"The Night Hank Williams Died" Take 2

So (referencing previous blog), I saw "The Night Hank Williams Died" not once, but twice this weekend. Once on Thursday night, the other Saturday night. And I highly recommend it to anyone who will listen. I was so impressed, and I was struck by the thought, while watching it, that it was perfectly cast. I still wish that I could have been a part of it, but I was so impressed by the girl who played the part I auditioned for, and was reminded, once again, that God certainly knows what He is doing. It brought me great healing, far earlier than I expected, and the play was much easier and more enjoyable to watch, because of that. That's not to say I'm not going to get my own chance to shine, but this wasn't it, and Lord knows I'm busy enough with final papers and final exams that I don't need this on my plate, as well. So kudos to all involved with Hank...a great time...I've heard so many good reviews and they are well-deserved. It's a great drama, interesting life stories, and kept my attention the whole time, both times. There is so much more to be taken in the second time, I highly recommend seeing it more than once, if you can.
Here's my issue. There have been some members of the church, and of the drama team, who have vocally spoken out against the play since seeing it. This is incredibly disheartening and frustrating to me. You have the right not to like the play, but to speak out against something extremely vocally when your brothers and sisters have been working hard for months to make this something worthwhile, is rude to me. Even if you don't like it, know that you would feel differently if you were in it, you have made that clear enough. Lord knows, I have made many mistakes of my own regarding this play, but I am working hard to get over them because this is so important to our church, our neighborhood, our city. And this play can reach people that other plays could not. The fact is that this play is character driven, and about relationships, which will touch people who are relationship-oriented. This does not inherently make it boring or poorly written. Some people need shows that are whiz-bang. Laughs or action, not talking and relationships. Perhaps the difference between those who can appreciate the subtleties of a movie like, "Before Sunrise" and those who cannot tolerate an entire movie about falling in love in one night because "nothing happens". There is complexity in someone being the person that they are. Period. We all have backstories, interesting lives that God has brought us through. Does that make someone's life less valid because they have not had any traumatic experiences or funny things happen to them? No, of course not. So why would the first act of a play be less valid because it is telling the story of people's lives, and not pandering to an audience with little to no attention span? We have to re-cultivate an attention span, otherwise, as a society, we will lose the ability to listen for God or notice other people's feelings. You're entitled to have your opinion, and there are people who don't like this play. That's fine, take it up with the director and the producer who made the decision about which play to use. There is an appropriate way to handle that reaction, and it doesn't include commenting to the actors that it is unfortunate that they were in this particular play when they have just completed amazing performances, or standing up at intermission and declaring it "boring" when there are proud family members of the actors within hearing distance. A responsible theatre goer and fellow small group member should be able to tell the difference, and know when it is time to be honest, and when it is time to be supportive. This play has had enough battles to fight, trying to get people in the front door of a church when they normally wouldn't cross the threshold, to reach people for Christ, to make a difference in people's lives who may be struggling with some of the themes of this play. To have Christians in the same ministry tearing this outreach down from inside the church walls is deeply troubling.
That's all I have to say.