The Musical Midrash Podcast

<p>Not every sacred story begins in Bethlehem. Some begin in Blaine, Missouri.</p><p>In this episode of <em>Musical Midrash</em>, we crack open the red-white-and-blessed glory of <em>Waiting for Guffman</em> — Christopher Guest’s mockumentary masterpiece and a surprisingly holy love letter to community theatre. Through awkward choreography, civic delusion, and one very glittery pageant, we find something sacred underneath the satire.</p><p>This is a gospel for the weirdos, the stage managers, the chorus kids, and the dreamers who dare to believe the show still matters — even when the seats are empty.</p><p></p><p>We talk:</p><p><em>Red, White & Blaine</em> as civic scripture</p><p>Stool Boom as psalm</p><p>Corky St. Clair as prophet</p><p>Community theatre as communion</p><p>Holy failure and almost-miracles</p><p></p><p>Plus: a personal reflection on the theatres that formed me, the saints who shaped me, and the sacredness of storytelling when no one is watching.</p><p>Let the lights dim. Let the overture swell. And may the Spirit move — even if Guffman never shows up.</p><p>follow my reflections at <a target="_blank" href="http://dustinwilsor.substack.com">dustinwilsor.substack.com</a></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p><strong>Sermon Series:</strong> <em>Always Hoped That I’d Be an Apostle</em> (Week 5)</p><p><strong>Description:</strong></p><p>This week, we tell the stories of nameless men, forgotten women, and the sacred power of being seen. From Saul’s transformation to Thecla’s bold discipleship… from Frank Curtis in Iola, Kansas to a mummified outlaw rediscovered on a California pier — we follow the threads of hidden identities, lost authorship, and queer midrash.</p><p>Was Luke/Acts written by a woman? Could Thecla — a transgressor of gender roles, a healer, a disciple — be the author we’ve forgotten to name?</p><p>This is a sermon about choosing Jesus, even when the world doesn’t choose you. About claiming your place in the story. And about what might happen when the scales fall from <em>our</em> eyes, too.</p><p><strong>Scriptures:</strong></p><p>* Acts 9:1–31</p><p>* 2 Corinthians 11:4–12a</p><p>* <em>The Acts of Paul and Thecla</em> 40–42 (trans. Melissa Harl Sellew)</p><p><strong>Featured Musical Reference:</strong></p><p><em>Dead Outlaw: A New Musical</em> by David Yazbek, Erik Della Penna, and Itamar Moses </p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p><strong>Episode Summary:</strong></p><p>What if worship <em>is</em> performance — not in the flashy, ego-driven sense, but in the sacred, embodied, intentional way? In this episode, I explore how musical theatre taught me to show up in worship with my whole self: voice, breath, presence, and vulnerability.</p><p>From rehearsal rooms to sanctuaries, from curtain calls to communion tables, I reflect on the rhythm, beauty, and risk of performance as sacred offering. We’ll look at how liturgy and theatre share more than structure — they share soul.</p><p>This isn’t about spectacle. It’s about presence.</p><p>It’s not manipulation. It’s incarnation.</p><p>Let the liturgy begin.</p><p></p><p>🎧 <strong>In this episode:</strong></p><p>What the Church gets wrong (and right) about performance</p><p>Why worship needs blocking, rhythm, and breath</p><p>How musical theatre shaped my theology of liturgy</p><p>A benediction for preachers, performers, and anyone who dares to show up</p><p></p><p>🎙️ <strong>Mentioned in this episode:</strong></p><p>Marcia McFee’s <em>Think Like a Filmmaker</em></p><p>Walter Brueggemann, Don Saliers, and the wisdom of ensemble work</p><p></p><p>📖 Read the full essay version here: dustinwilsor.substack.com</p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p>This week on <em>Musical Midrash</em>, we’re doing something a little different — and a lot more fun.</p><p>Join me and my husband, J. Kyle, for the next installment of <strong>J&D Talk About Musicals</strong>, where we dive into two exciting casting announcements:</p><p>✨ <em>Jesus Christ Superstar</em> at the Hollywood Bowl (with Cynthia Erivo, Adam Lambert, and more)</p><p>✨ A benefit performance of <em>The Drowsy Chaperone</em> featuring an all-trans and nonbinary cast (Laverne Cox, Alex Newell, Jonathan Van Ness, Betty Who, and more)</p><p>We talk queerness, theology, casting as canon-expansion, Jesus with soft eyes, and why musicals might just be the perfect place to imagine a more inclusive gospel.</p><p>Spoiler: Alex Newell can do anything.</p><p><strong>Featuring Themes Like:</strong></p><p>* Trans and nonbinary representation on stage</p><p>* Queering sacred roles (and sacred texts)</p><p>* <em>The Drowsy Chaperone</em> as queer psalm</p><p>* Jesus and Judas as queer-coded dynamics</p><p>* The aesthetics of holiness, protest, and eyeliner</p><p>🎧 Listen now — and bring your favorite cocktail and Broadway hot take.</p><p>Because the theater is a sanctuary, and every conversation can be a blessing.</p><p><p>Musical Midrash is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p><strong>📖 Scripture:</strong></p><p>Numbers 11:4–17</p><p>1 Corinthians 11:20–22</p><p><strong>🎭 Featured Musical:</strong></p><p><strong>Merrily We Roll Along</strong> by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth</p><p><strong>🧵 Description:</strong></p><p>This musical sermon wrestles with nostalgia, resistance to change, and the cost of transformation — in the wilderness, at the communion table, and on the Broadway stage.</p><p>Drawing from <em>Merrily We Roll Along</em>’s bittersweet backwards journey and the lectionary texts for a hungry and fragmented people, I explore what it means to lead together, to share what we have, and to believe in a future we cannot yet see.</p><p>Through stories of failure and longing — in Moses, in Paul’s church, and in Sondheim’s doomed collaboration — we ask:</p><p>“What happens when yesterday is done, but the new world hasn’t arrived yet?”</p><p>And more importantly:</p><p>“What might the Spirit still make of us — even now?” </p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe</a>