The one-man play Witnesses, written by Curt Cloninger and featuring professional actor and Gustavus alumnus Jonathan P. Swenson ’88, will be performed at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 11 in Christ Chapel. The performance is free and open to the public.
In this dramatic and very personal performance, Swenson portrays eight different characters (historical and imagined) as each responds to Jesus. Through the eyes of these characters, both comic and serious, the audience is challenged to see Jesus from fresh perspectives; not cold and distant, but as one who was intimately involved in the “nitty-gritty” of life.
Swenson graduated from Gustavus in 1988 with degrees in psychology and theater and music before going on to earn his master of divinity degree from Luther Seminary in 1994. He has served as an ordained minister for nearly 20 years. Swenson frequently performs in community and professional theater events, combining his musical theater passions with intentional evangelical outreach.
His list of credits in regional theater include roles such as Daddy Warbucks (Annie), Tevye (Fiddler on the Roof), Nathan Detroit (Guys and Dolls), Harold Hill (The Music Man), and King Arthur (Camelot). Swenson is also a regularly featured soloist with Orchestra Iowa’s Follies. This past year he launched Paraphrase Theatre, a faith-based theater company in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. As part of Paraphrase Theatre, Swenson is traveling throughout the country performing Witnesses.
This event is being co-sponsored by Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Gustavus Youth Outreach, Prepare, Proclaim, CRU, the Newman Center, the Leo A. Hoffman Center, and the Chaplains’ Office. For more information, contact the Chaplains’ Office at 507-933-7446.
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