Shows
The Musical Midrash PodcastJ & D Talk About Queer CastingThis week on Musical Midrash, we’re doing something a little different — and a lot more fun.Join me and my husband, J. Kyle, for the next installment of J&D Talk About Musicals, where we dive into two exciting casting announcements:✨ Jesus Christ Superstar at the Hollywood Bowl (with Cynthia Erivo, Adam Lambert, and more)✨ A benefit performance of The Drowsy Chaperone featuring an all-trans and nonbinary cast (Laverne Cox, Alex Newell, Jonathan Van Ness, Betty Who, and more)We talk queerness, theology, casting as canon-expansion, Jesus with soft eyes, and why...2025-07-1726 min
The Musical Midrash PodcastThe Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened📖 Scripture:Numbers 11:4–171 Corinthians 11:20–22🎭 Featured Musical:Merrily We Roll Along by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth🧵 Description:This musical sermon wrestles with nostalgia, resistance to change, and the cost of transformation — in the wilderness, at the communion table, and on the Broadway stage.Drawing from Merrily We Roll Along’s bittersweet backwards journey and the lectionary texts for a hungry and fragmented people, I explore what it means to lead together, to share what we have, and to believe in a future we cannot yet see.Through stor...2025-07-1424 min
The Musical Midrash PodcastGolden Calves and Golden ToiletsThis week, we’re telling the story of belief—how it can be betrayed, manipulated, and still somehow survive.In this episode, I turn to the real-life scandal of Rebecca, the satirical con of The Producers, and the ancient story of the golden calf to explore what happens when faith becomes spectacle and when the show that should have failed keeps on playing.This is a theology of performance. Of manipulation and meaning. Of lies that become legends and stories that get a second act.📖 Based on the essay published on Musical Midrash: https...2025-07-1026 min
The Musical Midrash PodcastOne from the Vaults: Parental GuidanceWhat does it mean to meet God with new language — and to tell old stories in a new voice?In this restored sermon, we meet Abigail Adams, Broadway, and the ever-expanding God of Isaiah. We trace the evolution of theology, of national myth, and of who gets remembered. And we affirm that welcoming the new doesn’t mean eliminating the old — it just means recognizing that God has always been more.✨ Featuring reflections on:– God as Creator of the Way– Abigail Adams and the theology of founding– 1776, Hamilton, and casting as sac...2025-07-0627 min
The Musical Midrash PodcastJ & D Talk about The Sound of MusicIn this episode of Musical Midrash, I’m joined by my husband and theological co-conspirator J. Kyle Wils0r for the first-ever edition of J & D Talk About Musicals — and we’re starting at the very beginning (a very good place to start) with The Sound of Music.Together, we revisit this classic through a theological lens: Where is God in the hills, in the music, and in the quiet acts of resistance? What can the story of the Von Trapps teach us about moral courage, exile, and the choices we face in times of rising authoritarianism? And is...2025-07-0342 min
The Musical Midrash PodcastOne from the Vaults: Finding the Strength to Stand🏳️🌈 Happy Pride, and welcome to the very first installment of “One from the Vaults” — a recurring segment of The Musical Midrash Podcast where we revisit earlier sermons with fresh eyes and sacred context.This week, we open the vault and travel back to 2017. The Trump administration was seven months in. Transgender military service members were under attack. And I was a 34-year-old talent agent — not yet an elder, not yet imagining ministry — preaching my very first sermon in a small but fiercely loving congregation in Seattle.The passage: Ephesians 6:10–20, the “armor of God.”The theme...2025-06-2928 min
The Musical Midrash PodcastRaise Your VoiceThis week, I had something quieter planned. But the world changed again. In this episode, I turn to the musicals that don’t offer escape — they offer resistance.From the seductive silence of Cabaret, to the resurrected rage of Parade, to the looped lament of A Strange Loop, these stories don’t just entertain. They protest. They prophesy. They pray.This is a theology of theatre-as-truth-telling. Of sacred memory and unfiltered survival. Of musicals that refuse to stay silent.📖 Based on the essay published on Musical Midrash:http...2025-06-2621 min
The Musical Midrash PodcastStop Val. Save Bob.Not directly a musical…they can’t all be - but I could argue that the structure of many superhero movies mirrors musicals in many ways — but we’ll save that for another time. All are worthy of Love.What do a first-century fisherman and a Marvel anti-hero have in common? More than you might think.This sermon weaves together the story of Simon Peter—impulsive, loyal, flawed—and the Marvel character Bob Reynolds, a.k.a. Sentry and The Void. Through Scripture and pop culture, we explore themes of shame, unworthiness, and the unexpected grace that s...2025-06-2319 min
