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In 1984, the idea of introducing a loving, laughing, approachable Jesus to the world in a casual, outdoor environment, was started. This dream became a reality with the opening of The Promise in November of 1989. What began as a passion play has become an exciting, live musical drama, a Texas tourist destination, and a powerful testimony to the entire world. The Promise was originally developed by Word Music in cooperation with Kingdom Development Company from the original script by Jan Dargatz and with music produced by Gary Rhodes. Narrated by a grandfather and his grandchildren, the story begins on the banks of the Paluxy River in historical Glen Rose, Texas. When the topic of conversation changes from dinosaur tracks to the upcoming birth of the grandchildren’s youngest sibling, they are reminded that every life is special to God. In fact, one baby was so special, God gave Him as “A Promise”. As the grandfather begins to sing about this Promised One, they find themselves among the prophets of The Old Testament foretelling the Life of Christ. As grandpa continues, they are later present at the birth place of Jesus, in the midst of shepherds and kings. Straight out of the pages of scripture, the narrators and audience witness the birth, life, death, resurrection and triumphant ascension of Jesus Christ. Utilizing an award-winning musical score, live animals, and a cast and crew of over 100 dedicated Christians, The Promise is sure to be the most memorable theater experience of a lifetime. The continuing production of The Promise at the Texas Amphitheatre continues a long tradition of outdoor religious dramas. In 1633 the residents of Oberammergau, Germany vowed to continue presenting their local passion play every ten years as a vow to God in return for being spared from the plague. The Oberammergau Passion Play will be performed again in 2010. The United States have had passion plays for over three quarters of a century. Some of the most attended performances have been The Black Hills Passion Play in Spearfish, South Dakota, and The Great Passion Play in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. The Promise is a musical, which is what sets it aside from all the other American passion plays. The producers of this musical seek to creatively present the essence of the story of Jesus, while upholding the theological, historical and scriptural integrity of the production. The theatrical structure of the script provides a unique opportunity to present the story of the life of Jesus whenever, and wherever the opportunity arises. The original "The Promise" play was performed for 11 years in the small rural community of Forest Ontario Canada, in South Western Ontario. They show started in 1995 with performances Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings for 3 weekends in July/August. In 2002 "The Promise" in Forest was very honoured to have about 5000 young people from Brazil and Chili is attendance during the World Youth Day festivities in Toronto. This show which started out as a very small production quickly grew into a very large theatre group now known as the Forest Community Theatre. The music was beautiful, and the casting superb with children as young as infants to others into the retired years. The show had its last performance in the summer of 2005. They hope to take a break for a little bit and hope to start it back up in a couple years. In 1993 The Promise became the first Christian production to be allowed into the former Soviet Union. In 1994, The Promise returned to the Kremlin State Palace for a tour of encore performances. In 1996 a sister organization opened The Promise at the Will Rogers Theatre in Branson, Missouri. That production continued seasonally through 2002. The Promise continued internationally in Seoul Korea at the Olympic Stadium and was performed in South Africa as well as other countries around the world. Continuing productions stateside include New York City, NY, a new adaptation in Branson, MO, and the original production right here in Glen Rose, TX.
