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Year-Round Educational Programs. Theatre is the place where we go to understand what lies in the human heart. BTG's buildings, on two campuses in Stockbridge and Pittsfield, are historic treasures. Berkshire Theatre Group believes that the creative arts are dependent on a free society that encourages freedom of speech and debate. We were told we were going into rehearsal in five weeks.
I jumped in. But that sounds like a more impressive feat than it was — most of the lyrics I wrote were derived from the Episcopal hymnal or paraphrased Bible verse. We opened at the tiny Cherry Lane theatre off-Broadway in May It was like kids putting on a show in a barn. The audience got up on stage during the interval to have wine and dance with the cast.
Actors played charades with the audience. It quickly turned into a phenomenon and opened on Broadway and in London. It was a time when were very divided as a nation and there was an appetite for its message of unity. They then proceed to sing their verses again, this time all at once, creating a carefully constructed mosaic of conflicting philosophies.
The point is that all these views have combined as their melodies now have over time to create the basis for contemporary religious thought; and though many of the ideas are conflicting, they still work together to form a solid foundation on which to build. The Prologue and "Tower of Babble" place both Christ and us, the audience, in historical context.
With the Prologue in place, the need for the clown costumes is not as great because now we can see a different conversion—the cast changes from philosophers to "believers" before our eyes. We see the dramatic difference between philosophy, something complex that is forged in the brain, and faith, something very simple that resides in the heart. This difference is underscored by the transition from the intricate counterpoint of "Tower of Babble" to the extreme simplicity of "Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord," a song with an unadorned melody over a very basic chord progression, and a one-sentence lyric.
As the cast has been transformed, so has the score. Jesus enters and we see the last element of the transformation, from the philosophers' complicated discourse to the intentionally unpretentious words of Jesus Christ. People like to direct and perform in Godspell for the same reasons they like to see it—it's fun and it makes you feel good. But the show isn't just about doing funny skits; it's about the teachings of Christ.
This is serious fun. The jokes, skits, and other shtick must support the parables, not overwhelm them. We must see the disciples learning what Jesus is teaching them, and we must learn along with them.
The most important element of the show is the relationship between Jesus and the twelve disciples. Because the disciples are the audience's surrogates, their relationship with Jesus is really our relationship with him. This relationship must be explored and developed throughout the first act. Each actor must be aware of how his relationship with Jesus grows and changes.
We need to understand that Jesus sees them as his friends, his students, and his children, and he loves them deeply in all these ways. Whether the last half-hour of the show is as moving as it can be depends entirely on these relationships. During the Last Supper, the knowledge of their impending separation should be utterly gut-wrenching to everyone in the cast, especially Judas; and it can be equally so to the audience if we've seen the love and trust between them all grow over the course of the first act.
If you wait to focus on this until the Last Supper, there will be no emotional basis established for the grief the audience should be feeling. Everything in Act I leads to the Last Supper and Crucifixion, so everything must be staged and acted with that in mind. Act I not only teaches the parables, but also sets the audience up for the tragedy of Act II. Though Stephen Schwartz's score was interpolated into the show after it had already been running for a while, it is well integrated and functional, but in different ways from an ordinary musical theatre score.
There are two kinds of songs in the score: book songs and diegetic songs. Book songs are those that grow out of the action, in which the characters are saying something in the context of the situation onstage. These songs are more like traditional musical comedy songs; they function like speeches and the characters aren't aware that they're singing.
They're not singing to the audience; they're "talking" to Jesus, to each other, or to themselves. For instance, in "Save the People," Jesus is talking to God. In "On the Willows," the cast or band is expressing their feelings as they say goodbye to Jesus. In "Alas for You," Jesus is talking to the Pharisees. Diegetic songs are those in which the act of singing is part of the story like when a character in a musical sings in a night club , and the characters are aware that they're singing; the songs would still be there even if it wasn't a musical.
In Godspell , the diegetic songs are mostly the songs in which the lessons are summarized or the cast is just having fun, including "All for the Best" "Turn Back O Man," and "We Beseech Thee.
