By Vickie Chow
As a child of the ‘90s, I was reared in an era when jeans were flared, track pants were tearable, and the domineers of pop music came in harmonizing quintets of prepubescent spikey-haired boys. Needless to say, it was much to my delight that the popular Off-Broadway musical comedy, Altar Boyz, was going to be tackled by the Arts Club Theatre Company on the Granville Island Stage. The musical depicts a Christian boy band hailing from the Midwest who are on the last leg of their “Raise the Praise” tour. With the unrelenting determination to spread God’s Word through catchy pop beats and synchronized dance moves, the band periodically looks through the “Soul Sensor DX-12”, a machine that magically gauges the number of burdened souls in the theatre, a number that the Altar Boyz make it their goal to lower down to a clean and sanctified zero by the end of the concert.
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Saturday, September 5, 2009
祭壇男孩高舉讚美
原文：Vickie Chow | 中譯：楊光
在我成長的90年代裡，穿的是喇叭牛仔褲或能一手扯下來的運動褲，而且在流行音樂裡稱王稱霸的都是一組組會五重唱、頭髮尖尖、青春前期的男孩子。所以，當聽說Arts Club藝術劇團將在Granville島劇院舞台上錶演出自百老匯、極受歡迎的音樂喜劇《祭壇男孩》時，我興奮不已。這篇音樂劇描寫了一組從美國中西部來的基督教男孩樂隊，正在他們「高舉讚美」巡回演唱會的最後一站。他們有著堅定不移的決心，要通過上口的流行音樂和同步舞蹈動作來傳播上帝的話語，而且據說樂隊會不時地透過「靈魂傳感器DX-12」，能神奇地看到劇院中擔重擔的靈魂數目，《祭壇男孩》的目標就是在演唱會結束前將這數目降到又乾淨又聖潔的零!
在我成長的90年代裡，穿的是喇叭牛仔褲或能一手扯下來的運動褲，而且在流行音樂裡稱王稱霸的都是一組組會五重唱、頭髮尖尖、青春前期的男孩子。所以，當聽說Arts Club藝術劇團將在Granville島劇院舞台上錶演出自百老匯、極受歡迎的音樂喜劇《祭壇男孩》時，我興奮不已。這篇音樂劇描寫了一組從美國中西部來的基督教男孩樂隊，正在他們「高舉讚美」巡回演唱會的最後一站。他們有著堅定不移的決心，要通過上口的流行音樂和同步舞蹈動作來傳播上帝的話語，而且據說樂隊會不時地透過「靈魂傳感器DX-12」，能神奇地看到劇院中擔重擔的靈魂數目，《祭壇男孩》的目標就是在演唱會結束前將這數目降到又乾淨又聖潔的零!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Dating vs. Courtship
By Iris Lo
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, it’s a good time to take a look at what dating is. People seem to have different purposes when entering into a relationship – some may be dating because they’re exploring “the field”, while others are seriously looking for a life-long partner. In his book, Boy Meets Girl, Joshua Harris argues that the notion of dating has become too ambiguous, which raises the potential of relationships ending in broken hearts. Instead, the American author and pastor makes a case for courtship in his book.
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, it’s a good time to take a look at what dating is. People seem to have different purposes when entering into a relationship – some may be dating because they’re exploring “the field”, while others are seriously looking for a life-long partner. In his book, Boy Meets Girl, Joshua Harris argues that the notion of dating has become too ambiguous, which raises the potential of relationships ending in broken hearts. Instead, the American author and pastor makes a case for courtship in his book.
