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College of DuPage Theatre Department

Presents

Godspell

By John-Michael Tebelak

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz

Director Connie Canaday Howard

Choreographer Kyle Donahue

Music Director Jeffrey Poindexter

The College Theatre Department sincerely thanks the Library for research support

for classes studying the production, and the production.

Time and Place: 2019, urban city, empty lot converted to park and garden

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Characters:

Kyle Tess

Izzie Thomas

Caleb Lucy

Shannon Christopher

Renata Tiana

Faith Michael

Noelle Brandon

Alex Chris

Intermission: There will be one fifteen minute intermission.

Director’s Note:

Godspell is well loved through its many productions, revivals and re-writes, remaining one of the

most produced musicals. Though the script is rooted in the Gospel, according to St. Matthew, it’s

interesting that Stephen Schwartz has said that he didn’t set out to write a ‘religious’ play, but a

play about building community – and about friendship, collaboration, learning from one another,

and about sacrifice for a greater cause in the world. Clearly, there are very strong biblical ties,

but the script’s foundation is in the idea of ‘day by day’ building a better world.

Many years ago, I was involved in at least three different productions of Godspell (as actor,

director, director/choreographer), and the College Department did a production several years

ago, and, though I did not directly work on the production, I remember it fondly. In researching

other productions, this script has been approached from all kinds of standpoints: forest, carnival,

clowns, boardrooms, etc.

The theme of growth seems especially prominent throughout the show, and it is for that reason

that our production is set in an urban garden/park, today. With new music and lyrics by Stephen

Schwartz and book by John-Michael Tebelak, our production is steeped in everyday folk, from

many different walks in life, who come together in a park, unintentionally, and experience a

‘call’ to create a better world – “Yes, we can; oh, yes, we can. We can build a beautiful city…”,

and that love is ultimately the answer for progress – “Come sing about love.”

Overall, the show seems to say that growth is imperative for society to move forward, and that is

not usually accomplished by one person, but rather by a community of people working together,

to help each other grow, and affect those around them.

We will be using the entire theatre, onstage and in the audience, in the performance, so mind

bags, feet, and little hands in the aisles. We are so happy you are joining us - CCH

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Musical Numbers:

ACT ONE

Prepare Ye…………………………………………………………………………………….featuring Izzie

Save the People……………………………………………………………….…………..…..featuring Kyle

Day by Day…………………………………………………………………………...………featuring Faith

Learn Your Lessons Well…………………………...……………………featuring Noelle, Shannon, Tiana

Bless the Lord……………………………………………………………………….....featuring Lucy, Tess

All for the Best………………………………………………………………….....featuring Kyle and Caleb

All Good Gifts…………………………………………………………………..featuring Michael and Alex

Light of the World………………………………………..featuring Noelle, Christopher, Chris, and Renata

ACT TWO

Turn Back, O Man…………………………………..………………………………...……featuring Renata

Alas for You…………………………………………………………………………………..featuring Kyle

By My Side…………………………………………...…………………………….....featuring Faith, Tiana

We Beseech Thee………………………………………………………...……..featuring Thomas, Brandon

Beautiful City…………………………………………………………………………………featuring Kyle

On the Willows……………………………………………………………………………….featuring Izzie

Finale……………………………………………………………………………………................Company

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John-Michael Tebelak

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John-Michael_Tebelak

Tebelak was born in Berea, Ohio and graduated from Berea High School in

1966.

He first produced Godspell as his master's thesis, under Lawrence Carra,

at Carnegie Mellon University in December 1970. He had been

studying Greek and Roman mythology, but became fascinated by the joy

expressed in the Gospels, with the deadline for his thesis two weeks away.

He attended an Easter Vigil service in 1970 at Pittsburgh's St. Paul

Cathedral, wearing his usual overalls and a T-shirt. A police officer frisked

him for drugs after the service. He wrote, of this experience, "I left with the

feeling that, rather than rolling the rock away from the Tomb, they were

piling more on. I went home, took out my manuscript, and worked it to

completion in a non-stop frenzy." Though he never completed his

coursework at the university, Carnegie Mellon did award him a degree.

He then directed productions of Godspell at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, the Cherry Lane

Theatre, the Promenade Theatre, and on Broadway.[1] He was named Theatre Man of the Year by Elliott

Norton of the Boston Record American, and Most Promising Director of 1971 by the New York Drama

Desk. He was also named an Outstanding Ohioan by then-Governor John J. Gilligan. Following the

success of Godspell, he contributed funding to a number of productions at La MaMa, including Paul

Foster's Silver Queen Saloon (1978)[2]; William M. Hoffman's A Book of Etiquette (1978)[3]; Steven

Margoshes, Gerome Ragni, and James Rado's Jack Sound (1978)[4]; Tadeusz Kantor's The Dead

Class (1979)[5]; Winston Tong in two pieces (1979)[6]; Andrei Serban and Elizabeth Swados' Fragments

of a Trilogy; Rosalyn Drexler's Vulgar Lives (1979)[7]; Meredith Monk's Recent Ruins(1979)[8]; and Ron

Tavel's Nutrcracker in the Land of Nuts (1979/1980)[9].

After Godspell

Tebelak directed the Broadway play Elizabeth I in 1972, the off-Broadway play The Glorious One in

1975, and Ka-Boom in 1980. He also directed Lope de Vega's Fuenteovejuna in Madrid in 1975. He co-

wrote the 1973 film version of Godspell with David Greene.

Tebelak once said that he "walked into a theatre at the age of nine and stayed there." He was a lifelong

member of the Episcopal Church, considered becoming a priest, and may have attended an

Episcopal seminary for a time. He was dramaturge for the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New

York City and staged liturgical drama there. According to Reverend James Parks Morton, "whether it was

a sermon series or a two-day conference on the environment, he turned it into theater."

In 1980, Tebelak was sued in New York State Supreme Court by his former live-in companion, Richard

Hannum.[10] Hannum was represented by famed divorce lawyer Marvin Mitchelson[11], and was working

with Norman Mailer on an adaptation of a play about Marilyn Monroe called Strawhead.[12] The lawsuit

was an early effort to define the rights of cohabiting homosexual couples.[10]

Tebelak returned to his hometown of Berea, Ohio, to direct the 10th anniversary production

of Godspell at the Berea Summer Theater in the summer of 1980. He subsequently directed Cabaret there

in the summer of 1981. He directed a revival of Godspell at La MaMa in 1981.[13] In 1983, he

directed Diversions: Or Proof that it is Impossible to Live, based on the life and work of Franz Kafka,

written by Aubrey Simpson, and starring Michael Mayer, at La MaMa.[14]

Tebelak died in New York City on April 2, 1985, of a heart attack.

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Stephen Schwartz

Source: https://www.stephenschwartz.com/about/full-bio/

FULL BIO:

Stephen Schwartz was born in New York City on March 6, 1948.

He studied piano and composition at the Juilliard School of Music

while in high school and graduated from Carnegie Mellon

University in 1968 with a B.F.A. in Drama. Upon coming back to

live in New York City, he went to work as a producer for RCA

Records, but shortly thereafter began to work in the Broadway

theatre. His first major credit was the title song for the play

BUTTERFLIES ARE FREE; the song was eventually used in the

movie version, as well.

In 1971, he wrote the music and new lyrics for GODSPELL, for which he won several awards, including

two Grammys. This was followed by the English texts in collaboration with Leonard Bernstein for

Bernstein’s MASS, which opened the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The

following year, he wrote the music and lyrics for PIPPIN, and two years later, THE MAGIC SHOW. At

one point, GODSPELL, PIPPIN and THE MAGIC SHOW were all running on Broadway

simultaneously.

He next wrote the music and lyrics for THE BAKER’S WIFE, followed by a musical version of Studs

Terkel’s WORKING, to which he contributed four songs and which he also adapted and directed,

winning the Drama Desk Award as best director. He also co-directed the television production, which was

presented as part of the PBS “American Playhouse” series. Next came songs for a one-act musical for

children, CAPTAIN LOUIE, and a children’s book, THE PERFECT PEACH. He then wrote music for

three of the songs in the Off-Broadway revue, PERSONALS, lyrics to Charles Strouse’s music for

RAGS, and music and lyrics for CHILDREN OF EDEN.

He then began working in film, collaborating with composer Alan Menken on the scores for the Disney

animated features POCAHONTAS, for which he received two Academy Awards and another Grammy,

and THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME. He also provided songs for DreamWorks’ first animated

feature, THE PRINCE OF EGYPT, for which he won another Academy Award for the song “When You

Believe.” He most recently collaborated with Alan Menken on the songs for Disney’s ENCHANTED.

Mr. Schwartz provided music and lyrics for the original television musical, GEPPETTO, recently adapted

for the stage as MY SON PINOCCHIO. He has released two CDs on which he sings new

songs, RELUCTANT PILGRIM and UNCHARTED TERRITORY.

Mr. Schwartz’s most recent musical, WICKED, opened in the fall of 2003 and is currently running on

Broadway and in several other productions around the United States and the world. In 2008, WICKED

reached its 1900th performance on Broadway, making Mr. Schwartz the only songwriter in Broadway

history ever to have three shows run more than 1900 performances.

