In this departure from our normal fare, CNP presents a short, original youth musical on the life of Venerable Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus. This musical play is derived from a summer Drama Camp presentation at Saint James Catholic Church in Charles Town, West Virginia. The script by Laura Galvin traces the life of Fr. McGivney from 13 years of age through the founding of the Knights of Columbus, to his death in 1890 at age 38. He is seen as a studious seminarian, a fun-loving priest, and a holy man of God. A large part of the action is related by a narrator, making the speaking roles fairly easy to master. The four musical numbers by Wendy Hodge are sung by the children of the cast. 1. Why Be A Priest? - Young Michael leads the cast in some vocal discernment about his vocation to the priesthood. / 2. Baseball Chant - Perhaps their athletics skills require it, but the cast chants an Act of Hope (Deus meus, cum sis omnipotens "O my God, relying on Thy almighty power ...") over "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" in the piano accompaniment. / 3. We Got a Meeting - The men in the new organization were spending their time ... at a meeting! / 4. Which Colors? - Deciding the colors for the new group. This short musical, easy to produce, lasts only about 20 minutes. It could be part of a summer camp, be one grade's contribution to a school talent show, or be the opening for a K of C recruitment night. Purchasing the full score grants permission to reproduce as many scripts and song sheets as are necessary for the group.
