THE CONFESSION MUSICAL MOVIE, based on the best-selling book series The Heritage of Lancaster County by Beverly Lewis, is coming to theaters nationwide one night only, February 20th!
Synopsis
Katie Lapp is an Amish girl who has experienced much heartache in her young life. She isn’t allowed to sing the music she loves, she loses her boyfriend, and then she discovers that she was adopted. Katie decides to seek her birth mother, defying the rules of her Amish village and risking a shunning. Meanwhile, Laura Mayfield, her wealthy birth mother who doesn’t have much time left to live, has begun searching for her long-lost daughter to bequeath her inheritance to before it’s too late. Secretly plotting against Laura is her gold-digging husband Dylan, knowing that if Katie is found, he will no longer inherit his wife’s fortune. The housekeeper and butler become suspicious and hope to foil Dylan’s plan.
Cast & Crew
THE CONFESSION MUSICAL stars John Schneider (Dukes of Hazzard, Smallville) and
Emmy®-nominated comedian/actress Chonda Pierce! I didn’t know John Schneider was such a good singer! He played his part way too well, though – the rich husband is such a scoundrel! Chonda Pierce got to sing too! Her jovial antics (and facial expressions) really bring her character to life!
Also starring Caroline Clay (Doubt, The Little Foxes), Colin Alexander (Elf the Musical, Prince of Egypt), Kristina Miranda Stone (Sound of Music, Showboat), Geoffrey Davin (How the Grinch Stole Christmas: The Musical, Death of a Salesman), Caitlin Borek (Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado), John Michael McDonald, Hannah Hill, Liz Brooks.
THE CONFESSION MUSICAL was adapted for the stage by Emmy®-nominated screenwriter Martha Bolton. The Stage Director is Martha Wilkinson and the Film Director is Stephen Yake. Music is under the direction of multi-Grammy nominated and Dove-award winning Dan Posthuma and songwriter Wally Nason.
Themes
Adoption, legalism, love, death, grief, loss, secrets, redemption, forgiveness, truth
Review
I must admit, I never read Beverly Lewis’ Amish novels. But if you are a fan of her work, this movie is definitely a must-see. And even if you aren’t, like me, you will enjoy it. Especially if you are interested in music and theater. I know I was intrigued by the idea of a stage musical being shown on the big screen. It’s definitely a unique experience!
THE CONFESSION MUSICAL was filmed on a real stage in front of a live audience, complete with applause between scenes, so it feels like you’re there. Except that the audience sounded more like a laugh track, so maybe they dubbed that in later. It was shot on location at The Blue Gate Theatre in Shipshewana, Indiana.
The stage backdrop is quite impressive – it’s a gigantic digital LED screen making it easy to change backgrounds. This was used sparingly, though – mainly to show larger spaces like the outdoors. Simple stage props were used for most of the scenes, which gave it a more intimate atmosphere with the spotlight on the actors.
The movie is 3 hours long! They actually had a 15-minute intermission halfway through! But the actual movie time is 2:43 and the rest was an extra bonus interview at the end. I was given a video copy to review, and I was going to watch it in one hour increments. But it didn’t take long for the story to captivate my interest so I couldn’t stop watching until it was done!
The production is slow-paced, yet it progresses steadily and they squeeze a lot of stuff in, so you can’t leave the room or you’ll surely miss something. I was surprised to find the plot is such a roller coaster of mix-ups and emotions, from joy to despair and back again. It actually gets quite dramatic at times, with some heavy topics.
The shunning scene was ominous! Tough love is one thing, but it seems so harsh and unfair to turn your back on others – especially loved ones! – just because they think differently or do something wrong. It also showed the powerful pain of the parents, when they thought they were doing the right thing, but they miss their child terribly.
On a lighter note, the maid and butler bring humor and comic relief to some of the most infuriating parts of the story. The best part was the gospel message in the middle of it, which included a reading of the parable of the lost sheep.
All I can say is, the Amish people in Hickory Hollow sure keep a lot of secrets! The moral of the story is, eventually all secrets come to light and they have to be reconciled.
Music
I liked the barn-raising scene where they made music out of tools and household gadgets. That was pretty clever and I wish it would have lasted longer!
I loved the song at the one-hour mark where the three women (adoptive mom, daughter, and birth mom) were singing separately but together in perfect harmony.
I also love the song that the boyfriend sings: “I’ve written your name around my arm…don’t know where it begins and where it ends… I will always love you.”
Conclusion
THE CONFESSION MUSICAL is a beautiful love story, mystery, and family drama with lots of laughs, secrets, scandal, and plot-twisting surprises. Best of all, it has a happy ending!
Bring your friends and family to see this inspiring and entertaining musical. Viewing a play in a movie theater is a special one-of-a-kind event. But don’t expect it to be like watching a movie, because it’s a play. If you’ve never experienced live theater before, this is the next best thing. You’ve got to see it to believe it!
Buy tickets today to see THE CONFESSION musical movie exclusively in theaters
for one night only on February 20th!
Trailer
This gives a small taste of what it’s like, but to really get into it you have to go see it!
Giveaway
As a thank you for reading this post all the way to the end, we’re offering you a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card! Simply leave a comment including your full name and email address. Note: This is limited to US winners only, chosen randomly from comments to this post. Please be patient if your comment doesn’t show up right away. A winner will be chosen on 2/20/2023. If you’re lucky enough to win the same prize on another blog, a different winner will be chosen.
Disclosure
Many thanks to Blue Gate Musicals for providing a sample of the product for this review. Opinions are 100% my own.
#TheConfessionMIN #ConfessionMusicalMovie
I would love to see this movie. It sounds really good.
Shelly Peterson cshell090869 at aol dot com
This looks like it would be great for a date night!
I would so love to see this movie with my family it looks amazing and one we will enjoy. For privacy reasons my email address is in the form used to submit this comment. heather
I really like musicals and think I would really enjoy this. I like that it is adapted from a book series.
soapstarr01 at aol dot com
This looks really interesting and a good watch!
cbythesea5 at gmail dot com
Evie was the winner this time, sorry we forgot to announce it here earlier!