We’ve just completed a new version of Appleseed! Yes, there’s a lot of God and Jesus in it, because there was a lot of Jesus and God in Jonathan Chapman – the man who became Johnny Appleseed. Unfortunately three Broadway producers who wanted to produce the show also wanted us to cut back on the religious aspect. We declined to do that, and so parted ways.
Perhaps the most important song is one Johnny sings that describes who he is, and how he feels about the world, himself, God, and Jesus. It’s titled “Child of God,” because that’s what Jonathan Chapman was.
Here’s a link to that song:
There are lots of stories, rumors, and gossip about him. We’ve taken a great deal of liberty with his life story, but his purpose in life remains true: to “give you the news right fresh from heaven.”
And that’s what this show tries to do, too. But it’s not preachy. It’s just a warm, funny, sad, suspenseful show with a spiritual core. We’ve produced it several times, with different scripts, to excellent reviews. We would now like to make it available to churches and schools everywhere who are in tune with its philosophy. Perhaps that includes you. Before it can go live, however, there is quite a bit of work to be done – mostly bringing arrangements and accompaniment up to date. That takes money, which we’re currently rather short of.
Give it a read. Listen to the songs. Let us know what you think.