Parents' Guide to The Passion Live

This stirring production is unlike any previous rendition of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which makes its appeal somewhat hit or miss. To tell the story in such a piecemeal way -- interspersed with live narration and stage entertainment, plus a roaming reporter conducting man-on-the-street interviews as the cross journeys more than a mile to the main stage -- is no small undertaking, and the production team deserves praise just for pulling it off. That said, it takes some time to wrap your mind around the idea of Jesus riding mass transit and hitting a food truck for Last Supper supplies (loaves and fishes, of course), and the frequent interruptions for interviews with people in the cross procession are somewhat jarring to the story's fluidity. Ultimately this type of spin on this revered story is a stretch some viewers might not think is worth the effort.

But for those who don't mind a little unorthodoxy to their Easter story, The Passion Live delivers heartfelt performances from a talented cast and a surprisingly effective use of secular music to explore the characters' emotions and the story's themes of love, friendship, and triumph. Who knew that Imagine Dragons' "Demons" could so effectively set the tone for Judas' betrayal or that Jewel's "Hands" could have been written for Mary's devotion to her son? Even if you've never thought of these songs as having faith-based undertones, you will reconsider their message after hearing their place in this story.