a

WHEREAS, "The Promise”...a Live Contemporary Musical Portraying the Life

PROCLAMATION: “THE PROMISE" PRESENTED IN RUSSIA

and Ministries of Jesus Christ...normally performed at the Magnificient Texas
Ampitheatre in Beautiful Glen Rose, Texas...was performed twenty four times
during he month of March 1993, within the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, where
godless communism held out for most of the 20th Century; and

WHEREAS, "The Promise" was the first Passion Play to be presented in the
Kremlin, not just during the athestic communist reign, but for at least 800 years; and

WHEREAS, a Texas Tourist Attraction, involving at cast of 85 persons and a
total support group of over 100, had a positive influence inside the Kremlin in
Russia; and

WHEREAS, as the Congress of People's Deputies of Russia voted on the impeachment
of President Boris Yeltsin, members of "The Promise" performed the story of Christ
before a crowd of 3,000 just 100 yards away; and

WHEREAS, the cast of "The Promise" was given seven curtain calls at one
presentation, and members of the audience had tears in their eyes as they left
their seats in the Kremlin . State Palace theater; and

WHEREAS, numerous obstacles were encountered by the cast and support staff
of "The Promise" such as being asked by Russian Leaders to suspend the performances
scheduled because they wanted to close the Kremlin and secure it, as well as tickets
to the performances disappearing, lack of advanced publicity promised by the
Russian leaders, and even advertising posters disappearing; and

WEREAS, the leaders, cast and support staff of "The Promise", an outstanding
Texas Tourist Attraction are to be commended for representing the Lone Star State
in Russia and by participating in one of the historic moments in Russian history

and in sharing Moscow's Kremlin with government in crisis; and

THEREFORE, I hereby proclaim the year 1993 as a Special Year of Recognition

for "The Promise” and I urge all citizens to recognize and honor the many noteworthy

contributions that the officials, leaders, cast and suport staff of "The Promise"

are making to our society and economy.

 
prep

"THE PROMISE PRESENTED IN RUSSIA"

WHEREAS, only a few short years ago, it would have been
unimaginable for a Texas Tourist Attraction to have a positive

influence inside the Kremlin in Russia; and

WHEREAS, miracles still happen, the "The Promise" - Live
Contemporary Musical Portraying the Life and Ministries of Jesus
Christ...being performed twenty four times during the month of
March 1993, within the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, where godless

communism held eee or most of the 20th Century; and
Du

WHEREAS, "The Promise" was the first Passion Play to be
presented in the Kremlin, not just during the atheistic communist

reign, but for at least 800 years; and

WHEREAS, part theatrical roadshow and part evangelistic
ministry, "The Promise", the Texas Tourist Attraction that

usually performs at the magnificent Texas Amphitheater in
Beautiful Glen Rose, Texas, involved over 200 Americans, mostly
Texans, and most paying their own way to represent Texas '
leadership in Tourism...all the way to Russia; and

WHEREAS, as the Congress of People's Deputies of Russia
voted on the impeachment of President Boris Yeltsin, members of
"The Promise" performed the story of Christ before a crowd of
3,000 just 100 yards away; and |

WHEREAS, the cast of "The Promise" was given seven curtain
calls at one presentation, and members of the audience had tears
in their eyes as they left their seats in the Kremlin State

Palace theater; and

WHEREAS, numerous obstacles were encountered by the cast of
85 persons and additional support staff of "The Promise" such as
being asked by Russian leaders to suspend the performances
scheduled because they wanted to close the Kremlin and secure it,
as well as tickets to the performances disappearing, lack of
advanced publicity promised by Russian leaders, and even

advertising posters disappearing; and

WHEREAS, commendations are certainly in order for the troupe
of Texas actors and support staff, participating in one of the
historic moments in the Russian history and in sharing Moscow's

Kremlin with government in crisis; and

NOW THEREFOR BE IT RESOLVED, that a copy of this Resolution
be presented to the admirable officials, leaders, cast and
support staff, as well as to the Russian support group of "The
Promise", aS an expression of deep respect and high regard of the

Texas Senate.

 
me 3 he Promise", a two ety on
half hour musical drama depic

formed: for packed: audiences at

 

the Kremlin. Palace. Theater in.
Mascow in March. ee

Weatherford. resident Allen
Asbury, who. has” the pole. ef.
Simon Peter in the: productiar =
said it was the first time they had
taken their show on the road, “It |
probably won't be the last,” he.
said. "We already have an invita
tion to retumn ta Moscow, as well

Sear permission from ee
Boris Yeltsin to go ‘ahead with per:
eee uring the. heaviest. of

as invitations from Singapore and. $8

South Africa, New. door

* a

The tens 10 ‘perform 2

the. Kremlin came as the, culmi :

Glen Rose Auwhi- Theater f rom
the Jast week of May to the last
week of October, The number
to call for further information is

~ According to. ‘Heidi Coates.

