Wellsville composer to debut musical ‘The Good Shepherds’ in Ogden

The musical 'The Good Shepherds,' written by composer/producer David Nolan of Wellsville, will have its world premiere at Peery's Egyptian Theatre in Ogden on Aug. 18.

OGDEN – A new rock/pop/hip-hop musical entitled The Good Shepherds will debut in Ogden on Aug. 18.

Composer/producer David Nolan of Wellsville says that his show is slated for five live performances at Peery’s Egyptian in downtown Ogden from Thursday, Aug. 18 to Saturday, Aug. 20.

That includes an evening show at 7 p.m. on Aug. 18, two shows on Aug. 19 (one at 5 p.m. and another at 8:15 p.m.) and two shows on Aug. 20 (one at 1:30 p.m. and another at 7 p.m.).

“We selected Ogden for our premier in the hope of getting an open-minded audience,” Nolan explains.

The musical’s goal is to give a voice to members of the Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities; the homeless, the hungry and the needy; as well as members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer/Questioning, Intersex and Asexual communities.

“It’s going to be a fun show,” Nolan predicts. “It’s all about the story, the music and choreography … We’re staging a fully fleshed-out, full-length musical with a moving story and complex characters.

“We took great pains to ensure this story and its concepts are universally applicable to LDS members and those who are not; to members of other faiths; and to everyone in between.

“In the end,” Nolan says, “we want to uplift everyone! Not bring anyone down.”

Nolan says that he wrote The Good Shepherds to start an honest and sincere conversation about whether wealthy Christian churches in America are directing enough of their “almost limitless resources” to charity.

The musical’s plot revolves around a reporter doing an investigation of religious organizations whose charitable contributions pale in comparison to their immense wealth.

When she learns that there is more to its members than she realized, she must decide whether exposing hard truths about the male-dominated church is worth exploiting her new friends.

Those issues come to a head when the queer, the homeless, the marginalized and the forgotten raise their voices to deaf ears, according to Nolan.

Besides himself, Nolan says that the show’s talented cast includes Krystal DeCristo, a graduate of the Theatre Arts program at the University of Utah; Savannah Cordova, an elementary school music teacher; Alex Stewart-Johnson, an R&B vocalist and songwriter; Brandwynn Michelle, an actress and singer with both stage and film credits; Hailey Gentz, who was recently cast as Sara Brown in a production of Guys and Dolls; Stacee Perry, a senior dance student at Weber State University; Maddie Curletto, a native of Argentina who performs as a singer/bassist in local bands; Randy Wellbaum, a UofU graduate and veteran of four seasons with the Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre; Hope Oliver, a graduate of the Salt Lake School of the Performing Arts; Sammy Pond, a guitarist with the local band “Summer Bloom” and a member of the Interfaith Chorus; Kafea Sunglu, who recently performed in Newsies; Leilani Moss, a little theater veteran of productions of Legally Blonde, Mama Mia and Little Women; Jasmine Peterson, a vocal coach who performs in show choirs; and Carson Peasley, a senior in the musical theater program at UofU.

Nolan says that he is gratefully to those cast members who have faced a backlash over performing in The Good Shepherds, including some being ostracized from their families.

A lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Nolan says that his own relationship with friends, neighbors and church officials in his hometown have been strained recently over the musical.

Everything is different now in Wellsville because I dared to stand up for the homeless and the hungry,” Nolan says. “It’s painful.”

“Despite what anybody says, this show is not a hit-piece,” he argues, while admitting the theme of The Good Shepherds is somewhat controversial.

“This isn’t Book of Mormon … We make no references to church leaders, its history or any church doctrine. We just don’t.

We are occasionally poking gentle fun at the culture here,” Nolan warns. “We are calling on insanely wealthy Christian churches to better fulfill their mission to uplift the poor and the hungry …”

Peery’s Egyptian Theatre is located at 2415 Washington Blvd. in downtown Ogden.

Tickets for The Good Shepherds can be purchased at http://thegoodshepherds.net.

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