Arts Alive San Antonio

By JASMINA WELLINGHOFF, Editor –

Four years ago, New York-based musician Peppy Castro got an early call on Christmas morning from legendary manager/producer Steve Leber. “This is going to be good,” thought Castro who hadn’t heard from Leber in years.

And it was. Leber explained that he wanted to produce an uplifting show as a counterbalance to all the problems and misery in the world, and suggested a musical/pop opera inspired by the Book of Genesis. He wanted Castro to develop it and call it “Rock the Bible.”

Though the title eventually got modified to “Rockin’ The Planet” – to be more inclusive – the result of Castro’s creative work is now ready to meet audiences at the Roxie Theater, here in San Antonio, performed by a talented cast of young San Antonian, ranging in age from 8 to 27. Co-directed by Castro and Roxie’s founder Jonathan Pennington, the show opened March 24 and continues through April 14.

Subtitled “The Greatest Story Ever Sung,” the pop opera consists of two acts, with Act I depicting the story of creation, the fall, and Noah’s Ark, and the second focusing on contemporary life. After the first act’s final number in which God instructs Noah to build the ark before the big flood (“God’s first reset of the world”), Act II opens with a song of protest against corporate greed, intolerance of others, and other contemporary issues, said Castro. “It comes as a shock to the audience.” Then God sings “Where Did I Go Wrong?” and things turn more hopeful, ultimately ending in a celebration of life and interconnectedness among all human beings.

“We wanted to reach all kinds of people with a positive spin on the story of the world,” said Castro who is spending several weeks in San Antonio as a guest of fellow musician/composer Tom Masinter. “We wanted to put positive energy into the world. This show is also a blessing for me. It’s given me a new purpose.”

Before he tackled the project, the seasoned songwriter and vocalist researched existing musical interpretations of the creation story and found that they all tended to be similar to each other, namely the music was combined with voice-over narration. Castro wanted it all sung, and in fact, sang all the numbers as he was creating them. He also played all the instruments for the recorded instrumental score.

Castro connected with Pennington through lyricist June Rachelson Ospa who had developed San Antonio ties years earlier and who is a co-lyricist on several “Rockin’ The Planet” numbers. A frequent visitor to New York, Pennington ended up organizing “a basic presentation of 10 songs” from the musical for a select Big Apple audience. Then, when Pennington asked Castro if he would be willing to stage a production of the iconic musical “Hair” at the Roxie Theater, Castro convinced him that it would be better to let him stage his new work. “I told him, if you do something original, it will set you apart,”

“San Antonians have a chance to see the birth of a new show in their own backyard, an original American piece,” he noted. “San Antonio owns it. That, may end up being historic.”

For times and tickets go to www.roxietheatrecompany.com