Seminarians and parish youth brought the biblical account of three young men who refused to worship a king’s statue to the stage at Servite College on Thursday 8 and Friday 9 October.
More than 200 people from across the Archdiocese attended each night of Daniel and the Three Young Men in the Blazing Furnace.
The live production brought together seminarians from Redemptoris Mater Seminary, Perth, and young people from the parishes of Mirrabooka, Osborne Park and Kelmscott.
“Do to me what you will, but I’ll not do what you want,” Azariah told King Nebuchadnezzar, rejecting his demand to worship the golden statue.
Seminarian Flavio Pichardo played Azariah alongside Micah McKenna as Hananiah and fellow seminarian Sebastian Loredo as Mishael.
Noah McKenna took the role of Daniel, with seminarian Manuel Ruiz as Nebuchadnezzar.
Twenty-year-old Sara Cleary directed the play by Javier Castilla of Cordoba, Spain. Speaking after the performance, Ms Cleary thanked the cast and acknowledged their limited experience on stage.
“Not a lot of them have ever been on stage ever before, and I think that was an amazing performance from all of them,” she said.
Ms Cleary thanked Seminary Vice-Rector Fr Josue Quej Moran for organising the venues and rehearsals and bringing the production together.
The three-act drama followed the young men as they faced the consequences of refusing the king’s command. Their answer remained the same even if God did not rescue them.
“And even if He doesn’t save us from the blazing furnace, the whole world will know that we don’t adore other gods, nor bow down to the king’s statue.”
Comic exchanges ran through the script, including Mishael’s attempts to escape the king’s demands by claiming difficulties with his hearing and sight.
An angel brought David, Joseph and Judith into the story as the condemned men awaited punishment. They recalled David’s encounter with Goliath, Joseph’s ordeal in an empty well and Judith’s confrontation with Holofernes.
Benedetta Arace played the angel, with Eli McKenna as David, Josef McKenna as Joseph and Allegra Piccolo as Judith.
Daniel returned to support his friends as their opponents plotted against him.
“Well, my life doesn’t belong to me. I gave it up to God a long time ago. He’ll take care of me,” Daniel declared.
The king ordered the furnace seven times hotter than normal, then saw four figures inside it. He summoned the three young men, whose clothes showed no sign of burning, and praised their God.
In his program message, Rector Fr Chrispine Witika explained that funds would help meet the seminarians’ needs and support their formation for priesthood and missionary service.
Fr Chrispine thanked those who had helped bring the play to life and acknowledged the benefactors whose generosity sustains the seminary.
The program recognised Melita Bugeja and Bev Casley for their work on costumes and Paolo Sala for building the set pieces. Cleary thanked Paul Nolan for his work on lights and sound.
The seminary acknowledged Michael Chiera and the Servite community for making the college’s facilities available.
“I think it’s really special that we can put our faith into something on stage that everyone can witness, and I think everyone in the cast has loved doing that,” Ms Cleary said.