The Musical Midrash Podcast

Not every sacred story begins in Bethlehem. Some begin in Blaine, Missouri.In this episode of Musical Midrash, we crack open the red-white-and-blessed glory of Waiting for Guffman — Christopher Guest’s mockumentary masterpiece and a surprisingly holy love letter to community theatre. Through awkward choreography, civic delusion, and one very glittery pageant, we find something sacred underneath the satire.This is a gospel for the weirdos, the stage managers, the chorus kids, and the dreamers who dare to believe the show still matters — even when the seats are empty.We talk:Red, White & Blaine as civic scriptureStool Boom as psalmCorky St. Clair as prophetCommunity theatre as communionHoly failure and almost-miraclesPlus: a personal reflection on the theatres that formed me, the saints who shaped me, and the sacredness of storytelling when no one is watching.Let the lights dim. Let the overture swell. And may the Spirit move — even if Guffman never shows up.follow my reflections at dustinwilsor.substack.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe

Sermon Series: Always Hoped That I’d Be an Apostle (Week 5)Description:This week, we tell the stories of nameless men, forgotten women, and the sacred power of being seen. From Saul’s transformation to Thecla’s bold discipleship… from Frank Curtis in Iola, Kansas to a mummified outlaw rediscovered on a California pier — we follow the threads of hidden identities, lost authorship, and queer midrash.Was Luke/Acts written by a woman? Could Thecla — a transgressor of gender roles, a healer, a disciple — be the author we’ve forgotten to name?This is a sermon about choosing Jesus, even when the world doesn’t choose you. About claiming your place in the story. And about what might happen when the scales fall from our eyes, too.Scriptures:* Acts 9:1–31* 2 Corinthians 11:4–12a* The Acts of Paul and Thecla 40–42 (trans. Melissa Harl Sellew)Featured Musical Reference:Dead Outlaw: A New Musical by David Yazbek, Erik Della Penna, and Itamar Moses This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Summary:What if worship is performance — not in the flashy, ego-driven sense, but in the sacred, embodied, intentional way? In this episode, I explore how musical theatre taught me to show up in worship with my whole self: voice, breath, presence, and vulnerability.From rehearsal rooms to sanctuaries, from curtain calls to communion tables, I reflect on the rhythm, beauty, and risk of performance as sacred offering. We’ll look at how liturgy and theatre share more than structure — they share soul.This isn’t about spectacle. It’s about presence.It’s not manipulation. It’s incarnation.Let the liturgy begin.🎧 In this episode:What the Church gets wrong (and right) about performanceWhy worship needs blocking, rhythm, and breathHow musical theatre shaped my theology of liturgyA benediction for preachers, performers, and anyone who dares to show up🎙️ Mentioned in this episode:Marcia McFee’s Think Like a FilmmakerWalter Brueggemann, Don Saliers, and the wisdom of ensemble work📖 Read the full essay version here: dustinwilsor.substack.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Musical Midrash, we’re doing something a little different — and a lot more fun.Join me and my husband, J. Kyle, for the next installment of J&D Talk About Musicals, where we dive into two exciting casting announcements:✨ Jesus Christ Superstar at the Hollywood Bowl (with Cynthia Erivo, Adam Lambert, and more)✨ A benefit performance of The Drowsy Chaperone featuring an all-trans and nonbinary cast (Laverne Cox, Alex Newell, Jonathan Van Ness, Betty Who, and more)We talk queerness, theology, casting as canon-expansion, Jesus with soft eyes, and why musicals might just be the perfect place to imagine a more inclusive gospel.Spoiler: Alex Newell can do anything.Featuring Themes Like:* Trans and nonbinary representation on stage* Queering sacred roles (and sacred texts)* The Drowsy Chaperone as queer psalm* Jesus and Judas as queer-coded dynamics* The aesthetics of holiness, protest, and eyeliner🎧 Listen now — and bring your favorite cocktail and Broadway hot take.Because the theater is a sanctuary, and every conversation can be a blessing.Musical Midrash is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe

📖 Scripture:Numbers 11:4–171 Corinthians 11:20–22🎭 Featured Musical:Merrily We Roll Along by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth🧵 Description:This musical sermon wrestles with nostalgia, resistance to change, and the cost of transformation — in the wilderness, at the communion table, and on the Broadway stage.Drawing from Merrily We Roll Along’s bittersweet backwards journey and the lectionary texts for a hungry and fragmented people, I explore what it means to lead together, to share what we have, and to believe in a future we cannot yet see.Through stories of failure and longing — in Moses, in Paul’s church, and in Sondheim’s doomed collaboration — we ask:“What happens when yesterday is done, but the new world hasn’t arrived yet?”And more importantly:“What might the Spirit still make of us — even now?” This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe

This week, we’re telling the story of belief—how it can be betrayed, manipulated, and still somehow survive.In this episode, I turn to the real-life scandal of Rebecca, the satirical con of The Producers, and the ancient story of the golden calf to explore what happens when faith becomes spectacle and when the show that should have failed keeps on playing.This is a theology of performance. Of manipulation and meaning. Of lies that become legends and stories that get a second act.📖 Based on the essay published on Musical Midrash: https://dustinwilsor.substack.com🎭 Featuring:Rebecca, The Producers, and the strange resurrection of a Broadway scam✝ Exodus and the golden calf💡 Belief, betrayal, spectacle, and the fine line between sacred and show🔖 Topics: Musical Theatre | Spectacle | Idolatry | Resurrection | Sacred Storytelling | Performance Theology🔔 Like, subscribe, and share if you’ve ever clapped for something you didn’t fully believe. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe

What does it mean to meet God with new language — and to tell old stories in a new voice?In this restored sermon, we meet Abigail Adams, Broadway, and the ever-expanding God of Isaiah. We trace the evolution of theology, of national myth, and of who gets remembered. And we affirm that welcoming the new doesn’t mean eliminating the old — it just means recognizing that God has always been more.✨ Featuring reflections on:– God as Creator of the Way– Abigail Adams and the theology of founding– 1776, Hamilton, and casting as sacred re-narration– Inclusive God-language– The gentle work of learning new names for the Divine📖 Isaiah 43:16–21📍 Preached April 6, 2025 | Summit Avenue Presbyterian Church, Lent 5 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of Musical Midrash, I’m joined by my husband and theological co-conspirator J. Kyle Wils0r for the first-ever edition of J & D Talk About Musicals — and we’re starting at the very beginning (a very good place to start) with The Sound of Music.Together, we revisit this classic through a theological lens: Where is God in the hills, in the music, and in the quiet acts of resistance? What can the story of the Von Trapps teach us about moral courage, exile, and the choices we face in times of rising authoritarianism? And is Climb Every Mountain just the best sermon song ever written? (Spoiler: yes.)Along the way, we share our own childhood musical memories, talk about the theology of joy, the weight of grief, the meaning of protest, and why The Sound of Music still has something to say in this moment.🌄 Two voices. One stage. Infinite showtunes.Tell us what The Sound of Music means to you. Share your thoughts, disagreements, and favorite moments. And if this conversation sings to your heart, subscribe, share, and stay tuned for more.#MusicalMidrash #SoundOfMusic #TheologyOfMusicals #QueerTheology #ClimbEveryMountain #MusicalTheatre #ProtestAndFaith #RodgersAndHammerstein #SacredStorytelling #ExileAndResistanceFind Dustin:💌 Substack: dustinwilsor.substack.com🎥 YouTube: @dustinwilsor🦋 Bluesky: @dustinwilsor.substack.com🎭 TikTok: @dustinwilsor This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe

🏳️‍🌈 Happy Pride, and welcome to the very first installment of “One from the Vaults” — a recurring segment of The Musical Midrash Podcast where we revisit earlier sermons with fresh eyes and sacred context.This week, we open the vault and travel back to 2017. The Trump administration was seven months in. Transgender military service members were under attack. And I was a 34-year-old talent agent — not yet an elder, not yet imagining ministry — preaching my very first sermon in a small but fiercely loving congregation in Seattle.The passage: Ephesians 6:10–20, the “armor of God.”The theme: what it means to stand — not in violence, but in courage.The call: to come out, not only as queer, but as Christian.Originally broadcast live on Facebook, this sermon was meant to be both a spiritual act and a public witness. The video quality is grainy. The intro was lost to time. But this episode includes a full restoration of the manuscript and a new reflection on what this moment meant then — and what it might still mean now.While this isn’t a sermon about musical theatre, it lives in the spirit of La Cage aux Folles, and was originally paired with a performance of “I Am What I Am” sung by my husband, Jeffrey. We also visit Marie’s Crisis Café in a moment of post-Obergefell celebration. Theatricality. Testimony. Transformation. It’s all here.📌 Highlights– Reflecting on queer Christian witness in the Trump era– Wrestling with the battle imagery of Ephesians– Stonewall, ACT UP, and the spiritual discipline of standing– Facebook Live as a pulpit– Why sometimes it’s harder to come out as Christian than as queer📖 Scripture: Ephesians 6:10–20🎭 Musical Reference: La Cage aux Folles – “I Am What I Am”📍 Location: Woodland Park Presbyterian Church, Seattle, WA🧡 Wherever this finds you — may you find the strength to stand. May it be so. Thanks be to God. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe

This week, I had something quieter planned. But the world changed again. In this episode, I turn to the musicals that don’t offer escape — they offer resistance.From the seductive silence of Cabaret, to the resurrected rage of Parade, to the looped lament of A Strange Loop, these stories don’t just entertain. They protest. They prophesy. They pray.This is a theology of theatre-as-truth-telling. Of sacred memory and unfiltered survival. Of musicals that refuse to stay silent.📖 Based on the essay published on Musical Midrash:https://dustinwilsor.substack.comFeaturing:🎭 Cabaret, Parade, A Strange Loop🕊 Jeremiah, James Cone, and Black prophetic lament🎶 “This Is Not Over Yet,” Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing, and psalms in survival mode💡 Themes of memory, queer theology, fascism, and sacred refusalWith quotes from Prepare Ye, the Way of the Lord: A Theology of Musical Theatre for the Church, the Stage, and the Sanctuary🔖 Topics: Musical Theatre | Protest | Process Theology | Lament | Queer Survival | Sacred Storytelling🔔 Like, subscribe, and share if the revolution is already singing. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe

Not directly a musical…they can’t all be - but I could argue that the structure of many superhero movies mirrors musicals in many ways — but we’ll save that for another time. All are worthy of Love.What do a first-century fisherman and a Marvel anti-hero have in common? More than you might think.This sermon weaves together the story of Simon Peter—impulsive, loyal, flawed—and the Marvel character Bob Reynolds, a.k.a. Sentry and The Void. Through Scripture and pop culture, we explore themes of shame, unworthiness, and the unexpected grace that still calls us.✨ Whether you’re a Bible nerd, a Marvel fan, a spiritual seeker, or someone who’s ever felt “too broken” to be called by God—this message is for you.📖 Key texts:Luke 5:1–11, Mark 14:66–72, John 21:15–19💥 Featuring:The ThunderboltsBob/Sentry/VoidPeter the Rock… and the BetrayerThe unforgettable call: “Stop Val. Save Bob.”🔔 Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe if this message speaks to you. You can also find more sermons and reflections on faith, storytelling, and sacred performance at my Substack: dustinwilsor.substack.com#StopValSaveBob #SimonPeter #MarvelSermon #ProgressiveChristianity #Discipleship #TheThunderbolts #SentryAndTheVoid #QueerTheology #GospelAndPopCulture This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe

Dear friends,Some stories don’t just entertain us — they save us.They become a shelter when the world is closing in.They become prayer when we no longer have words.They become a rehearsal for hope.That’s what I found myself thinking Sunday night as the trailer for the new film adaptation of Kiss of the Spider Woman, starring Jennifer Lopez, flashed across the screen during the Tony Awards. Now, you should know that I have always been obsessed with this show.Premiering on Broadway in 1993, this was a new musical at the height of my closeted fabulous pre-teen theatrical awakening. This was my introduction to the delectably dark domain of Kander & Ebb, the sultry satin sonority of Chita Rivera (whose glorious contralto performance made my 10-year-old self feel new things), and it introduced me to a man, in Molina, who looked a lot like me. Someone who escapes the cacophony of shame, fear and doldrums through a goddess of stories who transports him to new worlds, places where mothers sing:“Some other mamas have children whose secrets hurt them so, but you have no secrets - I already know! And you could NEVER shame me!”You can understand why I’ve been following the news of the upcoming movie adaptation closely — nervous that, in the wrong hands, it might lose its “black bead shimmer,” or that J-Lo would be singing Vanessa Williams’ higher keys — a change made for Williams (Chita’s replacement) that, to me, always kills the vibe.This trailer (which I will admit, I actually saw on YouTube a few days before it played during the Tony’s) quickly calmed my trepidation. With tears in my eyes, I said to my husband: “It looks perfect!” Watch the trailer for the new film adaptation of Kiss of the Spider Woman below:In a trailer that fully embraces the fact that this movie IS unapologetically a musical, the story shimmers in a new light — seductive, surreal, dangerous — and it brings me back to something I’ve long believed:This isn’t just a musical. It’s a sacred story.In the second part of the book I’m working on, I explore musicals as sacred texts — not just metaphorically, but ritually, communally, theologically. These are stories we return to again and again, not because they offer escape, but because they hold us in the tension between reality and possibility.Enjoying this reflection? Subscribe to get new essays every 2nd & 4th ThursdayKiss of the Spider Woman does just that.Set in an Argentine prison, the musical centers on two cellmates: Molina, a gay window-dresser imprisoned for “immorality,” and Valentin, a Marxist revolutionary. To survive the brutality around them, Molina retreats into the technicolor world of old movie musicals — especially those featuring Aurora, a glamorous film star who also appears as the Spider Woman, a mysterious figure of death.But here’s the twist:The Spider Woman doesn’t just represent death.She represents transformation.She is both destroyer and redeemer, haunting and holy.In this way, Kiss of the Spider Woman becomes more than a story about political oppression or personal survival. It becomes a kind of musical midrash — a sacred reimagining of what it means to face death, to love beyond fear, to dream when the world would rather you disappear.There’s a moment in the show that hits like liturgy.Aurora sings:“There is love in my touch that is yours to use. And if you choose, just breathe my name. And there I'll be doing miracles I do miracles. There are miracles in me...”It’s not just a love song — It’s a confession. A yearning. A whispered prayer.We, too, have stories that keep us alive — stories that carry us across the chasm between what is and what we still hope could be.This is why I believe musical theatre is sacred.Because these stories don’t just reflect our lives — they shape them.They give us language for suffering, imagination for justice, choreography for joy.And like all sacred stories, they invite us in not just as audience, but as participants.What stories have saved you?What musical has held you through your own prison walls — real or metaphorical?I’d love to hear what’s shaped you.Want more sacred storytelling like this? Subscribe below and join the journey from curtain to communion.See you at the next curtain.With grace and rhythm,Dustin This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe

Dear friends,It’s been a while.When I first launched Musical Midrash, I hoped it would become a gathering place — a space where theatre and theology, song and Spirit, could meet in conversation. But like any creative project, it takes time to find rhythm, voice, and purpose. So I stepped back.But I’ve never stopped listening.And on Sunday night, something stirred me.At the Tony Awards, Kara Young — accepting her award for Best Featured Actress in Purpose — took the microphone and spoke a word of truth that rang out like a call to worship. She said: “In this world, that we are so divided — theatre is a sacred space!It’s a sacred space that we have to honor and treasure, and it makes us united.”“In this world, that we are so divided — theatre is a sacred space!It's a sacred space that we have to honor and treasure, and it makes us united.”— Kara Young, 2025 Tony AwardsI wanted to stand up and shout amen.Because I believe that too — not as metaphor or sentiment, but as theology.Theatre is sacred. Not just because it brings us together, but because it holds the power to transform. To unveil truth. To witness pain. To kindle joy. It is embodied ritual, sung prayer, prophetic protest, and radical communion.This is the heart of the book I’ve been writing — a theology of musical theatre that treats the stage as sacred space. Just as churches gather around scripture and sacrament, I believe communities gather around musicals to rehearse hope, confront injustice, and imagine new worlds. These stories aren’t just entertainment. They’re sacred texts in motion — performed liturgies of liberation, lament, and love.It’s church. Or at least, it can be.That’s why I’m back.Over the next few months, I’ll be writing here regularly again. Twice a month — sometimes more — I’ll share:🎭 Reflections on musicals old and new📖 Theological insights sparked by song and script🕯️ Connections between stage and sanctuary🎤 Stories from a book I’m writing on all of thisSome posts will be short, others longer. Some personal, others more pastoral. All of them will circle back to this belief:Musical theatre is sacred storytelling.And in a divided world, it’s worth honoring and treasuring — just like Kara said.Thanks for being here. Whether you’ve been subscribed since the beginning or are just joining in, I’m glad we’ve found our way back into this sacred space together.See you at the next curtain.With grace and rhythm,DustinThanks for reading Musical Midrash! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe

In this scripture, we come to the “ending credits” of the story of Mary that we have been following for the past several months. Using the musical West Side Story, Dustin urges us to ensure that we give credit to everyone who contributed to the story.Sermon begins at minute marker 8:00Luke 3: 21-23; 31-38ResourcesA Woman’s Lectionary for the Whole Church (Year W): A Multi-Gospel Single-Year Lectionary, Wilda C. Gafney, Church Publishing Incorporated, 2021.Gospel of Musical Theatre podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-gospel-of-musical-theatre/id1565558402?i=1000544599942 & https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-gospel-of-musical-theatre/id1565558402?i=1000546595515 Stephen Sondheim, Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954-1981) with Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes (New York, NY: Knopf, 2010).Hymn: Voices Together 441 Crashing Waters at Creation Words Sylvia G Dunstan - ©1991 GIA Publications, Inc. Music, Traditional  Permission to podcast the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-726929. All rights reserved.This sermon was written for Seattle Mennonite Church as the final sermon in a 12-week exploration of the Journey of Mary through messages and messengers that began with Advent.Support the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe