Artist : Various, Church of Our Saviour
Venue : Church of Our Saviour auditorium (23rd - 25th December 2005)
Reviewer : Aaron Lee, seen on the 24th December 2005

Henry van Dyke's classic Christmas story has been turned into several different stage productions. More recently, it was made into a Hollywood feature film starring Martin Sheen and Alan Arkin. Closer to home, the one-act children's opera version by Stefania de Kenessy was staged by our very own Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in December 2000.

The Church of Our Saviour (COOS) musical production, directed by Darran Hanson and Paul Seow, was staged at the COOS auditorium from 23- 25 December 2005. The one hour musical was thoroughly enjoyable, with a simple but lovely message -- Jesus' words in Matthew 25:40: "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me".

The plot of the musical followed Van Dyke's story closely. A Magi named Artaban sees a signs in the heavens that he hopes will lead him to the Messiah. He takes with him three precious gifts to present to the Messiah as a token of his worship. For years Artaban pursues Jesus, only to miss Him at every turn. Along the way, he uses his gifts to help people in dire need. He now has nothing to present to the Messiah when he finds Him. The story culminates as Artaban finally arrives in Jerusalem on the day of the crucifixion, after wandering the world for more than 30 years. There he encounters a slave girl on sale and uses his last jewel to buy her freedom. Elsewhere in the city, the Messiah dies and there is an earthquake. Artaban is struck on the head by falling debris and dies in the arms of the young girl as a bright light shines on him, having never met the one that he sought on his long journey.

Artaban was played with aplomb by Jameson Soh, a veteran of many stage productions. The other magi were portrayed with gravitas and conviction by Laurence Pang, Vasu Dave, Abraham Yap and Andrew Lua. Jonathan Chan gave his able support as the empathetic and believable servant Hassan. Near the end, I was surprised by Esther Lee's powerful and mellifluous voice in her brief scene as the slave girl in Jerusalem.