By Sophia Monastra
When Beth Kenniv opened her Bible and turned to the book of Ruth, she was struck with how beautiful, human and dramatic it was. In 2011, the then-teacher and theater director at a Christian school had been in the midst of looking for a new musical script to produce, and hadn’t been able to find anything that was beautiful, had depth and was wholesome enough for a junior high and high school production.
The book of Ruth, however, was all three of those things. Wouldn’t it be great if Kenniv was able to write musicals?
After a series of collaborations with composer James Kenniv, composer/orchestrator Jeff Smith, and lyricist Dave Thompson, the first production of “Horizons of Gold” ran in March 2013 in Mason, Ohio. Now, Cedarville University is running the first collegiate performance of the show.
“Horizons of Gold” is loosely based on the book of Ruth and is set in 1930’s Kansas, during the Dust Bowl–one of the worst droughts in the history of the United States. Due to overfarming and a lack of rain, the rich topsoil of the western plains dried up and blew away. It gathered in storms called black blizzards, the worst of which happened on April 14,1935, now known as Black Sunday. Many people had no choice but to leave their homes to search for work.
Grounded in history, “Horizons of Gold” begins with a somber introductory slideshow, reminding us how the Dust Bowl affected people not too long ago.
The story focuses on a young Mexican migrant and widow: Rose, her displaced and grieving mother-in-law Margaret Thomas and generous wheat farmer John Bollen. It explores themes of love, loyalty, hope, joy and most importantly, redemption.
Seeing how the actors have brought their characters to life over the course of rehearsals is a highlight for assistant director Ava Ramsey.
“I have really enjoyed seeing how everybody is playing their own individual characters who have all experienced this collective hardship of the dust bowl, [and] are also experiencing very individual heartaches,” Ramsey said. “All of them are searching for some reason to endure and keep going.”
The group choreography carries the barn dancing energy of a joyful midwestern farming community. With the amount of people on stage at once, the set is kept intentionally minimalistic, with much of the stage kept as an empty, dusty floor.
Locations consist of outlined frames. Props, in comparison, are more detailed. Backgrounds take advantage of the slideshow from the beginning and consist of projected images.
The highlight of Cedarville’s production is the music. With around fifty actors in the cast and live musicians in the orchestra pit, group numbers like “Dust to Dust,” “Goodland,” “Count It All Joy” and “Life That We All Love” shine.
The score is emotional, continually moving from the minor key into the major key. The musical is heavy in the beginning, which makes the joy that comes later more poignant. These shifts connect with the musical’s theme.
“It’s about sowing and reaping, planting seeds when you can’t see the harvest,” Kenniv said. “The themes of redemption focus on how God can redeem dark days beyond what you can even imagine, even when you can’t see the effects yet.”
The show has grown beyond the high school production in 2013, and has touched people all over the midwest, including many people in the cast. Ramsey, who played Margaret in her high school’s production of “Horizons of Gold,” describes the impact the play had on her.
“I remember praying after [my high school’s performance] was over that I would get to work on the show again, because it made such a profound impact on my life,” Ramsey said. “The fact that now this is not only the second time, but the third time that I’m getting to work on it has been really neat.”
The impact Cedarville’s production of “Horizons of Gold” has on the cast and crew is extensive, and on top of that is heartwarming and enjoyable. As Kenniv put it:
“When you start to do or write something out on a limb, you have no idea about the fruit that the Lord can bring,” Kenniv said. “We’re kind of in awe of this simple little show that the Lord continues to use.”
“Horizons of Gold” played at Cedarville University through February 5-15.
Sophia Monastra is a Senior Professional Writing and Information Design major.
Images courtesy of Scott Huck
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