His first opera, SEANCE ON A WET AFTERNOON, premiered at Opera Santa Barbara in the fall of

2009 and was recently produced by New York City Opera.

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Mr. Schwartz has recently been given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and inducted into the

Theatre Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. A book about his career, “Defying Gravity,” has

been released by Applause Books.

Under the auspices of the ASCAP Foundation, he runs musical theatre workshops in New York and Los

Angeles and serves on the ASCAP board; he is also a member of the Council of the Dramatists’ Guild.

Stephen Schwartz and Godspell History

Source: https://www.godspell.com/stephen-schwartz-launched-his-career-with-godspell/

In 1971, twenty three year old Stephen Schwartz launched his legendary songwriter career with

Godspell—a show that quickly became a box office hit in productions around the world. The original cast

album went on to win two Grammy Awards, and the single of “Day by Day” rose high on the Billboard

popular music charts.

PHOTO: Stephen Schwartz (behind the cake) and the company of Godspell from the summer of 1971.

Photo courtesy of guitarist in the band, Jesse Cutler.

One reason the newbie’s “first” score worked so well is that Godspell wasn’t actually Schwartz’s first

musical. He had contributed to three musicals and an opera in college at Carnegie Mellon University

where he studied directing. The shows were all mounted as part of a student club, and so Schwartz gained

valuable experience working with actors and getting feedback from audiences.

One of those college shows was an early version of Pippin. Schwartz decided to pursue developing it,

writing new songs after college. With these songs, he was able to sign with an agent, Shirley Bernstein, in

1969. She helped him showcase drafts of Pippin‘s score to New York producers. Edgar Lansbury and Joe

Beruh were among the producers who were impressed with Schwartz’s talent (even though they didn’t

want to stage Pippin). In March of 1971, when Lansbury and Beruh decided to produce Godspell at the

Cherry Lane Theatre, they ask Stephen Schwartz if he could write a score.

After Godspell, Schwartz contributed lyrics to Leonard Bernstein’s show Mass (thanks to a connection

from Shirley), and wrote scores for Pippin, The Magic Show, Wicked, and many other musicals. The

colorful story of Schwartz’s career is covered in the biography Defying Gravity: the Creative Career of

Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked. (And to be complete, before Godspell, Schwartz did receive

a Broadway credit for the title song to Butterflies are Free, a play with music. But Godspell was his first

musical.)

Godspell History Godspell‘s development history is revealed in The Godspell Experience: Inside a

Transformative Musical. Chapter 7 of The Godspell Experience introduces Schwartz, Lansbury, and

Beruh as they begin work on Godspell. Chapter 8 can be read here as a “sample chapter” in PDF form.

This chapter brings readers into the collaboration between John-Michael Tebelak and Stephen Scwhartz.

It covers the days when the Godspell cast from the off-off-Broadway production at Café La MaMa started

learning the new songs in preparation for the official opening at the Cherry Lane Theatre, May 17, 1971.

Here’s a glimpse at how a group of twenty somethings — Tebelak, Schwartz, band members, and the cast

— perfected the show that we now know as Godspell.

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Interview with Stephen Schwartz

Source: http://www.ecumenicajournal.org/interview-with-stephen-schwartz-2/

By Judith Sebesta

Stephen Schwartz has contributed music and/or lyrics to Godspell, Pippin, The Magic Show, The Baker’s

Wife,Working (which he also adapted and directed), Personals, Rags, Children of Eden, and the current

Broadway hit, Wicked. Most recently, he has contributed songs to Mit Eventyr, a musical about Hans

Christian Andersen currently playing in Denmark. He collaborated with Leonard Bernstein on the English

texts for Bernstein’s Mass and wrote the title song for the play and movie Butterflies Are Free. For

children, he has written a one-act musical, Captain Louie. In film, he collaborated with Alan Menken on

the scores for the Disney animated features Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame and wrote the

songs for the DreamWorks animated feature The Prince of Egypt. He provided music and lyrics for the

original television musical, Geppetto, and has released two CDs of new songs entitled Reluctant Pilgrim

and Uncharted Territory. Under the auspices of the ASCAP Foundation, he runs musical theatre

workshops in New York and Los Angeles, and is also a member of the Council of the Dramatists’ Guild.

Mr. Schwartz is the recipient of three Academy Awards, four Grammy Awards, four Drama Desk

Awards, and a tiny handful of tennis trophies. He was interviewed in 2005 by editorial board member and

issue guest editor Judith Sebesta.