Allen's fiancee, “Words can't
do justice to this: production.
You' Il justhave to come and see

 

se rE

 

 
 
 

  
     

Se o ted je A

     
  
    
  
  
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
  
 
  
   
    
  
  
  
 
  
 
 
 
     
        
    

Fort Worth Star-Telegram + Serving the communities of west Fort Worth and the cities of western Tarrant County * Wednesday, April 14, 1993

    

  

Fort Worth Star-Telegram / DALE BLACKWELL
E lizabeth McKinney, left, and

Rhealene Stewart at Southwest-
ern Baptist Theological Seminary,
where they began their musical col-
laboration in the 1970s. The duo is
likely retiring as performers of a little

known French piano composer.
STORY ON PAGE6

RIVER OAKS

Geren honors firefighter
who saved girl’s life

PAGE2
BENBROOK
City officials still
pondering library offer

PAGES

 

Convent supporters lasso support

Something like 500
folks scooted over to
the city’s newest en-
tertainment complex
at Fort Worth Town
Center recently to
keep an old friend

 
   

aw

MARY ROGERS’ from falling down.
COFFEE SHOP Historic preserva-

lionists scrambling to

TALK raise $60,000 by June
1 tosave the Our Lady of Victory convent
gota boot upat Rockin’ Rodeo, under-
writer for the benefit.

Barncy Barnett. general manager for
the 35.000-square-foot western ¢en-
tcrlainment complex, says the fund-
raiscr for the historic Hemphill Street
landmark fit perfectly with Rockin’
Rodco’s interest in community involve-
ment.

Barnett is the son of the late Tom Bar-
nett, who was long associated with
Neiman-Marcus. Young Barncy says he
camc back to town looking fora place to
spend his money.

“I wanted todo something for the chil-
dren's hospital,” he said. “Well, I still do.
But this came along and OLY is sort of in
the neighborhood, so we thought this
would be a good cause to back.”

Preservationists like Joan Kline be-

(More COFFEE SHOP TALK on Page 7)

 

YOUNG MISSIONARIES BACK FROM RUSSIA

Kimberley, 23, and Jay Roecker, a sophomore at Western Hills High School, have just returned from Russia
where they performed in a Christian musical production The Promise. .....- ..---- STORY ON PAGE3

    
AND EVENTS

, MENT

ouse for Dear

ite Settlement Area

of Commerce will have an
eforstate Rep. Homer
4107 p.m. Friday in the

bffices, 201 Meadow Park

blic is invited to meet Dear,
White Settlement school
ployee who waselected in

r to the seat previously held

Speaker of House Gib

— Frances Colwell

ILS

pday
as Trails Property Owners
bn will have its annual
Day on Saturday.

fthe association in far

orthare urged to

in the effort. For more
on, call chairman Vince

246-9716.

— Marion Bisser

MENT

to cheer

ttlement Pee Wee
er registration will be have
104 p.m. Saturday at the
ncession stand at White
t City Park, 8901 George

ertificate showing that the
be 6 to | | years old by Sept.
ng the sixth grade is

o register. Final
n will be April 24 duringa
PLEAND EVENTS, Page 10)

bmitinformation

bute to this column, mail
to Brian Wilson, Fort Worth
am, Westside section, Box
Worth 76101-1870, or leave it
our 400 W. Seventh St. en-
dicate the neighborhood and
location of the event, and
ur name and a daytime tele-
mber. To get your item in an
issue, we must have it by

e preceding Thursday.

PARK

raptors at the Zoo

Rhino Ridge” opens and

Prey” shows begin Saturday;

open weekends

aX 10 a.m.-6 p.m.,

weekdays 10

a.m.-5 p.m. at the

Fort Worth Zoo,

2727 Zoological

Park Drive,

i phone 871-7050.