The Musical Midrash PodcastThe Stories That Save UsDear friends,Some stories don’t just entertain us — they save us.They become a shelter when the world is closing in.They become prayer when we no longer have words.They become a rehearsal for hope.That’s what I found myself thinking Sunday night as the trailer for the new film adaptation of Kiss of the Spider Woman, starring Jennifer Lopez, flashed across the screen during the Tony Awards. Now, you should know that I have always been obsessed with this show.Premiering on Broadway in 1993, this was a...2025-06-1208 min
The Musical Midrash PodcastTheatre is a sacred space.Dear friends,It’s been a while.When I first launched Musical Midrash, I hoped it would become a gathering place — a space where theatre and theology, song and Spirit, could meet in conversation. But like any creative project, it takes time to find rhythm, voice, and purpose. So I stepped back.But I’ve never stopped listening.And on Sunday night, something stirred me.At the Tony Awards, Kara Young — accepting her award for Best Featured Actress in Purpose — took the microphone and spoke a word of truth that rang...2025-06-1003 min
The Musical Midrash PodcastParental GuidanceSome guidance leaves bruises. Some leaves bread.In this sermon, we ask what it means to be guided by a God who remembers us into liberation — not control. Drawing from Isaiah 43, Abigail Adams, and 1776 the musical, we explore the difference between guidance rooted in fear and guidance rooted in presence. This isn’t about blind obedience. It’s about sacred memory, relationship, and the holy courage to say: “You must remember who you are.”📖 Scripture: Isaiah 43:16–21🎶 Inspired by 1776 and Abigail Adams’ prophetic voice🌈 A reflection on control, compassion, and God’s m...2025-04-0617 min
The Musical Midrash PodcastLove is All AroundThe message of Resurrection, remembered in this Easter season, is a message of apocalyptic proportions. The Good News of the community of Love springs to life and begins to spread as Dustin begins to say goodbye.Sermon begins at minute marker 6:03John 5:25-29; Acts 5:12–16; 2 Corinthians 4:13–15Hymn: 478, I Come with Joy. Music: American traditional (USA), Southern Harmony, 1854, alt. Text: Brian Wren (England), 1968, rev. 1993, © 1971, rev. 1995 Hope Publishing Company Permission to podcast the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-726929. All rights reserved.Resou...2023-05-0719 minThe Musical Midrash PodcastLove is All AroundThe message of Resurrection, remembered in this Easter season, is a message of apocalyptic proportions. The Good News of the community of Love springs to life and begins to spread as Dustin begins to say goodbye.Sermon begins at minute marker 6:03John 5:25-29; Acts 5:12–16; 2 Corinthians 4:13–15Hymn: 478, I Come with Joy. Music: American traditional (USA), Southern Harmony, 1854, alt. Text: Brian Wren (England), 1968, rev. 1993, © 1971, rev. 1995 Hope Publishing Company Permission to podcast the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-726929. All rights reserved.Resou...2023-05-0719 min
The Musical Midrash PodcastIt's You I LikeJohn 3:16 is much loved by many & much detested by many others. This Laetare Sunday, Dustin looks beyond verse 16 to find a way to rejoice it.Sermon begins at minute marker 7:20Song of Solomon 4.7-16; Psalm 135.1-16; 1 John 4.7-12; John 3.11-17ResourcesA Woman’s Lectionary for the Whole Church (Year W): A Multi-Gospel Single-Year Lectionary, Wilda C. Gafney, Church Publishing Incorporated, 2021.Finding Fred Podcast: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-finding-fred-91432380/Baker, Elna. “This American Life.” Episode. The...2023-03-1928 minThe Musical Midrash PodcastIt's You I LikeJohn 3:16 is much loved by many & much detested by many others. This Laetare Sunday, Dustin looks beyond verse 16 to find a way to rejoice it.Sermon begins at minute marker 7:20Song of Solomon 4.7-16; Psalm 135.1-16; 1 John 4.7-12; John 3.11-17ResourcesA Woman’s Lectionary for the Whole Church (Year W): A Multi-Gospel Single-Year Lectionary, Wilda C. Gafney, Church Publishing Incorporated, 2021.Finding Fred Podcast: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-finding-fred-91432380/Baker, Elna. “This American Life.” Episode. The...2023-03-1928 min
The Musical Midrash PodcastThere's A Place for UsIn this scripture, we come to the “ending credits” of the story of Mary that we have been following for the past several months. Using the musical West Side Story, Dustin urges us to ensure that we give credit to everyone who contributed to the story.Sermon begins at minute marker 8:00Luke 3: 21-23; 31-38ResourcesA Woman’s Lectionary for the Whole Church (Year W): A Multi-Gospel Single-Year Lectionary, Wilda C. Gafney, Church Publishing Incorporated, 2021.Gospel of Musica...2023-02-1226 minThe Musical Midrash PodcastThere's A Place for UsIn this scripture, we come to the “ending credits” of the story of Mary that we have been following for the past several months. Using the musical West Side Story, Dustin urges us to ensure that we give credit to everyone who contributed to the story.Sermon begins at minute marker 8:00Luke 3: 21-23; 31-38ResourcesA Woman’s Lectionary for the Whole Church (Year W): A Multi-Gospel Single-Year Lectionary, Wilda C. Gafney, Church Publishing Incorporated, 2021.Gospel of Musica...2023-02-1226 min
The Musical Midrash PodcastThey Spoke Not a Word, but, Got Straight to WorkMagi from the East, travel (for two years) guided by a significant astrological event. Along the way (in the opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors)they stop at the home of a poor widow and her son; before finding their way to the chaotic home of Mary, the harried mother of toddler Jesus in Dustin’s dramatic interpretation of the familiar tale.Paralleling that energetic telling of the journey of the Magi with the somber story of the small French town of Dieulefit, who sheltered and saved its Jewish community fr...2023-01-0832 minThe Musical Midrash PodcastThey Spoke Not a Word, but, Got Straight to WorkMagi from the East, travel (for two years) guided by a significant astrological event. Along the way (in the opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors)they stop at the home of a poor widow and her son; before finding their way to the chaotic home of Mary, the harried mother of toddler Jesus in Dustin’s dramatic interpretation of the familiar tale.Paralleling that energetic telling of the journey of the Magi with the somber story of the small French town of Dieulefit, who sheltered and saved its Jewish community fr...2023-01-0832 min
The Musical Midrash PodcastBlessed Are You Among Women!Elizabeth exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Who was the blessed woman, and what does it mean to be blessed in the first place? Dustin is an emerging Mariologist, and he walks us through the unfamiliar early life of Mary before Jesus as he explores what it means to be beloved and blessed by God, and the way he sees the SMC community fulfilling that blessing.Sermon begins at minute marker 4:53Genesis 17.15-22; Luke 1.39-45 Photo from The Church Council of Greater Seat...2022-12-0428 min
The Musical Midrash PodcastI Will Never Leave YouAll Saints Sunday was a wonderful chance to eat together and share stories of our saints. We even got to make icons and hear part of the story of Ruth read out loud by four voices. Listen as Dustin reflects on the stories of his saints, his icons, and one of his favorite books of the bible, Ruth. Sermon begins at minute 7:02Ruth 1:14-18 and 3:1-1Photo by Kampus Production on pexelsVT 209, We Dream of a Turning, Music - ©2019 MennoMedia Inc. Contributor: Kathryn HarshaS...2022-10-3020 minThe Musical Midrash PodcastI Will Never Leave YouAll Saints Sunday was a wonderful chance to eat together and share stories of our saints. We even got to make icons and hear part of the story of Ruth read out loud by four voices. Listen as Dustin reflects on the stories of his saints, his icons, and one of his favorite books of the bible, Ruth. Sermon begins at minute 7:02Ruth 1:14-18 and 3:1-1Photo by Kampus Production on pexelsVT 209, We Dream of a Turning, Music - ©2019 MennoMedia Inc. Contributor: Kathryn HarshaS...2022-10-3020 min
The Musical Midrash PodcastHorns of Every Shape and Size!The Bible has taught us well to allegorize stories by substituting God for the male figure in a story, and Jerusalem or Humanity for the female figure. However, Hebrew poetry lends itself to double entendres and multiple meanings. With the help of the 1957 Broadway musical The Music Man, we will examine the well-established structure of this poem with curiosity; asking, “Can this song be sung a different way?”Sermon begins at minute 6:36Song of Songs 5:2-9 and 8:5-10Resources: See the SMC website or F...2022-10-1627 minThe Musical Midrash PodcastHorns of Every Shape and Size!The Bible has taught us well to allegorize stories by substituting God for the male figure in a story, and Jerusalem or Humanity for the female figure. However, Hebrew poetry lends itself to double entendres and multiple meanings. With the help of the 1957 Broadway musical The Music Man, we will examine the well-established structure of this poem with curiosity; asking, “Can this song be sung a different way?”Sermon begins at minute 6:36Song of Songs 5:2-9 and 8:5-10Resources: See the SMC website or F...2022-10-1627 min
