Holy Moses!

So we had our big outdoor adventure on Sunday and Monday. And now for something completely different! As soon as we got home and unpacked on Monday, we packed our bags right back up and got ready to leave again. For we had plans to drive several hours on Tuesday to see a show - Moses, at Sight & Sound Theatre - and to spend the night in a hotel nearby in Lancaster, PA.

This mini vacation - courtesy of a generous relative who accompanied us - was much different than the two days prior. For one, it was a more civilized, indoor type of vacation. And for another, it poured down rain the entire trip! The show was a matinee at 2:45 pm on Tuesday, and we arrived well in advance, stopping to have lunch at a restaurant nearby and nab some rooms at the Ramada Inn across the street from Dutch Wonderland.

Sight & Sound is a huge theatre in Lancaster, right next to the Hershey Farm Inn. There is a second Sight & Sound theatre in Branson, Missouri. Their tag-line is "Bringing the Bible to Life," and indeed that is what we saw: a Bible story that was played out in great spectacle on stage and screen.

And so we saw the baby Moses placed in a basket and set afloat on the waters; saw him rescued and taken in; watched him grow up and become a man; saw the burning bush; watched his progression from secret slave to public hero who would lead his people out of bondage; saw the Ten Commandments written in stone by the fiery hand of the Great I Am.

It was indeed a Bible story brought to life in grand style before us. Several huge sets were moved about on mechanized platforms on the stage. There was a three-stage system: the main (center) stage usually the focus of the action, but not always; and a stage to the left and a stage to the right.

And trained live animals appeared in the show! We were sitting in the middle section, and many times throughout the show, I'd look left or right or behind us to see . . . camels! sheep! cows! donkeys! goats! birds! Or groups of people walking, standing, singing, or leading animals up through the crowd. My favorite part may have been when the angel of death, dressed in white garments, swung out over the crowd from behind us, attached to wires that moved her to the stage, where she dismounted to do her dirty work, slaying Egypt's first-born sons.

The show was expertly conceived and executed. As a photographer, I was looking at the scenery, the sets, the projected images, with great delight. There was always more to see. My favorite sets may have been the ones used in the Pharaoh's court scenes: tall walls intricately decorated with Egyptian designs and glyphs, with huge statues standing on each side.

The spectacle was absolutely fabulous. And I have been led to believe, by the family member who treated us to the show, to our hotel room, to all of our meals (if you are reading this, dear one, thank you!), that every show that's been performed there enjoyed similarly high production values; has been absolutely wonderful.

But what drew us in, even more than all of that, was the story of a common man born into slavery, a murderer, a man with a speech impediment, who doubted himself and his abilities, who in the end became a hero and led his people out of bondage. As he picked up his staff, he became ever more sure of it. The staff turned into a snake. It parted the waters. And let me tell you, friends, when the winds began to howl around us - yes, they really did! - and the seas parted, I just about jumped out of my seat! (That one earned them quite a few Amen's and Hallelujah's from the delighted crowd!)

The show was over way too quickly. I was like a child watching a Christmas pageant, enchanted by the sets and the costumes, by the story, by the animals. I snapped a few pictures of the statue of Moses in the lobby, and we hundreds and hundreds of people poured out into the parking lot in the rain.

This picture is my souvenir from the event, as photography during the show itself was absolutely prohibited. You may look at this photo and focus on the staff in Moses' hand, his staff of power. According to online sources, the staff disappeared for a while, but is reputed to be on display currently in Istanbul, Turkey. Is the staff, wielded by the right hands, capable of calling forth a great and ancient magic, or whatever name you would like to call it by? Are the stories all true?

Dear reader, I will let you ponder these things yourselves. As the Bard himself has said, there are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in our philosophies. Many, many things. And so . . . let there be magic.

The song: Elton John, The Border Song (Holy Moses). Information accompanying the YouTube clip indicates that this is the earliest surviving TV performance by Elton John. Enjoy!

P.S. A formal review of the Moses show at Sight & Sound can be found here.