Broadway performer Bryan Terrell Clark usually sings in front of thousands on the biggest stages in the world. But last week, he stepped into a softer spotlight.
He stood under dim lighting at the Eisemann Center in Richardson, surrounded by 280 vocalists wearing all black, arranged on risers. In the center stood a smaller group of 25 people in red. Together, they sang 18 musical numbers.
The vocalists wearing red are members of the Dallas Street Choir, an organization founded in 2014 providing a musical outlet for those affected by homelessness. Their latest production in collaboration with The University of Texas at Dallas Choirs and the Credo Community Choir of Dallas, Shelter Me, is a rock oratorio written by Jacob Ryan Smith and inspired by the lives and stories of street choir members.
“Every night in America, there are more than 600,000 people living unhoused, and this is something that can't go unaddressed any longer,” Jonathan Palant, Dallas Street Choir founder and conductor, said.
The rock oratorio follows a young man navigating life on the streets, guided by two older mentors who help him find hope. Each musical number touches on a different moment in that journey, from “The First Time You Sleep on the Street” to “So, You Want to Solve the Housing Crisis.”
“This is a problem that has been with us too long, and one that needs to end,” Palant said. “We're taking …what we do in our art form to teach others about a problem that needs to be addressed.”
Clark, known for his role as George Washington in Hamilton, served as a lead vocalist for the show. He joined the show because of a close friend who once experienced homelessness.
Palant launched the choir with just nine singers. It has since welcomed more than 2,000 singers to their rehearsals at the First Presbyterian Church of Dallas. The choir rehearses every Wednesday morning and does about 12 performances each year. About 68% of the members stay in shelters while 23% live on the street.
Ronn Johnson found refuge in the choir. He moved to Dallas 11 years ago, but eventually became homeless in 2016.
He discovered the choir through a flyer at a day shelter. Johnson, a former Harlem Children's Choir member, admires how the choir has a life of its own and said the choir has become a place of peace.
“The personalities are so different, the variations are so vast to the point where, like, how did [Palant] do this?” Johnson said. “We had one talking here, the other one sleeping, the one eating, and he somehow brings this thing together.”
The Shelter Me sheet music is published by Hal Leonard and is now available for other choirs to purchase. Palant plans to release a fully mastered album on all streaming platforms this summer.
But when the curtains closed on the performances last weekend, many Dallas Street Choir members returned to the streets and shelters.
“We can't forget that while we feel good about the experience and how memorable it is, the problem still exists,” Palant said. “We still have to keep fighting to end homelessness in America and around the world.”
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