TodayMessiah College recasts ‘Godspell’ as more spiritual work
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Rob Holland and the cast of Messiah College’s “Godspell” cry out to God, “Save the people.” (Photo courtesy Messiah College)
What started as a college student project developed into a coffee house, off-Broadway, and then Broadway show (and movie) that has become a perennial favorite of high schools and colleges.
One of those is Messiah College, currently presenting “Godspell” by “Wicked” creator Stephen Schwartz (music and lyrics) and John-Michael Tebelak (book).
The show is structured around a series of parables primarily from the Gospel of Matthew, ending with a brief Passion of Christ.
In the original production, Jesus and his disciples were portrayed as flower children in a canivalesque environment. But Ed Cohn, associate professor of theater at Messiah and director of this “Godspell,” has placed the musical in an urban setting — outside the station of a delayed elevated train.
“Thirteen people who normally wouldn’t be together are thrown together,” he says. “They find a Bible and one by one, begin acting out the parables.”
What starts almost as a game takes them through a recognition of Christ.
In keeping with the “deeper spiritual journey” it highlights, this production includes the Resurrection, left out in the original show. “But it’s through the rebirth of the characters,” Cohn says.
Messiah College’s theater department is “not updating a dated play,” he continues. “Instead, we asked, if the play had been written today instead of in 1970, how would it be. It would be darker and grittier, like a ‘Rent.’ And there’d be more dancing. The theatricality would be different.”
The script for this production uses no names. All 13 speaking actors — there are also two dancers — are simply “the players.” The cast consists of Richard Chagnon, Rob Holland, Brandon Kerr, Jon Landis, Matt Lamb, Stephanie Leh, April Lindley, Kayla Mini, Melissa Paolangeli, Gabby Saramago, Jenna Schmalhofer, Jordan Swisher and Bryant Vance. The dancers are Cara Thomas and Emily Williams.
As he did later in his musical “Pippin,” Stephen Schwartz composed music in a variety of styles — pop, folk rock, gospel and vaudeville. But there have been four other recordings of “Godspell” since, and the production has adapted music from all five and put them together.
“We drew from them, and made it our own,” says Cohn.
FYI
Performances of “Godspell” will take place today and tomorrow and on Feb. 14-16 at 8 p.m. and on Feb. 10 and 17 at 2 p.m. They are held at Messiah College’s Miller Auditorium, inside the Climenhaga Fine Arts Center in Grantham.
For information and reservations, call 691-6036. Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for students.