NEDY’S $5; children and

seniors $2.50

BET (52.50 and $1.25
ys).

ngtime at the Fort Worth Zoo,
big Asian rhinos have a new
ove into this weekend. It’s also
eekend for the predatory birds
the “Birds of Prey” shows at 11

. and 3 p.m. It’s all part of the
ing Zoofari,” showcasing one of
h’s best. bargains for families

: ‘ DEL
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Jay Roecker knew he wanted to
go to Russia from the moment the
idea was first broached to the cast of
The Promise, the Glen Rose pas-
sion play in which the Western Hills
High School sophomore appeared
last summer.

But Roecker’s 23-year-old sister,
Kimberley, said she never dreamed
she would join the cast on its month-
long tour this spring until the second
time she watched her brother per-
form.

“I didn’t have much interest in
going,” said Kimberley Roecker,
who works at Walker Publications
of Fort Worth, which is owned by
her parents, Lynda and Don Walker
of Benbrook.

“But the second time I saw The
Promise, and they announced the
trip, I heard God telling me to go to
Russia,” she said.

Even after she successfully audi-
tioned to replace some regular cast
members who could not make the
trip, Kimberley Roecker said she
was apprehensive about how the
trip toa country where religious and
political freedom had been re-
pressed for generations would affect

her life.

“Before we left, | couldn't under-
stand how everyone could be so up-
beat and happy,” she said. “On one
hand, I welcomed the change I knew
would happen. On the other hand, I
was not too comfortable with it.”

Neither she nor her 15-year-old
brother said they were prepared for
the changes they witnessed, from
the political upheaval surrounding
the near-impeachment of President

Boris Yeltsin to the joyous ac-
ceptance of the American perform-

ers by the Russian citizens.

Jay Roecker said he was more in-
terested in absorbing the Russian
culture and handing out food and
other supplies than in the Christian
mission work that was a big part of
the trip.

TALES OF OLD WESTSIDE

High-flying escape
part of reunion lore

By BILLFAIRLEY
Special to the Star-Telegram

Few of Edwin Holmes’ classmates, who are
planning to gather for the Arlington Heights High
School Class of 1943 Reunion on May 14-15,
realize that he was one ofa handful of American
servicemen captured during World War II by the

army of the former Soviet Union.

The Soviets were one of our allies against the
Germans when they imprisoned the former U.S.
Army Air Forces gunner from the west side, who,
along with his wife, Fay Holmes, has owned a
floral company at 501 S. Henderson St. for 43 —

years.

But in February 1945, 19-year-old Eddie
Holmes was manning a.50-caliber machine gun
ona B-17 Flying Fortress on an air raid over
Berlin. The plane was disabled by anti-aircraft
fire while over the target; one engine was knocked
outand there was other damage to prevent the
crew from returning to its air base in England.

BENBROOK & WESTERK

Acting in faith

Young missionaries take play to Russia

But he said he learned a lot about
the lives and living conditions of the
young Russian technical crew mem-
bers while visiting their homes as
guests.

“The standard of living over there
is terrible,” he said. “Those people
weren't even allowed to ask Jesus
into their hearts. There were
churches, but the only people in

them were preachers. The people .

weren’tallowed to go.”

Nevertheless, the Russian people
were receptive to the Christian mes-
sages spread by the U.S. group, both
on and off stage, the Roecker sib-
lings said.

“I was talking to one of the crew
members, Kirill, and I asked him if
he had been saved,” he said. “I ex-
plained what that meant and a light
came over his face. It was a great
feeling when he said he had asked
Jesus into his life.”

Kimberley Roecker, who super-
vised the 22 teen-agers among the
200-member cast, also got a glimpse
of Russian life during her tours of
schools and churches, and other
mission work.

One young man, Mikhail, demon-
strated the giving nature of Rus-
sians when he pulled a walnut out of
his pocket and gave it to her.

“It meant a lot because I know it

was all he had,
ing off the walnut. “It makes me
ashamed of how I used to be so con-
cerned with things.”

The Roeckers said the North Tex-
ans saw both sides of the official
government response to their visit

the Soviets.

was parked.

—-- @

” she said while show- |

The plane flew across Poland and into the So-
viet Union whena second engine conked out. The
pilot crash-landed the huge aircraft somewhere in
Ukraine with only two engines still running.

Soviet soldiers soon surrounded the nine crew
members and marched them off to the nearby city
of Lvov, just across the border from Poland.

They were treated well (they stayed in a hotel),
but they were held until the war's end because ofa
treaty with Japan, with which the Soviet Union
was not then at war. Earlier, the Soviets had
captured another B-17 and had parked it onan
airfield outside of Lvov. They asked the Amen-
can bomber crew to rev that plane’s engines each
day and take care of it while they were “guests” of

Holmes and his crew did this daily until one
day in May 1945, when their guards purposely
left their area unlocked. They got out of the hotel
and made their way undetected to where the B-17

The pilot cranked it up and off they flew. They
first landed at Tehran, Iran, where the United
States had an air base. They refueled and flew
back to their home base in England.

H olmes will be able to swap stories like this
one with dozens of his classmates when

they reunite at 6 p.m. May 14 at the Green Oaks
Inn. The festivities will conclude with a dinner

during daily performances at the
Kremlin State Palace Theatre ad-
joining the buildings where the Rus-

sian Parliament was meeting.
On the night Yeltsin was nearly

impeached, one of the deputies of
the Russian congress came to the
theater and got into an argument
with some of the cast members,
Kimberley Roecker said.

“The love between all of
the cast is like nothing I
ever felt before. That
kind of emotion and love
and acceptance washed
over us and everyone

else.”

— Kimberley Roecker
cast member of The Promise

“He said Yeltsin should be cruci-
fied and all Christians should be
poisoned,” she said.

Later that night, the cast was
trapped for a while inside the the-
ater. When the group finally got to
the outer gate, “it was like the part-
ing of the Red Sea,” said Jay Ro-
ecker, describing how the blockade
of guards stepped aside to let the
troupe return to the cruise ship
where they slept.

But the Roeckers said their per-
formance impressed even the hard-
core Communists who initially
tried to prevent the troupe from
going to Russia and continued to try
to force them to leave.

“The only reason we were allowed

try Club.

Dallas.

O DX UCLdU ativ
the minister of culture signed our
contract,” she said. “They tried to
make us leave several times. It's be-
cause of the grace of God we were
allowed tostay.”

Two incidents on the last night of

their stay convinced the Americans
of the impact they had had.

One involved the head of the
KGB, who had tried to thwart their
trip, Kimberley Roecker said. The
night of the last performance, the
man came on stage and gave a
speech tclling the troupe how
moved he was and invited them to
return, she said.

“The love between all of the cast
is like nothing I ever felt before,”
she said. ““That kind of emotion and
love and acceptance washed over us
and everyone else.”

The other incident involved the
wife of the captain of the Russian
guard. She was saved during the last
performance, Kimberley Roecker
said. After the last show, the woman
came backstage and gave a bouquet
of lilies to one of the cast members

’ who was of Ukrainian descent, she

said.

“He cried like a baby,” she said.
“People took off their masks and
put down their defenses. We were
not allowed to have an altar call at

the Palace of Congress, but we did it
anyway the last evening.

“A lot of people came up after the
show and said thank you.”

Jay Roecker, who had to get per-
mission to miss more than two
weeks of school for the Russian trip,
spent his first week back giving re-
ports to his English, history and the-
ater classes at Western Hills.

Kimberley Roecker has returned
to her job putting together publica-
tions for Texas chambers of com-
merce. But she said her life would
never again he the same.

“I’m a different person,” she said.
“I feel triply blessed that Jay and I

_ were able to go together. I'll never

look at things the same way again.”

and dance at 7 p.m. May 15 at Shady Oaks Coun-

The 1943 class also invited the classes from
194] through 1946 to help celebrate its Golden
Anniversary reunion. Frank Sherwood is chair-
man of the event.

Sherwood, an architectural engineer, has
worked for some of the largest businesses in the
country, including American Airlines and Cham-
plin Petroleum Corp.

But I best remember him asa tear ‘em up, go-
for-broke, beat-the-skins-to-pieces drummer.
Back then, Sherwood, classmate Jack Washburn
and others formed a hot little dance band that
played for jitterbuggers all over Fort Worth-

The band broke up because of the war, college,
marriages and professional careers. But maybe at
the reunion dance, Sherwood will trade his T
square and calculator for a pair of drumsticks and =

hita few licks on the snares for his old friends.

For more information on the reunion, call
Sherwood at 731-2247.

Bill Fairley has been

a west side resident for
nearly six de-

cades. He grew
upin Arlington
Heights. These
are his memories.

