta, Chicago, and New York as the principals. The roles of Saul and Jonathan will be sung by New York talents Stephen Brown and Ryan Swearingen, and Dustin Lewis of Chicago will sing the part of Joab. Seasoned Broadway lighting designer, Warren Flynn, (“Wicked,” “The Lion King”) will be providing the lighting direction.

Choral singers from Landmark Christian School and from the Atlanta metro community compose the choir. Menken and Rice have given the Fine Arts Directors of Landmark Christian School the honor of premiering a professional production of “King David Oratorio,” allowing a limited number of students the opportunity to work on a Broadway-caliber show.

Local talent includes three singers from Atlanta: Thomas Ward, Bill Fair, and David White. Thomas Ward (Goliath) is a familiar face with Georgia Shakespeare, Theatre in the Square, and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Bill Fair (Abner) enjoys performing with the Atlanta Opera and traveling internationally with the contemporary Christian group, The Continental Singers. David White (Absalom) has been a featured soloist in productions all over Atlanta, including working with the Coca-Cola Company as well as the Alliance Theater Company’s 25th Anniversary Show at the Woodruff Arts Center.

A number of the principal singers hail from Coweta County. Michael Parker (David) has been a member of a number of vocal traveling and recording groups and now serves as the Creative Arts Director and worship leader for Community Christian Church in Sharpsburg. Shea Johnson’s (Michal) singing career has taken her to over fifty countries, most recently performing in the Atlanta Lyric's 25 “Years of Gilbert and Sullivan.” Shea lives in Newnan. Thomas McDaniel (Samuel), also from Newnan, has extensive performance experience in spiritual presentations, musical stage productions, and local opera. Bethany Smith (Bathsheba) recently moved to Moreland from New York City, where she lived for seven years as a professional singer, actor, dancer, and choreographer. Most recently she had the privilege of performing at the Fox Theatre with Atlanta's Theatre of the Stars in Disney's “Beauty and the Beast.”

Other local choir members include Kim Colver, Nancy Riggs, Whitney Wright, Everett Grant, Brad Whiteside, and Levi Throckmorton from Fulton county; David Young, Neil Parker, Michael Young, Kevin Haglund, Jon Bridges, Molly Weir, Heather Utt, Vickie Young, Tom Pike, Alek Pike, Emily Polgardi, Haley Carson, Amanda Hale, Janie Parker, Janet Polgardi, Mary Griffith, and Suzanne Haglund from Fayette county; and Vince Cobb, Steve Blane, Rebecca Perkins, Maureen McDaniel, Michelle Speir, Zach Speir, and Becky Clark from Coweta county.

This is quite probably a once in a lifetime peek at this musical masterpiece by Broadway’s Alan Menken and Tim Rice. “King David Oratorio” will be presented Nov. 11 and 12 at 7:30 p.m., at the new Coweta County Centre for Performing and Visual Arts, a 1000 seat auditorium and performance center, 1523 Lower Fayetteville Road, Newnan. Tickets will be available at the door for $25, $30, $40, $50, and $60, with a discount for groups of 20 or more. To learn more visit www.landmarkchristianschool.org/kingdavid.

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