Judith Sebesta: In a discussion with Joseph Swain, you stress that you “never saw Godspell as a

‘Christian’ show, or indeed as a show about religion.” Instead you emphasize the “formation of a

community.” Yet you have returned to religious themes and stories in several works, including Mass,

with Leonard Bernstein,Rags, and Children of Eden. A number of histories of the musical, including

Swain’s, include your work in sections on religion and the musical. So what has attracted you to these

stories?

Stephen Schwartz: Well, I think that all of them deal with big issues that concern people and have

concerned them for a long time. They deal with solid issues of personal responsibility and ethics and

philosophy. These are things that interest me, and I think that’s what’s attracted me to them. Each of these

particular works has a different sort of core question or different core group of issues that it’s dealing

with. In that sense, Godspell, Mass, Children of Eden and Prince of Egypt, etc. are quite distinctive

works. What obviously unifies them is that they are all drawn essentially from Bible stories or in the case

of Mass from the end of the actual Latin mass itself.

JS: Okay. Do you have a personal philosophy or approach to religious belief or spiritual ideas yourself?

SS: Well, I think everybody does. I think we had a very interesting experience when John Caird and I

were in an early stage of working on Children of Eden; there was a group of people that had been

assembled for a sort of workshop development phase of it and John, the very first day, said to each

person—to get to know where we were all coming from—he said, “You know I’d just be interested if we

went around the circle and each person talked about his or her own upbringing. What sort of religious

upbringing you had, to what extent you subscribe to that, just so we all know where we are, not that it

particularly has anything to do with the show itself.” What was fascinating about that was that after about

five or six people had spoken it became clear that this was something everyone thought about a good deal.

They had given a great deal of thought to this privately but no one ever spoke about it. It’s sort of a taboo

subject for contemporary society, but it is something that pretty much everyone has given thought to. It’s

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odd how it’s really not spoken of except, of course, in cases of people who are members of a church or

sect or whatever.

JS: Or if you’re an ex-Catholic like I am, and then everyone talks about Catholic guilt.

SS: Well, exactly, but it was very interesting the extent and the depth to which people had actually

thought about this. So that’s what I’m saying: I just think that this is something that all individuals have

thought about and have formed some sort of opinion about and so why wouldn’t I?

JS: Related to this idea of themes of the shows you’ve done, I think you can say that from Godspell to

Pippin to The Hunchback of Notre Dame to Wicked, and any other shows that you mentioned, your

musicals often focus on the “outsider” —or I think you could also say the individual’s exploration of

identity or meaning. Does this focus come Interview with Stephen Schwartz 75from any personal place?

SS: Well, I’m sure they do.

JS: [laughs] Any place you’d like to share?

SS: Artists and writers tend to deal with that topic fairly often because so many of us grew up feeling

ourselves somewhat different or somewhat apart from the people around us. I didn’t have any particularly

overt experiences which some people have had. I had a pretty normal and happy childhood and had a

bunch of friends and so on and so forth but I think people who have a sort of artistic—whatever—

temperament or point of view of the world will tend to feel themselves somewhat alienated and therefore

the whole idea of the outsider and the person who doesn’t quite fit in or doesn’t belong is something

that’s attractive as a theme to many writers, I think.

JS: Let me ask a question, then, specifically about Godspell. It’s still widely performed; I was looking at

your website and it lists ninety-one productions in the past four-months (Sept.-Dec. 2005) across the

country at universities, high schools, and churches. I read a 2000 article in the National Catholic Reporter

about your updated version of the show, and it suggests that “simplicity” is the key to its endurance. I was

wondering: how do you explain its continuing popularity?

SS: I think again it deals with themes and ideas which are of concern and interest to people and to

audiences. I think it deals with them in an entertaining and unusual way. I also think it’s the experience

the audience has attending a performance of Godspell when it’s done correctly. By “correctly” I mean the

whole idea of the formation of community that happens within—over the course of the evening and how

the audience is included within that. That can be a fairly exhilarating theatrical experience or theatre-

going experience and I think that’s why audiences continue to be entertained and attracted to Godspell.

JS: Let’s see, how about a question about Wicked specifically, to move up more to the present? In an

article on Wicked, Chicago Tribune critic Chris Jones claims that a Fordham University student wrote a

twenty-five page thesis on Judeo-Christian themes in the show. And also I noticed in Ben Brantley’s

review that he called it a “sermon of a musical.” You could take that several ways but what I was

wondering was did you and your collaborator, Winnie Holzman, foresee the connections between Wicked

and religion that have been made?