 

y ‘Appsenpe mq /upsBeie] 1g YOM HOF

© AGISISAAA cesI PI
SUNDAY, MAY 9, 1993 * SHOP MINERAL WELLS « MINERAL WELLS INDEX, INC. « PAG E 3A.

Two local residents help deliver "The Promise"

by Jenny Cockerham, Editor

Two Mineral Wells residents
were among about 200 Texans
who recently returned from a
trip to Russia, where they deliv-
ered, kept, and brought back The
Promise. .

Ted Oliver and JoNell Mitchell
traveled with a mission group to
Moscow, where they spent 24
days giving 22 performances of
“The Promise,” a live contempo-
rary musical drama of the life
and ministry of Jesus Christ.

The drama was performed in-
side the Kremlin Wall at The
Palace of Congresses, each
Friday, Saturday and Sunday dur-
ing the weeks of March 9-30. The
Palace is the largest theater in
Moscow with a seating capacity
of 6,500. “The Promise” is said
to be the first such production
done in Russia in modern times,
and also marks the first time a
performance depicting the life of

Christ has been presented inside
the Kremlin Wall.

Oliver is a local resident who
went on the mission as sales man-
ager and missions coordinator. He
has been a resident of Mineral

Wells for 17 years, and pastors a
local church, the Mineral Wells
Christian Fellowship.

Mitchell is an employee of

Philips Components,

The two joined other Texans in
the evangelistic and benevolence
mission to Moscow, which includ-
ed lay witnessing, counseling and
Bible distribution, and the distri-
bution of food, clothing and med-
ical supplies to the people who
needed them most.

During the three-week run,
nine Russian teens, five Russian

children and the Baby Jesus, also
Russian, were integrated into the
cast with the Texans. Oliver de-
scribed the experience as “a

historical event as former ene-
mies united together in a common
purpose to produce one of the
most spectacular theatre events in
Russian history.”

Interpreters assisted Russian
and Americans working together
to operate the lights, sound and

Staging, to compensate for the
language barrier.

Oliver said he talked with one
of the interpreters, a lady of

about 25, concerning her life in

Russia with the new reforms. The
imterpreter asked Oliver what
motivated the group to come to
Russia. She said she was raised to
believe that Americans were her
enenny.

Oliver responded that his entire
life he had been taught to believe
Russians were his enemy, but
since the Berlin Wall came down,
“it seems as if a wall between
Russians and Americans came
down as well, and instead of
being enemies we suddenly had a
desire to become friends.”

On Sunday, March 28, as the
American cast did two perfor-
mances of their drama inside the
Kremlin, the Russian government
was involved in a drama of its
own. The Congress Deputies
were meeting less than 100 yards
away, taking a roll call vote on
whether to impeach Boris Yeltsin,
while the evening performance
was taking place.

“On leaving the grounds that
night, just outside the gate, the
cast saw for the first time the se-

riousness of the day,” Oliver said .

“Busses with armed soldiers total-
ly encircled the gate bumper to
bumper, just like wagon trains of
the old in the Wild West. We
could hear the crowd in Red
Square two blocks away, as
Yeltsin addressed the crowd after
his victory.”

The Kremlin was totally closed
off to the public during this
demonstration, but some 3000
Russians braved the protest lines
in Red Square to attend a noon
presentation of “The Promise,”
and the Kremlin guards allowed
another 3500 through for the

evening performance.

Oliver said that members of the .

audience had tears in their eyes as
they left their seats in the theater.
“A woman said to me, ‘You are

giving peace to a troubled peo-
ple,’” Oliver said.

The cast practically spent the |

weekend inside the Kremlin that
fateful weekend. Because of the
crush of demdnstrators outside,
the company was unable to return
between performances to its

— aboard a cruise ship on
e Moscow River miles away. °
Oliver said “The Promise” was

received with great acclaim in
Russia, although the audience
turnouts in the beginning were
smaller than expected, apparently

the result of poor promotion at
the Russian end.

Working with the Russian gov-
ernment was not the easiest task

"The Promise"

A scene from "The Promise,” a
drama presented at the Texas
Amphitheater in Glen Rose every
Fridya and Saturday night from
June through October. A cast of
about 200 Texans recently took the
religious presentation for a 24-day
run at the Kremlin in Russia.

involved, but as time went on the
crowds grew.

The grand finale was played to
about 5000 people, followed by
seven curtain calls and the show-
ering on the performers of flow-
ers and “bravos.”

“The Promise” engages the au-
dience in a deeply real and per-
sonal experience through the life
of Jesus Christ. The two-hour
drama combines a modern day
Texas grandfather and his two
small grandchildren with the col-
orful and exciting historical fig-

-ures of Jesus’ time some 2000

years ago. It portrays the life,
ministry, death and resurrection
of Jesus Christ.

The drama is performed every
Friday and Saturday night from
June through October at the $4
million Texas Amphitheater in

Glen Rose. “The Promise” is in

in Russia

its fourth season, having pre-
miecred in November, 1989.

The Glen Rose production fea-
tures a cast of 90 actors, actress-
es, singers, and dancers, and a va-
riety of animals including camels
and horses.

In season at the Texas
Amphitheater, Grandpa, Billy and
Lisa are on a camping trip when
Billy spots dinosaur tracks. Thus
the story begins, “Once upon a
lime, long, long ago ...” in the
amphitheatre which features a
Greco-Roman design with 42 foot
arches and walls and a six story
archway towering over a 65x100
square foot tri-level stage.

Come April of 1994, the pro-

duction will make its way back to
Russia.

The Promise, truly a gift meant
for all to receive.

 
 

 

 

 

Religious play’s cast welcomed home from Russia

By MONICASTAVISH
Fort Worth Star-Telegram

D/FW AIRPORT — Glancing at
two watches on his left wrist, Brent
Ferren looked anxious.

“I’m not taking these off till he
steps off that jet,” Ferren said as he
steadied a video camera. He was
waiting for his 11-year-old son,
Caleb, to return from Russia, where
he had left him two weeks ago with
other actors in The Promise, a play

about the life of Jesus.

About 50 other relatives and

a a A A

 

Return

From Page 21

 

said. “The best thing about Russia is:

the people. The problem is the gov-
ernment. But the people are just like
us. They want to touch and hug. But
theydon’tknowhowto.”

The audiences seemed to grow in

size at each performance, Brooks:

said. They gratefully presented
bunches of flowers to the cast as
thanks, he said.

The trip also had a special signifi-
cance for Michael Smith and

Tammy Pearson, but in a different
way. Smith proposed to Pearson on
the flight home.

“I figure you really get to know a
guy on a mission,” Pearson said
witha laugh.

friends turned out yesterday at D/
FW Airport to greet the weary but
exhilarated cast. The wait seemed
even longer as political tensions un-
folded daily in Russia between Pres-

ident Boris Yeltsin and the

legislature.
“There hasn’t been an hour that I

haven’t checked that watch,” Fer-

ren said, explaining that it was nine

‘hours ahead to correspond to Mos-

cow time.
The cast, which usually presents
The Promise in Glen Kose, spent a

month in Russia. They performed
the religious play, complete with an,
array of animals, at the Kremlin
Theater, just across the street from
political protesters.

Audiences apparently wanted to
hear the message. During one per-
formance, 3,500 people braved frig-
id temperatures to see the perform-

ance.
Ferren, who played the dual role

of a disciple and a centurion, re-
turned to Texas with the first group.
Although he saw a few pro-Yeltsin

demonstrations, he said he didn’t
spot a great deal of unrest. Spread-
ing a religious message to Russians
who had never heard one, he said,
was worth the trip.

His son agreed. After hugging his
family, Caleb Ferren said that he
saw marchers but was never scared.

Randy Brooks, who portrays
Jesus in the play, was solemn about
the trip.

“IT had a vision of this two years
ago, of us going to Russia,” Brooks

(More on RETURN on Page 23)

$<

Brent and Jeanne Ferrin greet their son Caleb, 11,
‘at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport upon his return from

 

Fort Worth Star-Telegrain / [AN McVEa

Russia. He helped present The Promise, a play
about the life of Jesus Christ.

 
As Yeltsin fights
for his job, Texans
goon with show

Associated Press

knowledges the cheers of supporters outside the Kremlin.

, the key element in his strategy
bpealing directly to the people

the heads of the Congress
bers.

eltsin changes his mind all the -

He says one thing one day and
te different thing the next. It is
bssible to believe him,” said
or Gulashko, an opposition leg-
br from central Russia.

