Rob Gardner’s Lamb of God concert film portraying the final days of the Savior’s life will return to Megaplex theaters in Utah and Harkins Theater in Arizona on March 25, 2022, for a limited Easter run.
The oratorio concert has been a treasured part of many people’s Easter celebrations for a decade, and last year, Gardner’s beloved music premiered on the big screen as live performances of the oratorio went on hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic. A DVD of the film was also released last year.
The concert film features recognizable names within the Latter-day Saint community, including GENTRI’s Casey Elliott, Oyoyo Bonner, and Dallyn Bayles.
Tickets to see the film will be available on Megaplex and Harkins Theater's websites starting March 23.
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Lead cellist Nicole Pinnell spoke with This Is the Gospel podcast about her experiences recording the oratorio. In the film, Pinnell’s cello solos depict the plaintive voice of Jesus suffering in Gethsemane. She wanted to get the music right, so during filming Pinell did what no musician working long hours ever wants to do: she asked composer Rob Gardner if they could record her solo in the song “Gethsemane”—again. But as she played, Pinnell’s thumbnail detached, causing excruciating pain.
That pain, however, proved to be exactly what Pinnell needed to connect with the music and with the Savior. “What was really amazing about what happened then is I found an awareness of my fingers that I’d never had before. My fingers like had a mind of their own. They started just flying through those notes like they had lived their whole life for this moment.” Read how Pinnell’s pain enhanced the final film recording here.
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Gardner spoke about the characters in the film, each of whom was close to Jesus during His ministry. “For me, what these people teach us is that no matter what, we’ve got to hold on and look for that hope in all these things,” Gardner said on the All In podcast. “And that’s ultimately what carries us through. … Tomorrow may well be better than today, the next hour may well be better than this hour, and sometimes we have to fight for it.”
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Watch the trailer or buy the DVD below:
