[frame_left][/frame_left] Sunday, April 21, 2013, 3:00 pm

Fighting Local Hunger with “The Cotton Patch Gospel”

One-Man Show of Musical Comes to St. Ann & the Holy Trinity

Music by Harry Chapin

The Off-Broadway musical, “The Cotton Patch Gospel” is coming to St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn Heights on Sunday, April 21, at 3:00 pm. The one-man show, performed by Phillip Kaufmann, will raise money for programs that help fight hunger. Admission is $10 plus goodwill offerings at the door, with 100% of funds going directly to fight hunger.

“The Cotton Patch Gospel” is a musical, written by Tom Key and Russel Trez, featuring the music of singer/songwriter, activist and Brooklyn native, the late Harry Chapin. The Chapin family supports the use of the piece to address concerns about global poverty.

The story, inspired by Koinonia Farm founder Clarence Jordan’s translations of the Gospels, imagines what it would be like if Jesus were born in Gainesville, Georgia, in the 20th century.

What makes this “The Cotton Patch Gospel” truly unique is the one man performance by native Illinoisan, Phillip Kaufmann. Through the use of audio and video technology, Phillip portrays over 20 characters, plays 11 musical instruments and sings his own backup vocals

All proceeds from the event will support the fight against hunger, with 50% going to the Hunger Outreach Project of St. Ann & the Holy Trinity, 25% to WhyHunger (an organization founded by Harry Chapin and New York radio host and Catholic philanthropist, Bill Ayres – www.whyhunger.org), and 25% to Mennonite Central Committee food program (www.mcc.org).

Kaufmann has taken his one-man show on the road and raised nearly $80,000 to combat hunger in the past 2 years. Information about his efforts is available at www.cpgfoodproject.org and Facebook at Cotton Page Gospel Food Project.

A review of Kaufmann’s show with singer/songwriter Jen Chapin is at http://greatlakes.mcc.org/stories/news/toe-tapping-way-address-hunger.

WhyHunger lists Phil and his show along with artists like Bruce Springsteen, Carlos Santana, and Chicago in their efforts to fight hunger http://www.whyhunger.org/aahp.