SS: Well, I think we clearly were dealing with the . . . with ethical issues and moral issues and obviously

religion comes into play when one is dealing with that. I think that is part of the content of the show. I

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don’t know that I would agree with calling it a sermon because I think it’s somewhat even-handed or

fairly even-handed in the approach it takes. I think the whole point of a sermon is really not to be even-

handed but to take a very strong point of view, but writers have points of view and those are going to

show up in their work. I know Mr. Brantley didn’t mean that in a complementary fashion when he wrote

that but frankly I think that most things that people write are sermons of one sort or another if they have

any moral content whatsoever.

JS: Well, related again to Wicked: it’s attaining quite a cult following among teen audiences, I noticed.

And indeed, throughout your career you seem to have valued young people as audience members (or

readers). This is obvious in your work on animated films, and you even recently wrote a musical, Captain

Louie, specifically for young audiences (and I noticed you wrote a book, The Perfect Peach, as well).

Why do you feel that it is important to be inclusive of children/teens in your work?

SS: I don’t know that it’s a question of feeling . . . well, obviously I must feel it’s important since I do it

frequently. But Wicked, for instance, was certainly not geared toward trying to attract any specific

segment of an audience, be it teenagers or any other. I think that the characters and relationships in

Wicked have proven this and the fact that it’s about an outsider struggling with her “outsider-ness,” if you

will, I think these are themes and characters that speak to teenagers and what they are going through, and

I think that accounts for the popularity of Wicked. When I worked on the animated features, which

obviously attract a family audience, my collaborators and I didn’t really think about gearing them towards

a younger audience, we just wrote what we thought was the best piece we could write.

JS: What about in the case of Captain Louie?

SS: Now Captain Louie is very specifically intended to be performed by and for children. That’s a

children’s theatre piece that began as a commission from a theatre called the First All-Children’s Theater,

and so obviously it was geared to young audiences and was in fact based on a children’s book. And in the

case of The Perfect Peach that was again a children’s book. In those cases the target audience is clear, but

I always try not to write down to young audiences, which may account to some extent for the popularity

of the work with younger audiences.

JS: Oh, definitely. Is this a part of wanting to build future audiences for the theatre?

SS: Well, I’d love to be altruistic and make that statement but I don’t really think about that. I’m just

doing work that interests me and try to do it as well as I can and the audiences that come to it make their

own choices. I don’t have a grand plan about trying to advance theatre and culture with younger people.

I’d love to pretend that I did.

JS: Well, speaking of children, I first heard your song “Fathers and Sons” in a college production of

Working in which I performed back in 1987. I have to say it still brings tears to my eyes when I listen to

it and think about my own relationship, even as a daughter, with my father. Your relationship with your

own son, Scott [Schwartz, a director] seems close by all accounts.

SS: Extremely close . . . and also with my daughter as well. We’re a very close family.

JS: Well, except for incidental music you wrote for Scott’s stage adaptation of My Antonia, you have

avoided working with him. So I was wondering why you made an exception for that one project, and

might you again in the future?

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SS: The answer to the last question is yes. We . . . Scott and I, when he was first starting out in his career,

discussed this and he made quite a conscious decision to be sure that he established his reputation on his

own. So he did avoid directing very visible productions of work of mine, and we did avoid working

together so that he could become established. Now he is so . . . it’s sort of like when acting families work

together like the Redgraves. At this point Scott’s individual career is quite well-established and therefore I

don’t think anybody would think that he is getting work simply because his father had connections.

JS: You left Broadway, you’ve worked in Hollywood and other venues, and now have returned to

Broadway again with Wicked. Kurt Gänzl claims—I don’t know where he got this; I don’t know if this

was based on an interview with you or what—but he claims that after Working you ventured once more

into what he calls the “large-scale commercial theatre” with—the word he used was “distaste” —to write

lyrics for the short-lived Rags. In an interview several years ago for ASCAP you described the hostility of

the theatre community toward you which “remains to this day,” saying you were “driven from the

theatre.” Why, then, did you return?

SS: I fell in love with the idea of this project. I thought it was a great idea and Broadway seemed its

natural home, and in addition, to do a show like Wicked in America which is obviously where I work

mostly, there wasn’t really any choice but to do it as a Broadway show.

JS: And why is that?

SS: The size and expense. And so that was its natural home and so that’s why I wound up doing it.

Working . . . I do want to make a distinction between working in the theatre and working in the

commercial theatre which I think are two quite different things. I continue to enjoy and have done a lot of

work in the theatre and I expect to continue to do so, but for instance, the thing that I did last year, I did

over in Denmark. I was working in Copenhagen in a state-supported situation.

JS: Right, that was My Fairy Tale [Mit Eventyr].

SS: That’s right. That’s a very different experience. The commercial theatre is a pretty brutal place to

work.

JS: Wicked was . . . was it initially thought of as a possible film project before stage?

SS: Yes, Universal was developing it as a film when I came across the book and became intrigued with

the possibility of doing a musical adaptation of it. Universal had the rights and basically I talked them out

of doing it as a film and doing it as a stage musical instead.

JS: I just have one final question then. On what future projects are you working?

SS: Well, I’m actually working again with Alan Menken on a new live action musical called Enchanted.

The first few minutes of the movie will be animated, but the rest of it is live-action. That’s what primarily

the first half of this year is going to be about.

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Reviews of Past Productions

USA Today:

Source: https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/theater/reviews/story/2011-11-09/broadway-

godspell/51142910/1?csp=34life#mainstory

Hunter Parrish stars as Jesus in the Broadway revival of 'Godspell.'

The young man in question is boyishly handsome, with a lanky frame and a spiky shock of blond hair, but

has an endearing goofy streak. And unlike many of his peers, he's not patently a showbiz creature;

nothing about him seems manufactured or contrived.

Except, perhaps, his name: Jesus Christ.

To clarify a bit, that's the character played by Hunter Parrish in the irresistibly exuberant new production

of Godspell (***½ out of four) that opened Monday at Circle in the Square. For the uninitiated, that's the

40-year-old musical that marked the arrival of composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Pippin).

Based on the Gospel of Matthew, the show stresses Jesus' humility and compassion, reinforcing that he's a

hero for secular humanists as well as the pious. Whether you go for it depends not on your religious

affiliation, but on your tolerance for the format; it can suggest a giddily earnest children's program, with

Jesus cast as the firm but likable teacher and his disciples as eager but often unruly students.

Happily, this revival, the first ever on Broadway, strikes just the right tone. The young, multicultural cast

is extravagantly talented, but director Daniel Goldstein sustains a relaxed, let's-put-on-show vibe. As in

the original staging, the only clearly defined roles are those of Jesus and Judas; other performers

essentially play kids fumbling through their lessons, and hamming it up whenever they get the chance.

The malleable spoken portion of Godspell— a collection of parables embellished with freewheeling

shtick — has been updated to include references to Steve Jobs, Donald Trump and Facebook.

There are moments of excessive cuteness, but what comes through most is the touching innocence of

these characters.

This makes the inevitable ending even more affecting. Wallace Smith's Judas has a robust voice and an

easy masculinity that makes him convincing as friend and foil to Parrish's sweetly charismatic Messiah;

and Goldstein guides the company to the final scenes of betrayal and crucifixion with a compelling

tenderness.

Michael Holland's orchestrations and vocal arrangements lend muscle and nuance, garnishing Schwartz's

scrumptious soft-rock score with deft contemporary flourishes.

Regardless of your faith, or lack of it, you'll leave this Godspell a believer in the transporting power of

musical theater.

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Talkin’ Broadway:

Source: https://www.talkinbroadway.com/page/world/Godspell2011.html

Let certain sectors of society scream all they want about Zuccotti Park. For a calmer, friendlier, and

infinitely more entertaining Manhattan occupation, you need look no further than Circle in the Square.

That's where the revival of Godspell has just opened, unleashing with its reappearance a tidal wave of

good feelings that just might engulf the Financial District before it peters out. But even if it can't, letting it

sweep you away is one of the strongest feel-good experiences you're likely to have in the New York

theatre this fall.

Just don't let the title, or your preconceptions about the content, dissuade you. Based though it is on the

Bible's Gospel of Matthew, the overt religious content is on the light side. Sure, there are technically

characters based on Jesus and Judas (though neither character is ever named outside the Playbill), and the

book (assembled by original conceiver and director John-Michael Tebelak) and score (by Stephen

Schwartz, at the absolute top of his form) rely on parables, verses, and other direct quotations that

couldn't come from anywhere else. But the message here is of generic inclusiveness and togetherness,

along with a few dollops of advice on how to be a better person. Even the most devout atheist will find

little to object to.

In other words, this production, which has been sparklingly directed by Daniel Goldstein and smartly

choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, achieves the kind of warmly communal harmony the recent

revival of Hair so mechanically sought. The inaugural version of this show was more or less a

contemporary of the inaugural version of that one (1971 versus 1967), but as a property it's aged

considerably better. Its open-handed exploration of its topics and teachings is far more timeless than the

machinations of one relatively short-lived political movement.

