Northwestern College theatre to present biblical drama

The biblical story of “Joseph and His Brothers” will be presented by Northwestern College theatre Nov. 11, 12, 17 and 18 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 19 at 2 and 7:30 p.m. The Old Testament drama is scripted directly from Scripture and will be performed in the England Theatre of the DeWitt Theatre Arts Center.

The drama was written by Northwestern theatre professor Jeff Barker with dramaturgical input from the show’s cast. Together they scoured a number of English translations of the Bible—as well as the original Hebrew—and created an amalgam of various translations in order to stage the beloved biblical story in the most theatrical way possible.

Barker chose Joseph’s story as his current Old Testament drama project because of its epic narrative arc and relative familiarity—although he says anyone expecting something like the Broadway musical or Disney version of Joseph’s story should be prepared for something more serious.

“This is the story of a clan navigating a world that included a lot of violence, not to mention sexual misbehavior,” he explains, describing how the show opens with Jacob’s daughter, Dinah, being assaulted by member of a rival clan, unleashing a lethal rampage by her brothers.

The entire script, which includes Dinah’s story as well as the unsavory actions of her brother Judah—who fathered twins by his daughter-in-law and is part of Jesus’ lineage—is straight from the Bible, says Barker. Of course, Joseph’s story also includes some of the Scriptures’ most redemptive scenes: a brother surprising the siblings who betrayed him with forgiveness and a father reuniting with a beloved son he believed was dead.

As with all the Old Testament dramas he’s scripted, Barker hopes the experience of watching the play inspires audience members to re-read the biblical story—this time with a bigger, more vivid imagination.

While not a musical, “Joseph and His Brothers” will include music written by songwriter and musician Joseph Barker of Columbus, Ohio. The production will also integrate projections by Caroline Trewet, a senior from Atlantic, Iowa, whose “Macbeth” projections won recognition at last year’s Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.

Junior Warren Duncan, Urbandale, will play Joseph; the other 11 members of the cast will play the remaining sons of Jacob as well as other roles.

Tickets for “Joseph and His Brothers” are $8 for adults and $4 for students and are available starting Oct. 31 for Theatre Patrons and Nov. 1–19 for the general public.

Tickets can be reserved at www.nwciowa.edu/tickets or by visiting the DeWitt Theatre box office between 5 and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday or between 1 and 4 p.m. on Saturday. The box office can also be reached by phone, 712-707-7098, or e-mail, boxoffice@nwciowa.edu.