We've been writing musicals together for over twenty years now—some short enough to
fit easily into worship, some long enough to stand alone. With The Sailor's Bible, we've
created a work that can meet both needs. Done in its entirety, the three stories contained
in the script—"Noah," "Jonah," and "Paul's Shipwreck"—provide an entertaining 45
minute program with a common theme. Each story can also be performed separately as a
ten to fifteen minute "mini-musical."
The work is also flexible in its staging and casting requirements. It can be produced with
minimal costumes, props, and set pieces; or more elaborately for groups that wish to
invest additional time and resources. And while forty speaking parts are listed in the
script, the lines can be easily assigned to a cast as small as ten or twelve. The original
production featured performers in grades 4 through 8, but the stories contain a message
that is simple enough for children to understand, yet profound enough to challenge adults.
The writers of the Bible frequently used the ocean as a symbol for the chaos of life that is
beyond our control. Just as no human strength can overcome the wild storms of a
limitless sea, they knew no human effort can make sense of the unpredictable tragedies of
a dark and dangerous world. Only the power of God is greater than the natural forces of
wind and wave; only the presence of God can bring peace to the hurricanes of life.
Each of the three stories in this work embodies this theme, but does so with a childlike
playfulness and—we hope—a generous measure of humor. We hope you'll have as much
delight staging the work as we had creating it.
—Tom Long and Allen Pote
FOREWORD
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