You know the first thing I think of when I think of circuses? My horrible fear of clowns. That was caused by this horrible costume design at Disney World. Just look at these masks. But I digress. I can tell you that I do not think about the Bible. I do not think of aerial acrobatics and show tunes and a theatrical conceit that caused a bunch of injuries and nearly ran a once-acclaimed director out of NYC. Yet, the replacement director for Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark now has a vision for a Bible musical.
Hold your rotten vegetables and outrage. It's for an arena tour. Director Philip William McKinley, the man responsible for the critically acclaimed Ben-Hur arena tour, wants to go from the Garden of Eden to the delivery of the Ten Commandments. And you know what? I think it could work. Arena shows need to be larger than life, have a huge built-in appeal, and lend themselves to many different sets and characters that can be painted in broad strokes. While I personally wouldn't want to tackle this project, I could see it working if it's done with circus-styled spectacle ala Ben-Hur Live rather than Cirque du Soleil-looking tumbling, acrobatics, and strange costuming. Aim for the heart of these high-stakes and high-morality stories and it could turn out quite well.
What do you think? Are you ready to see that big song and dance number when the entirety of the world is flooded to death except for a bunch of animals and one family of humans? Sound off.