Last week my wife and I were graciously invited to attend a play, entitled Unshaken Love: The Story of Ruth, put on by Overshadowed Productions. It was at a small church in Chicagoland's historic downtown Itasca. We had a wonderful time, and as soon as we got home we ordered tickets for my mom and our five-year-old daughter to attend the show the next day. It's surely one of the best-kept secrets in the Chicago area.What impressed me most about the production--written by and starring Reba Hervas as Naomi--was the combination of excellence in all areas (set, makeup, writing, acting) and the theological thoughtfulness of it all. There was a unique combination of creative imagination (plausibly filling in the gaps--the first of the two acts covers only the first five verses of the book!) and biblical faithfulness.
If you're interested, they recently just added two more performances for March 14, but the tickets will go fast.
Overshadowed Production's mission is to provide "drama that is overshadowed by the truth and power of God and His Word, the Bible," and their purpose is to deliver "quality, family-friendly drama that entertains, inspires, and promotes a Biblical message. Reaching out to the suburban community, we seek to point the way to Christ."
About half of their productions are explicitly Christian (biblical stories or Christian dramas) and the other half are family-friendly entertainment. For example, the next two plays are Hello, Dolly! (July 17-Aug. 1, 2009) and Sunday in Manhattan (Sept. 18-Oct. 3, 2009), the story of Billy Sunday.
If you're in or near Chicagoland, whether you go as individuals or with a church group, this is something that's definitely worth checking out.
