The Beams are Creaking at Taproot Theatre

Matt Shimkus as Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Photo by Erik Stuhaug.

 

This weekend I got the chance to take my 15 year old to see Taproot Theatre’s latest play. It was amazing. Both she and I were blown away.

Sometimes a play is about innovative stage work. Sometimes it is about outstanding acting. But sometimes a play is phenomenal because of the story.

The Beams are Creaking is a new play at Taproot this season that is beyond amazing. I was moved, I cried, and then – for the first time in a long time, there was a standing ovation. Why?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a teacher, a statesman, and a theologian who lived in pre-Hitler Germany. As Hitler came into power, Christians throughout Germany had three options – comply with the state, rebel overtly, or rebel passively. Bonhoeffer chose active resistance under the guise of servitude. While outwardly he complied with the Fuhrer’s demands of allegiance, privately he was part of a network that planned the assassination of the Nazi leader.

In this play, we learn not just about the theologian, Bonhoeffer, but about  the man.

Gerald B. Browning, Don Brady, and Matt Shimkus. Photo by Erik Stuhaug.

I felt this play was absolutely appropriate for our day and time. So many people feel that they are displaced, not in their usual roles – and this play depicts beautifully how to be the person God created you to be, despite your circumstances.

I learned so much, but felt like I needed to hear it again. If you want to be encouraged and delighted, you should check out The Beams are Creaking at Taproot.