Renowned Broadway Performer David Gaschen on Bringing New Twist to Nativity Story in 'He Rules the World'
Internationally renowned vocalist and stage performer David Gaschen has made a name for himself far and wide over the last 25 years, most notably for his portrayal of the title character in long-running Broadway show, The Phantom of the Opera.
After performing the Phantom more than 1,000 times in Europe, Gaschen made his Broadway debut in the same role in 1999. All told, the Lubbock, Texas native donned the legendary mask and cape more than 1,300 times. Eventually, he opted to leave Broadway and seek success in recording and performing concerts around the world. In fact, Gaschen has recorded multiple albums including a Christmas release called A Christmas Celebration.
With his faith playing a vital role in his professional decision making process, it seemed only natural for him to be drawn to an upstart production in his own backyard called He Rules the World. Tabbed as the featured lead performer, Gaschen’s vocal range will be on full display at the Hippodrome Theater in Waco, Texas, December 11-14th, as part of this Christmas rock spectacular.
I recently sat down with Gaschen to discuss what excites him about performing in He Rules the World, what surprised him about these re-imagined Christmas compositions, and why his greatest hope for the show is that those unfamiliar with the greatest story ever told will find peace this holiday season.
If you were trying to convince a friend to take the time to get out to see a performance of He Rules the World, what would you say to convince them to go?
It’s brand new. It's never been done before. And I would say it's an immersive show. It pulls you in not only by the wonderful story, the greatest story ever told. But the music is nothing like you've ever heard. He (Peter Emerson) took old hymns and re-imagined them in a pop, fusion, rock, jazz style. And to be able to have these musical styles, it will connect with someone when they hear either rock or pop or jazz or fusion, any of those styles of music. We're going to do a story about Christ built around rock music. And we're actually going to say the word Christ.
It's an actual story about Christmas that is about Christmas. It's not about opening up the gifts, or let's sing “White Christmas”, which I love. But this turns it around. It turns it 180 degrees and it makes it introspective for the person watching because you're familiar with the story. Most people are, even people who don't believe in Christ are familiar with the birth of Jesus. If there's someone there that doesn't know, maybe they'll hear it and change.
You have had great success on Broadway and as a touring performer. And for every performer, there always seems to be a trigger, a tipping point, or a moment where you say to yourself, I have to be part of this project. For He Rules the World, what was that moment for you?
It’s a fun story. One of my old friends was a marketing person for He Rules the World at the very beginning of it. And they were looking for someone who had some experience in a bigger show like Phantom of the Opera. So she called me and said, “I don't know if you'd be interested in doing this but it's a rock concert version of telling the Nativity story. And I said, “Wow!” Right off the bat, you never hear that. You see these big huge productions from groups like Trans-Siberian Orchestra but they never mention the name of Christ, Mary, or Joseph. And as soon as I heard the music, I said, “I'm in.”
The music is not like anything I'd ever sung before. It was a challenge for me to learn. It's always good to stay fresh. And it's something I never imagined I would ever do. And the fact that they were trusting me to do it, I was in. So it clicked for me from the beginning.
As you became part of the show, learning the music, and getting ready to do this series of performances, is there anything about the Christmas story or the birth of Christ that you learned from this music that you never realized before? In other words, something that gave you an “A-Ha” moment?
Yes. There was a specific “A-Ha” moment. Even though I'd heard the song when I was practicing, I wasn't singing it. It's another vocalist’s song. It's about the Innkeeper. One of the songs comes from the Innkeeper's point of view based on the Christmas carol “Away in the Manger”. And as he's singing it, you realize, I never thought about what the Innkeeper was thinking. It shows this incredible perspective of what the Innkeeper thought when this couple came up. Mary was literally in labor and all he had was a stable. I never even thought about the Innkeeper. My only thought about him was that he was always in the background. He's not the focal point. But he's there. And honestly, it's one of my favorite songs in the whole show.
What excites you most about presenting this show to the masses?
Personally, I get the opportunity to share what God gave me. That has always been my goal even when I was doing Phantom, even when I was doing all those hundreds of shows with that production. My goal was to somehow change someone's life, saying David is sharing what he has to change me for the better. And if I can show them some bit of God's glory, then that's all that matters. I think what this will do is it will center people back on what the true story of Christmas is. That's what makes me go because we have lost that.
After people have had a chance to experience this concert in real time, what's your greatest hope for He Rules the World?
My greatest hope is that it grows. That we get to do more concerts. That we get to do as many as we can to spread the Good News. To spread the news that there's still love in the world. And the Greatest Love came 2,000 years ago. If you believe in Him, you will be saved.
He Rules the World will be performed live December 11th through December 14th at the Hippodrome Theater in Waco, Texas. For more information please visit HeRulestheWorld.com.
WATCH A TRAILER FOR HE RULES THE WORLD:
