Broadway.com "Issues and Parables"

"I’ve seen Godspell presented in two very different modes. In the spring of 1971 at the Cherry Lane Theatre, it was a sweetly innocent concoction, mounted by co-author John-Michael Tebelak with some of the feel of an amateur school show. Fine as the company was, it appeared to be made up less of show-biz talents bound for glory than of eager, everyday young people, and indeed, no one from the original cast went on to a major career.

When next I saw Godspell, a year had passed, and the show was a West End smash at Wyndham’s Theatre. If the text and staging were largely the same, the spirit was quite different, with a company of very slick performers, and a high-powered, almost racy attitude that informed everything. And it’s not surprising, considering that among the cast were future stars Jeremy Irons and David Essex, along with soon-to-be-Evitas Julie Covington and Marti Webb.

The revival of Godspell now at Theatre at St. Peter’s Church resides comfortably somewhere in between. It’s performed by very young, relatively unseasoned newcomers, but the production is a good deal more high-powered than the original. With a flea market setting replacing the original’s schoolyard, the text has been updated to include numerous contemporary references, and there are new, rockish musical arrangements.

I thought I had years ago closed the book on Godspell; I skipped an ‘80s off-Broadway revival, and attended this one ---a transfer of last spring’s Third Eye Repertory version---- reluctantly. But it’s painless, even moderately enjoyable. A piece that might have made a perfect one-act remains overlong; there are a few parables too many, and things can droop in between the songs. But Stephen Schwartz’ music holds up well and carries one through. And Shawn Rozsa’s energetic staging is, if overemphatic, frequently inventive and funny. The cast is an appealing bunch, with fine voices (you’ll note Capathia Jenkins, who stood out on Broadway in The Civil War) and a couple of strong comic performers (especially the versatile Chad Kimball), all nicely centered by the Jesus and Judas of Barrett Foa and Will Erat. As long as Godspell can be reinvigorated with winning productions like this one, it’s likely to last."
August 4, 2000 (12:36PM)


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