Church uses power of music to move others

By Mark McKenzie 

Wilshire Baptist Church will present “In Songs and Stories,” an original “vignette-styled musical,” in its Sanctuary on Wednesday, March 26 at 6 p.m. and again on Saturday, March 29 at 2:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

The show is the eleventh offering from Wilshire’s Faith in 3D initiative, which has presented a live theater production — or, during COVID, a video production — every year since 2015. 

The “3D” stands for drama, dessert and dialogue; after the show attendees will enjoy a tasty treat and a moderated discussion of the musical’s themes.

“In Songs and Stories” features spoken word and songs from a wide range of sources: from Rodgers and Hammerstein to Pete Seeger, from Sondheim to “Sesame Street,” from “Carousel” to “Dear Evan Hansen.” 

The cast of about 20 Wilshire members of all ages is directed by Nancy Poynter, who taught drama and led productions at Dallas’s Lake Highlands High School from 1980 to 2000. Wilshire music staffer Ralph Manuel is musical director.

Wilshire’s Faith in 3D program has offered more than your typical church pageant or skit material. The church has staged scenes from notable works including “All My Sons” and “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, “Amadeus” by Peter Shaffer, “Inherit the Wind” by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, “To Whom It May Concern” by Carol Hall, and the satirical musical comedy “Pompeii!!,” written by Dallas playwright and actor Max Hartman, a former student of Poynter. 

“The original idea was to leverage the considerable talents of Nancy Poynter and our faith community, some of whom are her former students, to stage dramatic productions to stimulate important conversations among our broader community of friends and neighbors,” said Mark Wingfield, a former associate pastor who helped launch the program at the northeast Dallas church. 

“Nancy brings her years of teaching experience to create a serious theatrical experience in a church setting that allows us to wrestle with difficult theological challenges using the power of theater to move beyond words to ideas.”

Wilshire is located at 4316 Abrams Rd., just north of Mockingbird Lane in Dallas. Visit wilshirebc.org for more information.