Not under the spotlight, but backstage, the booming voice of St. Louis U. High English teacher David Callon uplifted the show I Will Live Until I Die. B flats jumped E sharps as Callon became immersed with this community show, rooted in gospel music and faith.  

From March 5 through 8, Callon participated in the production I Will Live Until I Die as a pit singer. The show, put on by G.K Chesterton Entertainment, detailed the life of Sr. Thea Bowman in three stages of her life, from her childhood conversion to Catholicism in Protestant Mississippi, to her entrance into the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Help as the only Black sister, and finally to an evangelist, speaker, and singer in the later years of her life. By singing in this production, Callon wasn’t just enriching the choir, he was enriching his soul. 

As a parishioner of St. Margaret of Scotland, Callon learned about the opportunity of being a part of this once in a lifetime production. 

“ValLimar Jansen, [the producer of the show], had a vision for this musical that it would be a way for St. Louis as a whole to come together around the story of Thea Bowman,” said Callon. “She reached out to a lot of parishes, specifically Black parishes, that have storied musical traditions, like St. Margaret’s. One of my great regrets in my life, having focused exclusively on sports and as an editor for my high school newspaper, I didn’t have any space to ever do stuff with theater and, at one point, even felt ridiculed because I was interested in doing some high school theater. But as a 51-year-old, coming back around and experiencing that deep and intense community that forms around creating theater is really special.”

Unlike many school shows which have regular rehearsals for six months leading up to a show, I Will Live Until I Die began rehearsing in December, with only three months to practice. However, as a pit singer, Callon jumped into rehearsals just 10 days before opening night. 

“It’s a tremendous labor of love from so many people,” said Callon. “For me at least, in the rehearsals that I was in, I was singing in every song which was essentially three-plus hours of using your voice every day,” said Callon. “I’ve never sang that much daily, so it really tested the limits of what I could do, but also of contributing for such a great good.” 

Out of the nearly 445,000 Catholics in the St. Louis area, only 3 percent of that population is Black, despite the city’s 43% Black population. By being a part of the beautiful and rich form of Black worship and praise, Callon was able to immerse himself into a whole new world of song and prayer. 

“I found a big reward in a musical that was rooted in my own faith tradition,” said Callon. “It brought me into contact with a lot of people who pray differently than I do and who feel the Spirit differently than I do. However, I was able to continue in my real love in connection with spirituals that come from the world of slavery and sharecropping, which is world of suffering, pain, and injustice. Yet, it’s a world in which songs rooted in faith hold people together and offer hope.”

Viewers of the musical observed evocations of a beautiful sense of both Black Catholicism and the importance of Sr. Thea Bowman’s life. 

“I thought that the talent, particularly of the three actresses portraying Sr. Thea Bowman was fantastic,” said junior class president Joseph Talleur, who attended one of the performances. “Black Catholicism is a part of our church’s history that I was not very familiar with, but I was truly amazed at how this production so beautifully told Sr. Thea Bowman’s part of that story.” 

Callon’s hidden yet vital role in this musical is a constant reminder of the many compelling things that both teachers and students alike take part in outside of the walls of 4970 Oakland Ave. 

“It was so special to be a part of this production,” said Callon. “Being able to defamiliarize myself from my current normal in my parish, in my neighborhood, and to immerse myself with a community of predominantly African American Catholics who believe what I believe but have a different style of praying was so powerful. I know that I wasn’t front and center on stage, but singing with that community was something that I will never let go of.”