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Good morning.
Visual art, literature and music have often reflected enormous political and social upheaval throughout history. Think of Pablo Picasso’s Guernica, Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace or Dmitry Shostakovich’s Leningrad Symphony.
But,  history’s most significant moments and biggest personalities aren’t only expressed by the complex and timeless art forms we have learned to think of as ‘serious’. Those big ideas have been the subject of pop songs, rock music, film and television too.  Musical theatre has also tackled great historical themes and moments of social reckoning: Les Miserables and the French revolution, South Pacific and racism in the World War II era.
At its best, musical theatre is a terrific medium for expressing the light and shade of life’s most significant events - sometimes setting serious ballads, comic songs and even dance routines against the backdrop of political and social change and human frailty.All of those elements are present in a musical that opened on Broadway 40 years ago today - Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita.  The life of Argentina’s Eva Peron was remarkable and riveting - a rags-to-riches story so unlikely, you really could not have made it up.  Evita’s story was and is, the very stuff of which great art — and great musical theatre — is made.
It’s very likely that the personalities and events that we are watching, talking about and shaking our heads at today will some day be the basis of cultural expression   Imagine some of the political issues of today as an unforgettable lyric, or even a soft-shoe shuffle. Lord God, help us to step back sometimes and look for the bigger picture, rest a moment and hear your voice in the chaos of these times. Amen