“I felt God was saying we needed to make some changes,” recalls Plastow, the producer and director of an “Evening in December,” which First Covenant Church has sponsored for 15 years.
God didn’t want just minor changes, either. For 14 years the performances, which have attracted more than 100,000 people, had been held at Memorial Auditorium, but the production switched to First Covenant this year.
“We wanted to connect it more with the church,” Plastow says. Most of the audience had not known it was a church production until this year.
Plastow calls the change “monumental,” adding that the switch presented enormous logistical obstacles, which included adapting to the new venue. The sanctuary seated 1,000 people and provided a more intimate setting. “At Memorial, there are 3,000 seats, but with 2,000 people, it still felt empty.”
More than 300 people participate in the cast and crew, with more than 150 in the cast, Plastow says. All attend the church, which has an average weekly attendance of between 1,500 and 2,000.
Participants are kept busy. Production of the musical starts early, and rehearsals begin in August. “It gets a little crazy around here for four months,” says Plastow, who praises everyone involved. “I just have a super cast and crew.”
The show changes every year, and this year’s performance was “Nobody’s Perfect.” The story revolves around a group of toys that are told they were all discounted for various reasons. For example, one was an old model and another didn’t look right.
“All of them had a flaw,” Plastow says. “There was a toy that we all could relate to.”
During the musical, however, the audience was reminded that “In God’s eyes, they have full value. No one is discounted,” Plastow says.
The performances ran over 10 days, Thursdays through Sundays, during the first two weeks of December. Roughly 10,000 people attended. To see more photographs from the performances, please see Evening in December.
Nearly 300 people told the church they had committed their lives to the Lord as a result of the musical. Several dozen audience members have since visited the church.
Tickets for the show begin selling in October and cost seven dollars. “We want families to be able to have a great night out,” Plastow says. The church breaks even on the event.
