Contact: Public Relations
(863) 680-4118

"The Rock & the Rabbi" Benefit Performance Coming to Florida Southern College

LAKELAND, Fla. (August 14, 2002) - "The Rock & the Rabbi", a new off-Broadway musical based on the life of Peter the fisherman and Jesus of Nazareth, is coming to Florida Southern College, for two benefit performances on Saturday, Sept. 14, at 7 p.m., and on Sunday, Sept. 15, at 3 p.m. in Branscomb Auditorium. 

"The Rock & the Rabbi" is presented by Florida Southern College in conjunction with Know The Way Productions. Proceeds from the musical will help fund special campus-wide student ministries programs by the Chaplain's office and Church Relations. 

The contemporary treatment of the Biblical story "The Rock & The Rabbi" is a combination of storytelling and acoustic music performed by a cast of 12 musicians and one storyteller. Intimate and emotional, funny and thrilling, the story tells the classic tale of friendship and betrayal, forgiveness and reconciliation. 

Storytelling is at the heart of this theatrical production. All of the reality of the historical account is presented through the power of the spoken word and the music it has inspired. The storyteller recounts his adventures as Peter with The Rabbi-from fishing on the Sea of Galilee to the agony of the Cross and the power of the Resurrection. 

The music, which features acoustic guitars, Irish and African drums, accordion and bagpipes, is some of the most powerful and memorable in theater today. Two Tampa Bay area residents wrote the musical. Gary Richardson, the storyteller, wrote the script, and Danny Hamilton wrote the music and lyrics. They debuted the performance at Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, in 1998. Since that time, "The Rock & The Rabbi" has been playing to sold-out venues around the country, including the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center (over a dozen performances); Roswell 
Cultural Arts Center, Roswell, Ga; Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, Tenn.; and Hard Rock Live, Universal Studios, Orlando. During Easter week this year, standing room only performances were held in The Lamb's Theater, off Broadway, in New York City.

"I attended the production of 'The Rock & The Rabbi' in Roswell, Ga., in July of this year. I experienced such an energetic and powerful performance that I can hardly wait to see it again!" said Pastor Craig Paul, Trinity UMC, Lakeland.

This 90-minute production does not have an intermission. Due to the length of the musical and the dramatic atmosphere of the storytelling, parents are asked not to bring children five years of age and under.

Tickets for "The Rock & the Rabbi" at Florida Southern College are $18, $22 and $26 for reserved seating. (This performance is not part of Florida Southern's Fine Arts Series.) Mid-high and senior high youth groups of ten or more may purchase block seating for $10 per person. Florida Southern College students, faculty, and staff may also purchase tickets for $10 per person. Tickets go on sale at the FSC box office on Aug. 19, Monday through Friday from 1 to 4 p.m. Credit card purchases are welcome by calling the box office at (863) 680-4296.

Florida Southern College is located at 111 Lake Hollingsworth Drive, Lakeland. For additional details, call FSC Church Relations, (863) 680-6211 or see www.therockandtherabbi.com.


About Florida Southern College
Florida Southern is a four-year, private, co-educational liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The college offers more than 40 undergraduate majors and a master of business administration degree accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Located in Lakeland, Fla., the college is home to the largest, single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world.

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