There are four basic kinds of prayers: those in which we ask for help, those in which we ask for forgiveness, those in which we ask for help in becoming better people, and prayers of thanks. Because the lyrics in Godspell are largely taken from the Bible, many of the songs in the show fit into these four categories, thereby reinforcing the parallel between Godspell and an actual religious service.
The most important thing about the score is to understand how each song works and why it's in the show. The actors should read the lyrics as text and make sure they understand the message of each song, so they can successfully communicate it to the audience. Because the songs will invariably be staged as one showstopper after another, it's important to help the audience see beyond the visual razzle dazzle to the meaning underneath.
It's interesting that so many musicals have trouble with the second act when they're in previews. In fact, a number of wonderful musicals still have Act II trouble even after they open. Most of us don't think about Godspell having a problematic second act, but if you're not careful with it, it can. It was my first time directing, and it was during the height of the pandemic—but U of M was determined to give their senior musical theatre majors as much of a live performance experience as possible.
We filmed the show with no audience, the actors had to be masked the whole time, and we had to stage them nine feet apart. It was a challenging situation for all involved, but I understood the healing power of that show and felt the deep need to share this show with the next generation of Broadway artists.
I knew there was something powerful in gathering a group of artists together and creating something from nothing—even if our little production never saw the light of day due to COVID. We need Godspell to inspire us to come together and rebuild "brick by brick, heart by heart.
Eugene Levy , Original Toronto cast One of my most vivid memories from the Toronto production took place at the callback auditions. Eighty hopefuls were trying out in a church auditorium and watching each other audition on the tiny church stage.
It was the musical portion of the audition where Stephen Schwartz and Steve Reinhardt would determine who had the musical chops to be in the show. Eighty auditionees, including me, jumped to their feet and gave him a minute standing ovation. Corey Mach , Broadway revival Godspell has remained intensely popular because it is the epitome of the purpose of theatre: interpreting basic stories in order to be relevant to any place or time in which it is staged. Joe Mantegna , Chicago cast As to its popularity, I think the feel-good, positive message in word and song it presented makes it so enduring and endearing.
Hey, Christianity has been popular for over 2, years! Unfortunately, Richard Gilliland recently passed away, and he was Jesus in the production at the Studebaker Theatre for most of the run and was my dearest friend. I was best man at his wedding, and he was a godfather to my daughter Mia. That sensibility allows the theatergoers to insert themselves in the stories. I knew we had something special when, in workshop form, it was performed at Carnegie-Mellon University.
The irony of the crucifixion broke us. We looked at each other realizing the potential impact of what we were creating. There was nothing to do but weep. It was as if we had unwittingly and blindly found some sort of gold.
When word of auditions for the Toronto company of Godspell came out, I had already seen the New York and London productions multiple times. I had memorized all the songs, and I believed I was the perfect person to play any part in the show. It was Gilda Radner. She was called back; I was instructed to pick up my coat and leave. He instructed me to be my "zany, funny, uninhibited" self at the party.
I did what he told me. The next day I was cast as Robin, in the original Toronto company of Godspell. It was the beginning of all of our careers and friendships that have lasted a lifetime. He had just eaten a chili burger between shows. No escape!!! The time Herbie aka Hamin Min Gadib [Braha] inhaled a cockroach while writhing and wailing during the crucifixion sequence.
Dancing on the top of the not-yet-completed World Trade Center. We who remain cherish the memories and the small part of history we had the fortune to share. Off-Broadway Cherry Lane, Promenade, San Francisco Godspell contains both the childlike innocence sought by all the world's spiritual disciplines as well as the hard realities of greed, pride, violence, and callousness that all of us must navigate.
Godspell shows us that we can overcome the difficulties and pain of our lives through love, compassion, brotherhood, the cosmic hum of music thank you, Stephen , and, most importantly, humor. Humor gives our lives perspective and a real sense of shared humanity. Without it Godspell would be just another sermon, a polemic that would have disappeared a long time ago.
Fortunately, Godspell is still here as a gift to the generations of performers who have and will come after us. It's difficult to sift through all the memories of the show.
But the first preview was memorable for me. We were all having a great time but were still unsure of how the show would be received.
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