'Our gift to the community'

Courtesy of Halesford Baptist Church

Jesus, in the custody of soldiers, is brought before Pontias Pilate for sentencing while Pharisees look on.

Courtesy of Halesford Baptist Church

Jesus, played by McKinley Robertson, carries his cross through the crowd, followed by soldiers and Pharisees.

Courtesy of Halesford Baptist Church

An angel, played by Mark Courtright, greets two women, played by Megan McDonald and Laura Amos, outside Jesus's empty tomb in the 2009 production of "The Cry of Christ."

Courtesy of Halesford Baptist Church

A soldier kneels at the crucifixion site.

Courtesy of Halesford Baptist Church

A woman (Kim Caldwell) carries her son (Andrew Caldwell) through the crowd to receive Jesus's healing touch.

Mike and Elizabeth Embrey have a hard time keeping a straight face while rehearsing "The Cry of Christ."

Mike Embrey, youth and children's pastor at Halesford Baptist Church, is playing Jesus in the roughly one-hour play. His wife, who's pregnant with their first child, is playing a crippled woman.

"I get healed in the marketplace among the townspeople," said Elizabeth Embrey. "It's kind of hard not to smile."

When they take the stage next week for six performances, the Embreys promise to contain themselves. It's a serious play with a serious message.

"I want people to see the truth: This actually happened," said Mike Embrey. "This is the message."

About 100 members of Halesford Baptist will join the Embreys on stage for the second annual performance of "The Cry of Christ." Tony Gray, associate pastor, said Jesus is one of the hardest parts to cast.

"It has more lines than anybody else and it's such a commitment," said Gray. "And the seriousness of the role -- it's hard to find somebody who says I can be Jesus."

Embrey said it was easy to slip into the role because most of the lines are taken directly from the Bible. They're familiar words for Embrey, who graduated with a master's degree in Christian ministry in 2009 before taking the job at Halesford.

Another difficult role to cast is Satan, said Gray. Satan is on stage for almost the entire performance, lurking in the crowd and ad-libbing lines to encourage others to act out. For the second year, Brandon Hawkins, a 17-year-old Franklin County High School junior, will reprise the role.

"It is a challenging role," he said. "You kind of have to look darker than other people and have a darker attitude."

It takes 30 minutes to an hour to apply the white makeup to Brandon's face, hands and feet. His lips, eyelids and fingernails are painted black to offer a sinister appearance, said Brandon.

As Satan, he moves across the stage, whispering in people's ears or shouting out words such as "blasphemy" when Pontias Pilate asks what Jesus has been charged with or "crucify him" when Pilate asks how Jesus should be punished.

"The crowd sees me, but no one on stage sees me," he said. "Last year, people said it's kind of like it's real because temptation is always back there and not many people see it."

Those who attended last year's performance will see a different play, as several changes have been made, said Gray.

"We borrowed a copy of the script from another church and then edited it to fit what we wanted to do last year," said Gray, who is directing the play. "This year, we rewrote the majority of it and added some additional scenes."

Last year, Mary and Luke narrated the story. This year, Gray is keeping the narrators a secret. Two new scenes include Jesus teaching in the marketplace and the confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees over an adulterous woman.

"The Cry of Christ" is a major undertaking for the church. More than 200 church members are involved in acting, set design, stage construction, making costumes, playing instruments, video, photography and logistics.

Gray said it costs the church about $1,500 to put on the performance, which is free.

"We don't charge anything," he said. "It's our gift to the community."

About 1,500 people attended the performances last year. Not one seat was empty. Gray said they hope to have a full house again this year.

"The Cry of Christ" opens on Thursday, March 25 and runs through Sunday, March 28. Last year's performances were reserved quickly and many people had to be turned away. Gray recommended reserving as soon as possible.

If all six performances fill up, he said the March 24 final dress rehearsal will be open to the public.

For more information about "The Cry of Christ" or to reserve a seat, call (877) 317-7677 or visit www.halesford.com.