Church and Theater

The portico of St. Paul's Church in Covent Garden in London is the first scene in Shaw's Pygmalion and in Lerner and Lowe's musical adaptation My Fair Lady.  I was the stage manager when we did the musical in college.  Since Shaw had insisted that this portico be the opening scene in the musical, I foolishly insisted as well.  The portico was so awkward for our production that the change from this scene to the next took 20 minutes!
The architect of the church designed it to front on this square, but the clergy refused to put the altar  on what they considered the wrong end of the church.  So the entrance to the church is not under the portico but around on the other side.
As I went into the church I immediately felt that I was in a holy place (not always my experience in some of the churches I visited in England.)  The church was empty.  I sat down in the back pew to pray.  Before long I noticed a sanctuary lamp burning up in the right corner.  I went and sat before the Blessed Sacrament and had a profound experience of prayer.
As I got up to leave, I noticed that on the wall where my arm had rested was a placque in memory of Alan Jay Lerner who wrote the lyrics for My Fair Lady.  Below his name and dates was the quote, "one brief shining moment," from Camalot, which he also wrote with Lowe.  I was thrilled with the coincidence and sat down again for a while.
As I walked back down the church I noticed that all along the walls their were similar placques in memory of famous actors and directors and playwrights. I wandered around recognizing names and thanking God for the beauty and pleasure that they had brought into my life and into our world.