‘God Lives in Glass’ reflects children’s views of God

More than 50 Strip dancers, singers and musicians will come together this weekend to stage a performance of "God Lives in Glass" to help raise money for a local nonprofit.

The show will benefit Family Promise, a network of more than 20 churches, synagogues and mosques that provides homeless families with shelter.

Bruce Ewing, the actor who portrays Monsieur Reyer in "Phantom -- A Las Vegas Spectacular," is a longtime volunteer with the nonprofit. About two to four times a year, he organizes a group of performers to put on a fundraising production. Ewing's group of volunteers has done "God Lives in Glass" before but decided to revisit it because it was a successful fundraiser. Its subject matter also relates to the anniversary of 9/11, Ewing says.

The musical was written by Robert Landy, a professor at New York University, and composed by Keith Thompson, conductor and musical director for "Jersey Boys." It depicts how children from a variety of cultures view God.

One day, Landy's children asked him some hard questions about God, says Joe Barbara, a performer in "Jersey Boys" who plays the narrator in "God Lives in Glass."

"He told them to draw a picture of God, where he lives and what he likes," Barbara says.

In 2001, Landy expanded on the idea and asked children from a variety of cultures to do the same.

"The answers you get are pretty amazing," Barbara says.

One child said God is a tomato; another said that God lives in glass and is shaped by the wind.

"The responses are touching, funny, intelligent, as different as you might imagine," Barbara says.

Composer Thompson's musical score enhances the humor and is warm and enlightening, he adds. The musical never promotes or puts down one particular religious belief.

Performers and musicians from "Jersey Boys," "Phantom," "Nunsense" and "Menopause: the Musical" are among those volunteering their time and talent to the fundraiser.

"The first time we did the musical, it saved Family Promise. It was in danger of closing its doors for good," Ewing says. "It turned out not only the money helped but the press helped, too. It brought a lot of attention to Family Promise."

That was in 2006. At the time, the organization was struggling to help four families. That performance raised nearly $30,000. Now, the organization provides services for 32 families.

Families stay for a week in each facility until they are placed in housing. The average length of stay in the program is about two months and they have about an 85 percent success rate, Ewing says. The recession has had an impact on their fundraising abilities, though. In 2009, when they staged a reading of the same show, they raised about $20,000 and split that with another charity.

"There's more people that need services, but people are not able to give what they could in the past," Ewing says. "But I don't want it to sound like it's all dark clouds. People are giving what they can give, and we can make things spread a long way."

Contact reporter Sonya Padgett at spadgett@review journal.com or 702-380-4564. Follow @StripSonya on Twitter.