
DATE: Friday, October 31, 1997              TAG: 9710300253
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON   PAGE: 20   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MARK YOUNG, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   82 lines

REVIVAL OF OLD PLAY IS FIRST JOB OF NEW REGENT DEPARTMENT HEAD

If you were casting about for someone to play the Bible's King Saul, you might not pick Tim Wright. Saul stood a head above everyone around him and Wright fits in easily at 5 feet 10 inches. Saul ``slayed his thousands'' and Wright wouldn't squash a fly. Nevertheless, as the newly crowned head of the Regent University Theatre Department, Wright, 41, has starred in, and is now directing ``Saul, Sam, and the Song-and-Dance-Man,'' a play inspired by the Bible.

This production, which opened Thursday and runs through Nov. 16, is being performed for the first time as a musical.

For Wright it is a fitting choice as his first production as a permanent member of the Regent faculty. Even though the Norfolk resident doesn't immediately bring to mind the overly brash monarch of Israel, he has a special affinity for Saul, whom he has portrayed three times.

``Saul is a country bumpkin who somehow becomes king. He can't believe his good fortune at first and has trouble adjusting to the role. Finally, he begins to think he really deserves all the adulation he's received and he tells (the prophet) Samuel proudly, `I need to be the leader now,' '' Wright said.

Wright said he also has had moments in his life when he cannot believe the magnitude of his blessings. He grew up in rural northern Arkansas, living in Bentonville, home of Wal-Mart. At 17 he dropped out of school and joined the Marines, serving during the Vietnam War. After the Marine Corps, Wright went to college in Texas for one year but soon dropped out, taking a job as a maintenance man at a Grand Canyon resort. It was there he met his sweetheart, Lisa, now his wife of 15 years, the mother of their four children, and a free-lance publicist. Lisa introduced him to her faith, and Wright also became a follower of Christ.

Wright then followed Lisa to Massachusetts and began the spiritual journey that eventually led to where he is today. At Gordon College he began studies as a biblical studies major, courtesy the GI bill, and the GED he'd struggled to earn while in the Marines. It was there that the acting bug bit during a student production. ``I was amazed at how acting could move people. People who might never read a book with a serious topic would take the time to watch and listen to these stories. That's why most of the values we have today are communicated through TV and movies.''

Like Saul, Wright said he has seen his career providentially blessed by God, but he's trying not to let it go to his head. In the mid-1980s Wright had the lead in the Regent film production, ``Bird in a Cage,'' that went on to win a student Academy Award. He has had a principal role in a feature film with Nick Nolte and Debra Winger, and this fall will appear in three episodes of the Fox network's ``Ghost Stories'' series. Wright was elevated this fall to the post of head of Regent's drama department. ``It's not just my abilities; I need to remember who the king of my life is,'' Wright said.

The play is a humorous treatment of a serious story. ``This is no `bathrobe drama,' '' he said. The framing of the story is an improvised play within a play. The cast shows up to perform a production only to find there is no director and they must `wing it.' The 10-member cast performs in a contemporary urban setting, weaving the current day in with the biblical past. Wright said the play aims at making the characters of the Bible into people who can be touched and understood by the audience. He described it as ``a comedy with a tragic thread. You laugh through the show but leave with a sense of being confronted with something important.''

The play features original music composed for it by Gary Spell, Wright, and Letha Holland-Deel, and is performed under the musical direction of Holland-Deel. ``I hope it will be on par with `Godspell' or `Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat.' The music is really going to enhance what we're doing,'' Wright said. ILLUSTRATION: Photos

Tim Wright is directing Regent University's production ``Saul, Sam,

and the Song-and-Dance-Man.''

A scene from Regent's ``Saul, Sam, and the Song-and-Dance-Man.''

Graphic

WHEN & WHERE

WHAT: ``Saul, Sam and the Song-and-Dance-Man''

WHERE: Regent University Theatre, 1000 Regent University Drive

WHEN: 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and and 3 p.m. Sundays

through Nov. 16. School performances at 10 a.m. Nov. 5 and 11.

TICKETS: $6 for general admission and $5 for students, seniors

and groups of 10 or more. Call 579-4010.