The Musical Midrash Podcast

Not every sacred story begins in Bethlehem. Some begin in Blaine, Missouri. In this episode of Musical Midrash , we crack open the red-white-and-blessed glory of Waiting for Guffman — Christopher Guest’s mockumentary masterpiece and a surprisingly holy love letter to community theatre. Through awkward choreography, civic delusion, and one very glittery pageant, we find something sacred underneath...

Sermon Series: Always Hoped That I’d Be an Apostle (Week 5) Description: This week, we tell the stories of nameless men, forgotten women, and the sacred power of being seen. From Saul’s transformation to Thecla’s bold discipleship… from Frank Curtis in Iola, Kansas to a mummified outlaw rediscovered on a California pier — we follow the threads of hidden identities, lost authorship, and queer midra...

Episode Summary: What if worship is performance — not in the flashy, ego-driven sense, but in the sacred, embodied, intentional way? In this episode, I explore how musical theatre taught me to show up in worship with my whole self: voice, breath, presence, and vulnerability. From rehearsal rooms to sanctuaries, from curtain calls to communion tables, I reflect on the rhythm, beauty, and risk of pe...

This week on Musical Midrash , we’re doing something a little different — and a lot more fun. Join me and my husband, J. Kyle, for the next installment of J&D Talk About Musicals , where we dive into two exciting casting announcements: ✨ Jesus Christ Superstar at the Hollywood Bowl (with Cynthia Erivo, Adam Lambert, and more) ✨ A benefit performance of The Drowsy Chaperone featuring an all-trans...

📖 Scripture: Numbers 11:4–17 1 Corinthians 11:20–22 🎭 Featured Musical: Merrily We Roll Along by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth 🧵 Description: This musical sermon wrestles with nostalgia, resistance to change, and the cost of transformation — in the wilderness, at the communion table, and on the Broadway stage. Drawing from Merrily We Roll Along ’s bittersweet backwards journey and the lecti...

This week, we’re telling the story of belief—how it can be betrayed, manipulated, and still somehow survive. In this episode, I turn to the real-life scandal of Rebecca , the satirical con of The Producers , and the ancient story of the golden calf to explore what happens when faith becomes spectacle and when the show that should have failed keeps on playing. This is a theology of performance. Of...

What does it mean to meet God with new language — and to tell old stories in a new voice? In this restored sermon, we meet Abigail Adams, Broadway, and the ever-expanding God of Isaiah. We trace the evolution of theology, of national myth, and of who gets remembered. And we affirm that welcoming the new doesn’t mean eliminating the old — it just means recognizing that God has always been more. ✨...

In this episode of Musical Midrash , I’m joined by my husband and theological co-conspirator J. Kyle Wils0r for the first-ever edition of J & D Talk About Musicals — and we’re starting at the very beginning (a very good place to start) with The Sound of Music . Together, we revisit this classic through a theological lens: Where is God in the hills, in the music, and in the quiet acts of resistance...

🏳️‍🌈 Happy Pride, and welcome to the very first installment of “One from the Vaults” — a recurring segment of The Musical Midrash Podcast where we revisit earlier sermons with fresh eyes and sacred context. This week, we open the vault and travel back to 2017. The Trump administration was seven months in. Transgender military service members were under attack. And I was a 34-year-old talent agent...

This week, I had something quieter planned. But the world changed again. In this episode, I turn to the musicals that don’t offer escape — they offer resistance. From the seductive silence of Cabaret, to the resurrected rage of Parade, to the looped lament of A Strange Loop, these stories don’t just entertain. They protest. They prophesy. They pray. This is a theology of theatre-as-truth-telling....

Not directly a musical…they can’t all be - but I could argue that the structure of many superhero movies mirrors musicals in many ways — but we’ll save that for another time. All are worthy of Love. What do a first-century fisherman and a Marvel anti-hero have in common? More than you might think. This sermon weaves together the story of Simon Peter —impulsive, loyal, flawed—and the Marvel charact...

Dear friends, Some stories don’t just entertain us — they save us. They become a shelter when the world is closing in. They become prayer when we no longer have words. They become a rehearsal for hope. That’s what I found myself thinking Sunday night as the trailer for the new film adaptation of Kiss of the Spider Woman , starring Jennifer Lopez, flashed across the screen during the Tony Awards. N...

Dear friends, It’s been a while. When I first launched Musical Midrash , I hoped it would become a gathering place — a space where theatre and theology, song and Spirit, could meet in conversation. But like any creative project, it takes time to find rhythm, voice, and purpose. So I stepped back. But I’ve never stopped listening. And on Sunday night, something stirred me. At the Tony Awards, Kara...

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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe

In this scripture, we come to the “ending credits” of the story of Mary that we have been following for the past several months. Using the musical West Side Story, Dustin urges us to ensure that we give credit to everyone who contributed to the story. Sermon begins at minute marker 8:00 Luke 3: 21-23; 31-38 Resources A Woman’s Lectionary for the Whole Church (Year W): A Multi-Gospel Single-Year Le...