Watch: Lecrae on playing the angel Gabriel in Journey to Bethlehem
Watch: Lecrae on playing the angel Gabriel in Journey to Bethlehem
A new featurette gives us a taste of the humour in his first scene.
“Fear not.” It’s often the first thing an angel says to someone in the Bible. Apparently there’s something so startling about the appearance of an angel—something so unusual, so transcendent—that the angels have to put people at their ease first before they, the angels, can go on to deliver the messages they were sent to deliver.
Journey to Bethlehem, the upcoming musical about the birth of Jesus, puts a slightly more humorous spin on this trope—and a new featurette shows us how. Here, Mary is startled because the angel woke her up with a loud strange voice, and, after the angel tells her not to be afraid, he apologizes to her and says, “I’m sorry I frightened you.”
You can watch the featurette here:
I spoke to the film’s co-writer/director Adam Anders about this scene, and about the use of humour within it. From the interview I posted two days ago:
And then there’s the angel Gabriel, who, as played by Christian rapper Lecrae, is first seen nervously rehearsing what he’s going to say to Mary at the Annunciation.
“I just wanted to make this disarming and not threatening, this large man coming into the bedroom of a young girl in the middle of the night,” says Anders.
“So how do we depict that in a way that’s wholesome and fun? Yet then it goes from that disarming beginning of that scene to being more and more serious as we go, and it slowly shifts to reverent and very powerful.
“So it’s all just designed to, you know, keep kids engaged and frame the story in a way that the whole family can digest and just have fun, and maybe they can talk and go read the actual story, go read it after they see the movie.”
Meanwhile, the studio sent out an e-mail this week announcing that they have put out some discussion guides and other resources for the film. You can see those here.
The movie comes to theatres November 10, i.e. two weeks from now.
Past posts on Journey to Bethlehem:
‘Has The Road to Bethlehem not been filmed yet?’ (August 19, 2022)
‘Adam Anders’ Nativity musical now filming in Spain’ (February 23, 2023)
‘Adam Anders’ Nativity musical gets a title’ (April 3, 2023)
‘Watch: The teaser trailer for Journey to Bethlehem’ (April 28, 2023)
‘Watch: Earnest and jokey moments mix in the official trailer for Journey to Bethlehem’ (September 14, 2023)
‘Watch: Actors, producers discuss Journey to Bethlehem in a new featurette’ (September 20, 2023)
‘Watch: The lead actors talk Mary and Joseph in a new Journey to Bethlehem featurette’ (September 29, 2023)
‘Watch: Mary’s sisters sing about marriage in a new Journey to Bethlehem featurette’ (October 3, 2023)
‘Watch: Herod’s son is ready for his close-up in a new Journey to Bethlehem featurette’ (October 6, 2023)
‘Watch: A new Journey to Bethlehem featurette focuses on the movie’s donkey’ (October 10, 2023)
‘Watch: Mary and Joseph angst over their future in a duet from Journey to Bethlehem’ (October 13, 2023)
‘Watch: Antonio Banderas sings as King Herod in a new Journey to Bethlehem featurette’ (October 20, 2023)
‘Exclusive: Journey to Bethlehem director Adam Anders on his years-long quest to make a musical about the Nativity’ (October 23, 2023)