March 1 , 2004
Contact: Joanne Ward
732-562-1990 ext. 1525
Email:  jward@diometuchen.org

     Teens to star in Diocese of Metuchen's First Sacred Musical

The Diocese of Metuchen will host its first sacred musical, Marty Haugen's The Feast of Life, which is based on stories from the Gospel of Luke, on March 13 and 14.

Teens from throughout the Diocese will star in the hour long production which will take place in Bakhita Hall in the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center , Piscataway .

The cast will be accompanied by a choir of about 20 singers and a seven-piece band. Directing the performance is Angela Zipf, while Thomas DeLessio is providing the play's musical direction.

Not an historical Passion play, the musical is meant to be a timeless event, as in the popular play, Godspell.

According to Zipf, the play does not have any identifiable characters, such as Jesus or Peter. Instead, the teens will portray contemporary Christians sharing Gospel stories in word and song with children and young people, and with each other.

DeLessio, who also serves as the diocese's Musical Director, said he was inspired to stage the production after seeing it performed at the 2003 convention of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians.

“My family enjoyed the musical so much that we determined we needed to share the experience with out diocesan community,” DeLessio said. “We are pleased that Angela, a veteran director and producer, came on board, and that teens from around the diocese responded to our call to join the cast.

Performances of The Feast of Life will be held 8 p.m. March 13 and 7 p.m. March 14. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and teenagers, and $5 for children. Seating is by reservation only.

To order tickets, send a check, payable to the Diocese of Metuchen, along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Mary Frances Reavey, The St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, P.O. Box 191 , Metuchen , NJ 08840 .

For more information call 732-562-1990, Ext. 1634.

# # # The Diocese of Metuchen serves over 500,000 Catholics in Middlesex, Somerset , Hunterdon and Warren counties. The Diocese includes 108 parishes. It serves its faithful through 25 ministries that provide educational, pastoral and charitable outreach.

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