約會vs.婚前交往
原文：盧詠莛 | 中譯：趙泰和
隨著情人節的來臨，約會的浪漫氣氛也隨之而來，但約會究竟是甚麼？不同的人似乎對開展交往關係抱有不同的目的—有些人只是為了「探索人生新領域」而約會，但也有人是真心地尋找未來的人生伴侶。在《當男孩遇見女孩》一書中，作者約書亞•哈裡斯闡述了現今社會對約會的觀念越發模糊，從而導致許多以心碎告終的交往。這位美國作者兼牧師在書中提出了「婚前交往」（courtship）這一概念來取代「約會」。
隨著情人節的來臨，約會的浪漫氣氛也隨之而來，但約會究竟是甚麼？不同的人似乎對開展交往關係抱有不同的目的—有些人只是為了「探索人生新領域」而約會，但也有人是真心地尋找未來的人生伴侶。在《當男孩遇見女孩》一書中，作者約書亞•哈裡斯闡述了現今社會對約會的觀念越發模糊，從而導致許多以心碎告終的交往。這位美國作者兼牧師在書中提出了「婚前交往」（courtship）這一概念來取代「約會」。
Monday, January 5, 2009
Reality of the Homeless
By Iris Lo
As the New Year rolls in, we all sigh with relief – the Christmas tree has been put away, presents have been bought and given, and all those family dinners are behind us. Sitting in your warm house, you smile as you imagine the happiness that your $25 donation to the local charity must have been substantial to those who have very little. But is this really fulfilling what Jesus taught in Matthew 25 when He told us to feed the hungry?
It is estimated there are 10,500 homeless people in the province of BC, with up to 8,000 people in parts of the Lower Mainland (Georgia Straight, April 10, 2008). The issue of homelessness in Vancouver seems to arise only during Christmas and Thanksgiving time, when charity groups are working actively to raise funds for meals. Yet people need to realize that homelessness is a year-round issue and that helping the needy is not a seasonal activity.
As the New Year rolls in, we all sigh with relief – the Christmas tree has been put away, presents have been bought and given, and all those family dinners are behind us. Sitting in your warm house, you smile as you imagine the happiness that your $25 donation to the local charity must have been substantial to those who have very little. But is this really fulfilling what Jesus taught in Matthew 25 when He told us to feed the hungry?
It is estimated there are 10,500 homeless people in the province of BC, with up to 8,000 people in parts of the Lower Mainland (Georgia Straight, April 10, 2008). The issue of homelessness in Vancouver seems to arise only during Christmas and Thanksgiving time, when charity groups are working actively to raise funds for meals. Yet people need to realize that homelessness is a year-round issue and that helping the needy is not a seasonal activity.
無家可歸的事實
原文：盧詠莛 | 中譯：趙泰和
新年到了，我們終於可以松一口氣。聖誕樹已經被收了起來，買的禮物都已送出，家庭團圓飯也吃過了。坐在溫暖的屋裡，你正在欣喜地想象著你所捐的二十五元會給那些一無所有的人帶來多大的幫助。但耶穌在馬太福音廿五章中僅僅教導了我們這些嗎?
據估計，BC省大約有一萬零五百人露宿街頭，並且有報導說溫市有近八千名無家可歸者（喬治亞海峽周刊，二零零八年四月十日）。無家可歸的問題似乎只是在慈善機構籌款最為活躍的聖誕節和感恩節期間才會被人重視，可是這些問題是長期存在的，而幫助無家可歸者也不單單是節日期間的一個活動而已。
新年到了，我們終於可以松一口氣。聖誕樹已經被收了起來，買的禮物都已送出，家庭團圓飯也吃過了。坐在溫暖的屋裡，你正在欣喜地想象著你所捐的二十五元會給那些一無所有的人帶來多大的幫助。但耶穌在馬太福音廿五章中僅僅教導了我們這些嗎?
據估計，BC省大約有一萬零五百人露宿街頭，並且有報導說溫市有近八千名無家可歸者（喬治亞海峽周刊，二零零八年四月十日）。無家可歸的問題似乎只是在慈善機構籌款最為活躍的聖誕節和感恩節期間才會被人重視，可是這些問題是長期存在的，而幫助無家可歸者也不單單是節日期間的一個活動而已。