And is it heresy to say the songs are better, too? Though Schwartz found artistic success with his Old

Testament musical, Children of Eden, and stunning popular success with Wicked (which opened next

door eight years ago, and shows no signs of slowing down), he taps into a super-genre sound here that

epitomizes the innocence and optimism of humanity along with its boundless energy. "Prepare Ye" and

"Day by Day" are solid standards, and the frenzied "All for the Best" is almost as well known, but from

the instructive "Learn Your Lessons Well" to the gospel-tinged "Bless the Lord" to the serenely haunting

finale "Beautiful City," this is a score that finds faith anywhere and everywhere it can—not least in the

fun that its theatre music's most deified province.

It helps, of course, that the show surrounding the numbers was designed to be endlessly malleable, with

its presentation of its spoken and sung sections fixed, but everything else open to debate. This has let each

new generation and each new culture devise a show that speaks to them and their concerns about faith and

the world, in exactly the language they speak (and with the costumes they wear and the props they use).

This production escorts the "it takes a village" credo of this show to heretofore unheard-of levels

offstage—crowdsourcing was used to finance upwards of $600,000 of the required capitalization—but

onstage the devotion is no less total and alluring.

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Goldstein, who got his start with Godspell at the Paper Mill Playhouse five years ago, has seen to it

there's never a dull or empty moment. Whether it's games of Pictionary or charades, descents into rock

concerts or old-fashioned buck-and-wing show biz, diversions into science and technology (the Last

Supper is staged around a pit of fog-emitting dry ice), or even current culture (Kanye West is among the

references), invention is ripe. David Korins's decaying-proscenium hides a myriad of pits, flying objects,

pools of water, and even trampolines that keep the cast buzzing and bouncing in every moment. David

Weiner's lights capture all the intimacy of the space while ensuring you never miss a detail of it or of the

performers romping about at the center of it all.

The company assembled here, led by Hunter Parrish (Jesus) and Wallace Smith (Judas), is as ingratiating

and buoyant an ensemble as Broadway attracts these days. Each cast member has a distinct look, sound,

and personality, with nary a cookie-cutter dancer or beautiful-but-bland singer in sight. Uzo Aduba, Nick

Blaemire, Celisse Henderson, Telly Leung, Lindsay Mendez (who sings a killer "Bless the Lord"),

George Salazar, and Anna Maria Perez de Tagle are playful, fun, and unpredictable; vaguely dressed (by

crack costume designer Miranda Hoffman) as hipsters, but with enough off-kilter suspenders, tights, or

jackets to register as uncharacteristic free-thinkers. At the performance I attended, understudy Julia

Mattison subbed for the billed Morgan James, and she was as confidently herself as everyone else was.

So much is so right—down to the new orchestrations (for band members scattered throughout the theater)

and arrangements by Michael Holland and music direction by Charlie Alterman—that dwelling on its few

deficits seems almost unnecessary. But the show is overly amplified and oddly loud, even when it's

supposed to be quiet, which saps it of some of its atmosphere of impromptu fun. And the action slows

almost to a crawl in the middle of the second act, as Goldstein struggles to keep his ideas flowing.

This is only a momentary downturn, however. For most of its two-hour-and-fifteen-minute running time,

nothing can stop this Godspell from exploding straight into your heart and—dare I say it?—soul. If

indeed spirituality is old-fashioned and outdated, someone forgot to tell everyone involved with this

production. And thank goodness: The honesty, charm, and appeal everyone displays shows that,

sometimes at least, theatregoers' prayers are indeed answered.

Question and Answer about Godspell

Source: https://www.stephenschwartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Godspell-Songs.pdf

Godspell: Music and New Lyrics

Question: After seeing "Godspell" for the first time this summer and then growing more and more

attached to its music, I've been wondering about something. Where did you get the lyrics for "Turn back,

oh man. Forsake thy foolish ways?" So far, all I've found are similar phrases, such as in the book of

Jeremiah (chapter 37, verse 15) which says, "Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform

your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them..." Just curious. Thank you! Jane Pears

Answer from Stephen Schwartz: Dear Jane: Thanks for the message. The lyrics for "Turn Back, O Man",

along with those for "Save the People", "Day by Day", "Bless the Lord", "All Good Gifts" and "We

Beseech Thee", are from the Episcopal hymnal. They are re-settings of traditional Episcopal hymns.

