Godspell!

After being violated by an old lady in a bakery, it seemed fitting that I should cleanse my soiled soul with show tunes and bible stories. 

Circle in the Square

Sunday, October 30

7:30pm Performance

Godspell! is still in previews at the intimate Circle in the Square Theatre, hiding below the monstrous Gershwin and those Wicked witches, also a creation of composer Stephen Schwartz.  Word on the street (and on the chat boards) has been rough on the 40-year-old tuner that unapologetically embraces the trippy-hippy decade in which it premiered.  Prepared for the worse, I stepped into the theatre with extremely low expectations.  Oh well, watching a good train wreck is always fun.   Hell, if I’m lucky I might even get to see Hunter Parrish’s six pack.  I mean, how can you cast Parrish and not have him shirtless at some point?  On second thought, I guess it might be a bit awkward for teens and queens to be lusting after hot Jesus.  Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised.

Since it was an early Sunday night show, we invited Juan and Val along.  Their teaching schedule rarely permits a late night adventure in the city, especially on a school night.  As we approached the lobby, we were surprised (happily) to find a crowd much younger and hipper than your average Broadway audience.  Plenty of actor types, too, given the Sunday night timing.  Just before the show began, the director got on stage to announce they were taping this performance for future commercials and promotional material.  Seems the creative team wanted to stack the audience in their favor.  I made sure to freshen up my mascara and straighten my wig.  The theatre is in the round, so I’m bound to get some face time.    

The good news?  The ensemble cast is unique, diverse and extremely likeable.  Thanks in part to the many actor friends in the audience and all the cameras, the energy level onstage hit Charlie-Sheen-on-crack proportions.  And those voices - finally a cast of real singers in a Broadway show - no cookie cutter belter chicks or whiny faux pop tenors riffing the melody into oblivion. 

The updated musical arrangements didn’t really bother me either.  I actually enjoyed the 60s mod take on “Turn Back, O Man” and the rock star performance by Celisse Henderson of “Learn Your Lessons Well.” 

The prologue, now arranged for a cappella voices a la Glee, is impressive at first, but sort of fizzles out when the voices sing in counterpoint.  The magic of the closing section (as originally arranged) is hearing all those voices finally coming together.  Having the cast accompany themselves vocally from the top of the number sort of diminishes the end mash-up effect. 

The ending “Long Live God” also suffers from over-arranging.  The bits and pieces of songs interjected over the melody sound messy and seem to muddle the arrangement and diminish the power of the final stage imagery.  The original “Prepare Ye” sung over “Long Live God” is much cleaner and more powerful.

The bad news?  The book pretty much bites.  The show is really just a bunch of parables strung together with great tunes.  Sure, the second act is slightly more linear, but just barely.  If you didn’t already know the story, you’d likely have no idea what was happening.  Any foreign language visitor is probably thinking, “Wait a minute.  They were all having so much fun in the first act and now they’re gonna' string that Jesus guy up?”   

And character development?  Well, there isn’t any.  Of course, the incredibly hard-working cast makes you believe that there’s more “there” there, but ultimately, it’s a glorified Christian Saturday Night Live skit.  Though SNL hasn’t been this original or funny since the Gilda Radnor days.

If anything, it’s great to see how professionals are able to exult the material - through clever updates and ad libbing - beyond what you normally get to see at your local High School.  I’m just not sure if a cute chamber show warrants Broadway prices.  Though the tiny Theatre in the Square is a perfect fit for this size show.

I have to give Asian props to Telly Leung and his bit/tribute to classic movie moments.  I won’t say more because I don’t want to spoil it.  I’m so glad I’m not auditioning anymore because I’d have to compete with him.  We actually worked together years ago on a reading of a (terrible) new musical, back when I was a working actor and he was just a fetus.  I also got a kick out of Anna Maria Perez de Tagle’s unexpected tagalog rant.  Go, Asian power!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, Parrish keeps his shirt on but does appear in boxers and a wife beater at the top of the show.  Impressive.  So don’t be late.