8/11/2023 0 Comments Amazing grace writer slave trader![]() Hymns that helpĪs Newton preached and ministered to his flock, he developed the habit of writing hymns - many with his good friend and local poet William Cowper - to accompany his weekly sermons and help his listeners understand the message. His first post was as curate at St Peter and St Paul church, Olney - at that time a poor Buckinghamshire village consisting mainly of farm labourers and lace-makers. Due to his previous life experience and lack of education, it took more than seven years for him to be accepted into ministry in the Church of England. In his gratitude, he never forgot his promise to God and committed his life to serving him. The ship survived – barely – and Newton miraculously made land. He promised that, if his life was spared, he would devote the remainder of it to God’s service. Newton, fearing for his life, cried out to a God he barely knew. He became part of the slave trade, rising to the rank of captain and transporting slaves from Sierra Leone to the West Indies.īut in 1748, on board The Greyhound, a fierce storm arose off Ireland. As a young man, his life was spent at sea. Newton’s story is a powerful tale of redemption and God’s grace. Source: Stained galass window at St Peter and Paul church, Olney Sonic waves: How Generation Windrush brought Gospel to the mainstream.Bridgerton’s Adjoa Andoh: ‘Church is the place where you can be a hot mess you don’t have to be fine’.To read the original article, click here. The show is not to be confused with the 2006 film of the same title in which Newton (as played by Albert Finney) figured, but was focused mainly on the abolitionist William Wilberforce. A special nod is due sound designer Jon Weston for a fine, naturalistic ambiance.Ĭhristopher Gattelli’s choreography, ranging from period dancing to an African war dance are attractive enhancements. Toni-Leslie James’ costumes are a period eyeful, Ken Billington and Paul Miller’s lighting design is also very fine. Chris Hoch has the thankless task of playing Major Gray, the show’s villain who contrives to get Newton gang-pressed to sea, so he can woo Mary himself.Įugene Lee and Edward Pierce’s scenic design, dominated by nautical rigging, is quite striking, and I couldn’t help remembering that this was the very same stage that once held Billy, a short lived musical version of Billy Budd which closed, undeservedly, after a short run back in 1969. Veteran Tom Hewitt as Newton’s long-suffering father does his best with a caricatured role (his relationship with son John made to parallel that of the Prodigal Son). ![]() Josh Young is an impressive singer and acts well enough as Newton, but I felt we was perhaps a shade generic for the part, while his faithful love Mary Catlett, as played by vocally adept Erin Mackey, is rather cool in the Kelli O’Hara manner. There are, incidentally, some realistic depictions of slave auctions, strong stuff for a musical. Foy has a field day as the manipulative Princess Peyai, a slave trader who captures Newton after the shipwreck off the coast of Sierra Leone. Laiona Michelle as the heroine’s faithful Nanna, and Chuck Cooper as Thomas, manservant to Newton give especially fine, dignified portrayals, and Harriet D. I kept having to remind myself that the story wasn’t taking place in, say, colonial Boston. Performances are capable throughout, and in some cases more than that, though English accents are pretty dodgy. Gabriel Barre’s direction is admirably clear and unfussy, and though the show is mostly composed of intimate scenes, there are two rather spectacular set pieces, a shipwreck involving an underwater rescue and a powerful storm at sea in the second act. But the script is compelling enough to make you want to know more about what really happened. Newton’s life was far more complex, he did not abandon the slave trade overnight, and his conversion was much more profound than as dramatized here. Smith co-wrote the book with Arthur Giron, and it does hold your interest, though, as in those Disney films, historical truth has taken second place to dramatic license. Though it never delivers the memorable melodies of Lloyd Webber or Schoenberg, it is, at least, commendably free of the mindless bombast of so many other works of the genre.Īnd when the singing stops, and the drama takes over, the show has some decent – if clichéd – straight scenes it reminded me of those good live-action Disney films of the 1950s and 1960s which dramatized historical subjects. That song apart (and we hear it only at the end of the show, quite movingly sung), the score by first timer (and, according to his Playbill bio) self-taught musician) Christopher Smith is merely generic in the familiar pop opera mold. “Amazing Grace” at the Nederlander Theatre.
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