Godspell

Stephen Schwartz's 1970 musical Godspell was a good choice for this talented youth group who were able to bring lots of energy to the production.  Godspell tells the story of the life of Christ in the form of parables taken from the gospels, in the main from St. Matthew. The members of Centre Stage are aged eleven to twenty-one so some of this cast are comparatively new to theatre and some more experienced.   All actors taking roles must be congratulated, every performance was superb, the result of hard work and the excellent direction.  The actor playing Jesus was in his first major role and was most impressive, he commanded the stage.  

The choreography was interesting and well suited to the feel of the musical, well taught and performed with commitment and attention to detail.  There were many scenes when the ensemble formed the crowd and it was lovely to see how they reacted with involvement and apparent spontaneity as if listening for the first time.  The story moves quickly from one parable onto another, and if you have a reasonable knowledge of the bible stories it isn't difficult to follow.  There are many excellent voices within this group and the singing is always a joy to listen to.  

Many of the actors have clear diction when speaking and singing - many but not all.  It would be difficult to find fault in the entertainment value of this production,  but if you are looking to increase audience numbers you must remember that the audience needs to hear the words as well as enjoy the beautiful sound the singer makes.   

Godspell is set in modern day, this production in Hyde Park with the young people enjoying being outdoors.   The costumes were bright and fun with a youthful, hippy look.  The set was simple but interesting using different levels which added to the depth and feeling of realism.  The pace was good and at times the actors moved amongst the audience, bringing the story to us. 

The sound balance was right allowing us to enjoy the excellent playing by the orchestra of those well-known numbers and also the gorgeous singing. The various sound effects added to the feeling of tension and with the echo as Jesus prays to God being most effective.  The lighting was interesting and atmospheric with some excellent effects.  The death of Jesus as Judus ties him to the electric fence and with the community answering  "Oh, God, you're bleeding" in response to Jesus crying "Oh, God, I'm bleeding" was directed with great feeling and was very moving.  

Well done Centre Stage, this was another great show.

It is inevitable that some of the cast will shortly be "too old" for this group.  I would strongly encourage them to take their talent and the experience they have gained to other musical theatre societies, and hopefully,  drama societies too.

 

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