The Musical Midrash PodcastHow the Elephant Got His TrunkJohn 6:22-59 is an etiological story - a "Just So Story" - a story about the way things came to be the way they are.Sermon begins at minute marker 3:54John 6:22-59This sermon was written for Woodland Park Presbyterian Church.Support the show Get full access to Musical Midrash at dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe2022-02-1321 minThe Musical Midrash PodcastHow the Elephant Got His TrunkJohn 6:22-59 is an etiological story - a "Just So Story" - a story about the way things came to be the way they are.Sermon begins at minute marker 3:54John 6:22-59This sermon was written for Woodland Park Presbyterian Church.Support the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe2022-02-1321 min
The Musical Midrash PodcastSundayThis Gaudete Sunday we are reminded to rejoice for the moments of rose.Sermon begins at minute marker 2:25Isaiah 55.1-13This sermon was written for Woodland Park Presbyterian Church as part of their Advent Series: Seek the Welfare of the City exploring the ways in which we are called into community and solidarity with those around us.Support the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dustinwilsor.substack...2021-12-1223 minThe Musical Midrash PodcastSundayThis Gaudete Sunday we are reminded to rejoice for the moments of rose.Sermon begins at minute marker 2:25Isaiah 55.1-13This sermon was written for Woodland Park Presbyterian Church as part of their Advent Series: Seek the Welfare of the City exploring the ways in which we are called into community and solidarity with those around us.Support the show Get full access to Musical Midrash at dustinwilsor.substack.com/subscribe2021-12-1223 min
The Musical Midrash PodcastElection Series: More PerfectEvery Sunday in October I will be releasing a sermon that speaks to some aspect of the upcoming election. This sermon was originally delivered on July 14, 2019, at Woodland Park Presbyterian Church as the beginning of a series on Hebrews.Scripture reading: Hebrews 1:1-4: Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of...2020-10-0419 min
The Musical Midrash PodcastJoseph and the Amazing Long Robe with SleevesDelivered on September 27, 2020, at Woodland Park Presbyterian Church in Seattle, WA as part of regular worship (17th Sunday in Ordinary Time).Scripture reading, Genesis 37:3-8, 17b-22, 26-34; 50:15-21If you liked this sermon, you might be interested in reading these source materials:Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender ChristiansA Rainbow Thread: An Anthology of Queer Jewish Texts from the First Century 1969Support the show (https://pod.fan/lets-begin-with-prayer)2020-09-2722 min
The Musical Midrash PodcastThe Kingdom of GodDelivered on August 30, 2020, at Woodland Park Presbyterian Church in Seattle, WA as part of a 4-week sermon series on The Lord's Prayer.Scripture reading, Luke 11:2-4: He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins,For we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial."Support the show (https://pod.fan/lets-begin-with-prayer)2020-08-3033 minThe Musical Midrash PodcastThe Lord's PrayerDelivered on August 23, 2020, at Faith United Methodist Church in Arcanum, OH as part of 3-week sermon series on prayer.Scripture Reading, Luke 11:1-13: He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial...2020-08-2320 minThe Musical Midrash PodcastCan You Ever Forgive Me?Delivered on July 19, 2020 at Woodland Park Presbyterian Church in Seattle, WA as part of a 5-week sermon series on 2 Corinthians.Scripture Reading, 2 Corinthians 2:1-10: So I made up my mind not to make you another painful visit. For if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? And I wrote as I did, so that when I came, I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice; for I am confident about all of you, that my joy would be the joy of...2020-07-1925 minThe Musical Midrash PodcastThe Long MiddleDelivered on June 14, 2020, at Woodland Park Presbyterian Church as part of a 5-week sermon series on Job.Scripture reading, Job 3:1-10; 4:1-9; 7:11-21: After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. He said: “May the day of my birth perish, and the night that said, ‘A boy is conceived!’ That day—may it turn to darkness; may God above not care about it; may no light shine on it. May gloom and utter darkness claim it once more; may a cloud settle over it; may blackness overwhelm it. That night—may thick darkness s...2020-06-1422 minThe Musical Midrash PodcastLife is a CabaretDelivered on May 3, 2020, at Woodland Park Presbyterian Church as part of the regular worship service (4th Sunday in Eastertide).Scripture Reading, Acts 17:1-9 & 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10: After Paul and Silas had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three sabbath days argued with them from the scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, "This is the Messiah, Jesus whom I am proclaiming to...2020-05-0327 minThe Musical Midrash PodcastFinding the Strength to StandDelivered on August 6, 2017, at Woodland Park Presbyterian Church as part of 4-week sermon series on Ephesians.Scripture Reading, Ephesians 6:10-20: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of...2017-08-0621 min