Pltsin aides attributed his sud-

shifts to the enormous psycho- °

al strain posed by the struggle
the Congress, the death of his
er and a desire to show the
htry that he sincerely wants a
promise with his political op-
pnts.

though the parliamentary op-
ion of nationalists and Com-
ists was unable to oust Yeltsin,
cceeded in further whittling his
er.

brdinate state-run TV and radio
ices to the parliament, a move
would give Yeltsin’s opponents
tal propaganda weapon in the
ing struggle for public opinion.

roadcasting chiefs immediately
red an appeal against that vote

e Congress voted 537-263 to

with the Constitutional Court, say-
ing that it represented a major blow
to freedom of the press. Informa-
tion Minister Mikhail Fedotov told

journalists that the decision re-

turned Russia to the pre-g/asnost
era of Leonid Brezhnev.

Since the political crisis erupted
with Yeltsin’s announcement
March 20 that he was assuming spe-
cial powers, television and radio
have veered between impartial re-
porting of the political battles in the
Kremlin to open support for the
president.

Although Yeltsin has survived
the impeachment motion in the

Congress, he still faces daunting po-
litical challenges in the coming’

weeks and months. He maintains
that the political standoff can be
broken only through the adoption of
a new constitution to replace the
much-amended Soviet-era hold-
over that names the Congress of
People’s Deputies as the supreme
body of state authority in Russia.

The present Congress.was elected
in 1990, when the country was still
in the hands of the Communist
Party.

By JERRY COFFEY
For Worth Star-Telegram

One of the historic moments in
Russian history was a time of
triumph fora troupe of Texas
actors coincidentally sharing
Moscow’s Kremlin witha
government in crisis.

As the Congress of People’s
Deputies voted on the
impeachment of President Boris
Yeltsin last night, members of
The Promise company
performed the story of Christ
before a crowd of 3,000 just 100
yards away.

“There were seven curtain
calls, and children brought
flowers to Randy Brooks,” the
Bedford actor who plays Jesus,
said Ted Oliver, business
manager of the Glen Rose-based
Passion play troupe. Oliver
telephoned a Star-Telegram
reporter from inside the Kremlin
after the performance.

**In view of what’s been going
on over here, we wanted to let our
folks in Texas know that we’re all
OK and doing well,” Oliver said.

He said that members of the
audience had tears in their eyes
as they left their seats in the
Kremlin State Palace theater. “A
woman Said to me, ‘You are
giving peace to a troubled
people,’ ” Oliver said.

Last night’s performance was
the day’s second. Some 3,500
Russians braved the protest lines
in Red Square to attend a noon
presentation of The Promise,
Oliver said. There also were two
performances on Saturday.

““We've practically spent the
weekend in the Kremlin,” Oliver
said, noting that because of the
crush of demonstrators outside
yesterday, the company was

| the political crisis would kill The

unable to return between
performances to its quarters
aboard acruise ship onthe
Moscow River miles away.
Oliver said that growing
audiences and what he termed “a
really good interchange with the
Russian people” had lifted the |
spirits of the troupe, which has"
three more performances
scheduled before returninghome. m
Friday. ve 4
In anearlier phone call from =
the shipboard headquarters, ~~"
David Sanders, president of The,
Promise Productions Inc. »had
noted some anxiety over the
uncertain political situation. He"
also mentioned frustration over.
bureaucratic hang-ups and :
disappointment at the small size
of the early audiences, we
apparently the result of poor
promotion at the Russian end.
Sanders said it appeared that

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ud

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Promise in mid-run.

“They actually asked us to
suspend the performance
schedule because they wanted t
close the Kremlin and secure it,
but we told them we didn't want
to do that,” he said. os

“There clearly are folks within.
the government who don’twant™ ~
us Over here doing this show at “+42:
this time,” Sanders said. “I can’ t.,
prove it, and I wouldn’ texactly”
call it sabotage, but strange bas
things have been happening. +, P
Tickets disappear fromcertain ~
kiosks; posters disappear after
they’re put up orjust neverget
posted.

“Dealing with the bureaucracy,

has been an ordeal. We hada a

ewre

~_—

we
a
0

ee Pea

‘terrible time trying to get food ,

and medical supplies through . Hw.
customs,” Sanders said. pom

 
een. © Wee te

~ PROMISE

PROMISE PRODUCTIONS, INC.

Michael V. Smith
Sales

114 N.E. Barnard Street # P.O. Box 927®Glen Rose, Texas 76043
817-897-4341 = FAX 817-897-3388