That's why my credit on GODSPELL reads "Music and New Lyrics" as opposed to "Music and Lyrics". It

may amuse you to know that when the film version of GODSPELL opened, I was roundly criticized for

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the lyrics for "Save the People" by Richard Schickel, the movie critic of Time Magazine, who quoted

them disparagingly. Apparently he's not Episcopalian. Sincerely, Stephen Schwartz

How Music and Dance Add To Drama: Godspell

Question: [Someone writing a paper asked about music and dance in musicals]

Answer from Stephen Schwartz: The subject of how music and dance add to drama is such a vast one. In

regards to GODSPELL, I guess one of the points I would make would have to do with the song, "All for

the Best" -- how it uses the cliché of a vaudeville team doing a standard sort of patter-song duet to help

bring to life the special relationship between Jesus and Judas. By having them be at odds with one another

philosophically in the song's lyrics, and yet be performing and dancing together as a team, it helps to

illustrate the paradoxes in their relationship in a way simple dialogue never could. Sincerely, Stephen

Schwartz

GODSPELL

Question: First, I'd like to say that the pure simplicity in the "pop" music of Godspell has left an

everlasting impression on me as a young pianist. It will always be my favorite musical compilation. The

harmonies that are incorporated in the melodic themes are genius! My question is while composing such

songs as Day by Day, Prepare Ye and Oh Bless The Lord, Were these harmonies part of your originally

planned compositions? Were they "in the back of your mind" while writing them or were they added to

compliment an existing melody? Thank you in advance for your response.

Answer from Stephen Schwartz: Thank you for your complimentary message and your enthusiasm for

GODSPELL. In answer to your question: I tend to write at the piano, and certainly all of GODSPELL

was written that way. Therefore the melodies and accompaniment (and therefore the harmonies) happen

together. I can't remember ever writing a melody on its own and then adding a harmony, even on those

rare occasions when I have written away from a keyboard. That's not to say that I won't fool around with

the chords and change them sometimes as I'm writing, but they are always part of my writing process. I

hope this answers your question sufficiently. Thanks again, Stephen Schwartz

Things to watch for in performance: • The setting chosen for this production is an empty urban lot that’s been converted to a park/urban

garden. Why do you think this setting was chosen for this piece? How does it facilitate the

piece? How do the props, different parts of the stage, band and limited sound effects help to

move the play forward?

• Godspell remains one of the most popular and most performed American musicals. Have you

seen another production or clips of a production? Why do you think it is so popular?

• The musical is a theatrical genre defined by its extensive use of music. The storyline is reliant

upon the music, to tell the complete tale. What is the effect of the music? When do characters

break into song? Which songs involve a lot of movement and which are more focused? Why, do

you think?

Things to think about after the performance:

• This production was staged on both the set and in the audience. What was the effect?

• The band is at the rear on a gazebo, and is part of the action. What was that effect?

• Some of the action is improvised, with audience ‘volunteers.’ What is that effect?

• What do you believe the story says about society or life?

• What does it say about relationships?

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Other Analysis “Tools”:

• What happens in the very last moments of the play? Certainly, the last few minutes, but, more

importantly, the last thirty seconds? In that time, WHAT happens or is said, and what does that

say about what the play is ‘about?’ In a nutshell, how do the playwrights drive their point(s)

home?

• And what is the significance of the title? Why did the playwrights decide that this was the most

quintessential title for their work?

The running time for this production is approximately 1:55, with an intermission.

This performance takes place in the Playhouse of the MAC. The show runs Thursday-Sunday

evenings at 7P, July 5-14, 2019, EXCEPT there is no show on Friday, July 12. There are 2P and

7P shows on both July 7 & 14. For tickets and information, please call the College Theater’s

Box Office at 630/942-4000.

In addition, we also encourage you to view Can You See Me? in order to take advantage of our

repertory experience. The running time for Can You See Me? is fifty minutes. It is a production

created through improvisation. There is no intermission. The College Theatre Department

tours the improvisational production every summer, and venues and dates are listed for this

season are below. Some venues require that audience members be residents of their village,

and/or have limited seating which requires a reservation THROUGH the venue, so please

check into that, should you wish to attend.

Date - Summer 2019 Time Location

Wednesday, June 19 TBD B.R. Ryall YMCA

Thursday, June 20 7:00 PM Glenside Public Library

Saturday, June 22 11:00 AM Oakbrook Library

Tuesday, June 25 10:00 AM Winfield Public Library

Wednesday, June 26 6:30 PM Wheaton Library

Friday, June 28 7:00 PM Helen M Plum Memorial Library

Saturday, July 6 12 noon Cantigny

Wednesday, July 10 2:00 PM Lisle Library

Friday, July 12 7:00 PM La Grange Library

Saturday, July 13 1:00 PM Glen Ellyn Library

Saturday, July 13 5:00 PM Lakeside Pavilion - MAC

Sunday, July 14 5:00 PM Lakeside Pavilion - MAC